Phillip Scarboro

Blood & Alcohol Lab

4/22/2016
Dr. Speckhard
Group Members: Collin Long, John Drahazol, Phillip Scarboro, Dustin Dawson

Breath Alcohol Analysis Lab April 6th 2016

The legal limit for driving a vehicle in Iowa is 0.08% blood alcohol. One way this is
tested is with infrared spectroscopy of exhaled breath. We will simulate this using
our infrared spectrometer. Our sample cell is not optimized for low concentration
samples, so the data we get will be less certain than a breathalyzer would produce.
Many traditional mouthwash products use ethyl alcohol to dissolve the active
ingredients. Original Listerine is one well known example. If someone rinses their
mouth with this fluid and then exhales into an IR sensor the alcohol can be
detected, and is often higher than the legal limit. We will attempt to demonstrate
this today. We will also examine the persistence of the effect.

Standard analysis.
Two groups of students will prepare standard solutions of ethanol from a 70% stock
solution and water. The standard samples we want are 1%, 0.2%, 0.1%, 0.08%, and
0.05%. Her is a sample calculation for preparing the 0.05% solution.
200 ml x 0.05% = ? ml of 1% ? = 10ml What would the volume needed
be if we used 70% stock instead of 1% stock? Can you accurately measure this
amount?
So to make the 200 ml of 0.05% solution you need to take 10 ml of the 1% solution
and add 190 ml of water to it. The solution is placed in a plastic bottle with a straw
in the lid to deliver the vapor into the sample holder. Do not get any solution of
water in the sample holder. It takes some time for the solution components to
equilibrate with the air above the liquid so shake the bottle and let it stand for at
least 10 minutes before expelling some of the air into the sample holder. Measure
the sample within 5 minutes of preparing the sample holder to prevent mixing of air
with the sample, which would lower the concentration. Take several readings of the
same sample and then print the data. We are interested in the average height of
the peak. Repeat this process with the other standard solutions.

Mouthwash effect.
One volunteer should gently exhale a breath through the straw into the sample
holder. This sample should be read and recorded. We expect the data to be quite
noisy with no real peak in the ethanol region.
Now the volunteer should gargle with 20 ml (capful) of Listerine for one minute.
Then wait for one minute and gently exhale a breath into the sample holder. Read
the sample and repeat the reading on the sample. Repeat the exhaling at 3, 5, 10,
and 20 minutes. Read each sample. Share all the data with the class.
Plot the standard data in exel with average height on the y axis and % alcohol on
the x axis. How consistent are the data? Use the graph to determine the apparent
blood alcohol level of the volunteer as a function of time. What is causing the
response you see, given that the volunteer did not drink (swallow) any alcohol in
this experiment?
1. The data is not consistent with what we know occurs when alcohol is actually
consumed. The alcohol on the breath was at two and a half times the legal
limit of .08 but after a few moments it decreased to nothing. The normal rate
of alcohol burn off is much lower, so the data was not consistent with alcohol
consumption.
2. The level of alcohol in the blood spiked right after the mouth wash was used
but then quickly dropped to next to nothing. This is because the mouthwash
was not ingested. Instead it was swished around for a minute and then spit
out.

Spatter part 2

Calculate the ratio of width divided by length for 3 to 5 spots at each angle.
D/L Ratio sin theta
30 Degrees 0.5
1. 0.444
2. 0.529
3. 0.45
4. 0.368
15 Degrees 0.259
1. 0.208
2. 0.238
60 Degrees 0.866
1. 0.818
90 Degrees 1
1. 1
2. 0.95
3. 1
4. 1
5. 1.1
45 Degrees 0.707
1. 0.769
2. 0.706
3. 0.441
Plot the D/L ratio vs sin as a scatter plot with a linear fit trend line.

Real vs. Expected Blood Spatter

1.2

0.8

sin theta 0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

D/L Ratio

How well does your data fit the expected pattern?

The data fits the pattern pretty well.
How would a forensic investigator use spatter data to reconstruct a crime scene?
Provide three examples.
The first step in reconstructing a crime scene is pattern analysis. Pattern analysis is
important in reconstructing a crime scene because you look at the various
characteristics of the blood stains and begin to envision what blood pattern types
are present and what mechanism may have caused them. One way investigators
can use this spatter data to reconstruct a crime scene is by using string to create
straight lines through the individual drops, following the angle of impact along a flat
plane in order to find an area of convergence. For instance, you would look at the
floor where blood drops are found. Following the lines where they intersect will show
investigators where the victim was at when the drops were created. For the area of
origin, investigators use a similar method but height calculations are also included.
This creates a 3-D estimation of the victims location when the blood drops
occurred. For example, if the area of origin is only two feet above the area of
convergence, an analyst would presume the victim was sitting or lying down on the
floor. This analysis requires use of a protractor, mathematical calculations or
computer models.