Download 2013 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Science Elective Resource

2013 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Science Elective Resource Guide
North Carolina Essential Standards & NGSS
Overview of Forensic Science
Unit
Suggested Pacing
Forensic Anthropology
5 days
Unit Topic: Forensic Anthropology
Essential Standard:
 HS-FS-FA-1 Students will demonstrate that the human body can be identified by the measurements of skeletal and
Odontological remains.
Clarifying Objectives:
 HS-FS-FA-1a Students will describe how bone is formed.
 HS-FS-FA-1b Students will distinguish between male and female skeletal remains.
 HS-FS-FA-1c Students will describe how bones contain a record of injuries and disease.
 HS-FS-FA-1d Students will describe how a person’s appropriate personal characteristics (age, height, and race) could be
determined by examining his or her bones.
 HS-FS-FA-1e Students will describe the role of mitochondrial DNA in bone identification.
Unpacking:
 HS-FS-FA-1a
o Students will describe how bones develop and maintain themselves in the following succession:
 All bones originate from cells called osteoblasts during fetal development.
 Osteoblasts migrate to the centers of cartilage production and deposit minerals such as Calcium Phosphate
that harden to form bone or undergo ossification.
 As bone develops, distinct layers form to perform various functions: Periosteum, Spongy Bone, Compact Bone
and Marrow.
 Osteocytes replace osteoblasts.
 Osteoclasts form to reshape growing bones by dissolving bone tissue.
 HS-FS- FA-1b
o Students will use the following characteristics to distinguish between male and female remains:
 Skull
 Male: Frontal View (Eye shape and mandible are more square, and brow ridge is thick and larger) &
Side View (Low and sloping brow, base of the skull rough and bumpy and ramus of mandible is straight)
 Female: Frontal View (Eye shape and mandible are more rounded and v shaped respectively, and brow
ridge is thin and smaller) & Side View (high and rounded brow, base of the skull smooth and ramus of
mandible is slanted)
 Pelvis
 Male: Subpubic angle 50-82 degrees, triangular pubis, and heart shaped pelvic cavity



 Female: Subpubic angle 90 degrees, rectangular pubis, and oval shaped pelvic cavity
Femur
 Male: thick and joins the pelvis at a straightened angle
 Female: thin and joins the pelvis at a greater angle than males
HS-FS- FA-1c
o Students will describe how bones maintain a record of injury and trauma by examining the presence of improperly
fused bones (no medical treatment for broken bone), fractures (infliction of object or fall), and presence of holes
(bullets if smooth, and blunt object like hammer if jagged).
HS-FS-FA-1d
o Students will describe how a person’s appropriate personal characteristics could be determined by examining his or her
bones.
 Age
 Suture Fusion: Lambodial suture begins to close at the age of 21, accelerates at 26 and closes at 30.
Sagittal suture closes at the age of 32. Coronal suture closes at the age of 50
 Cartilaginous Lines: Examine epiphyseal plate lines for various bones which close at different ages.
 Long Bones: Fusion of long bones is a marker of various age statuses. (eg. The humerus bone fuses at
the ages of 4-6)
 Race
 Skull Caucasoid: Eye Orbit Shape- Rectangular, Nasal Spine-Very Small, Nasal Index <.48 and Straight
Prognathism.
 Skull Negroid: Eye Orbit Shape- Rounded, Nasal Spine- Somewhat Prominent, Nasal Index .48 -.53 and
Variable Prognathism.
 Skull Mongoloid: Eye Orbit Shape- Rounded/Circular, Nasal Spine-Prominent, Nasal Index <.48 and
Straight Prognathism.
 Height or stature is a calculated using established regression equations and vary by gender and race. Students
will utilize the generic equations below to ascertain the height of an individual (Emphasis should be placed on
larger bones like the humerus and femur):
 Stature = 4.62 x Humerus length (cm)
 Stature = 3.78 x Radius length (cm)
 Stature = 4.61 x Ulna length (cm)
 Stature = 2.71 x Femur length (cm)
 Stature = 3.29 x Tibia length (cm)
 Stature = 3.59 x Fibula length (cm)

HS-FS-FA-1e
o Students will describe the role of mitochondrial DNA in bone identification by its extraction, amplification, profiling
and comparisons to living relatives.
Essential Vocabulary: anthropology, epiphysis, forensic anthropology, joints, mitochondrial DNA, ossification, osteobiography,
osteoblast, osteoclast, osteocyte, osteoporosis, skeletal human analysis
Essential Questions:
Suggested Resources & Activities:
HS-FS- FA-1a-1e
No Bones About It: Using large bones to determine stature of
1. What is forensic anthropology and how is it used to identify
missing persons.
skeletal remains?
Analysis of Skeletal Remains: Determining gender, race, height
and age worksheet.
Helpful Websites and/or Resources:
http://www.sfu.museum/forensics/eng/recuperez-recover/
Identified Student Misconceptions:
Case Studies:
The Romanovs (1918)
Steven Avery (Burn Barrell -2005)
General Website Resources:
The Forensic Teacher Magazine (Free)
CSI Web Adventures: Virtual Labs
Mr. Wilbur’s Forensic Science Page
The Science Spot
1) Students may have some common misconceptions about what
forensic anthropologists do and do not do. For example, they
don't handle DNA analysis, autopsies, analysis of bloodstain
patterns or the study of weapons-related evidence.