MATHEMATICS IA

ANANYA GS
9A
TABLE OF CONTENTS

AIM

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

RESEARCH QUESTION

FORMULAE

HYPOTHESIS

CORRELATION DATA COLLECTION

CALCULATING CORRELATION

CORRELATION GRAPH

ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
AIM
Watching movies with deaths and murders involved had
always got me thinking, how did the police find out when the
death or murder happened? In this Internal Assessment, I will
be investigating how the temperature of a dead body can be
used to calculate the time of death.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses hot and
cold. It is the manifestation of thermal energy, present in all
matter, which is the source of the occurrence of heat, a flow
of energy when a body is in contact with another that is
colder or hotter. Temperature is measured with a
thermometer.
SI Unit: Kelvin
Unit of measurement: degrees Celsius (°C )

Temperature is a major factor in all living organisms. Constant

body temperature is maintained in a human body and when
the person dies, temperatures drop in the body which makes
it very cold and makes the body turn a bluish or purplish-red
 color.
A dead body is also known as a corpse.
The temperature of a corpse is always important as it can
determine the time of death of a person. A lot of researchers
and scientists use this method to come up with an easier
strategy to catch murderers and tell the approximate time of
death.
Temperature is not the only thing that determines the time of
death or murder.
• Rigor Mortis Status
• Degree of Body Decomposition

• Stomach Contents

• Eye Condition

• Skin Condition

• Blood Pooling

• Oral Conditions

All of these are used to measure the time of death by the

forensic witness.

RESEARCH QUESTION
Investigating how the body temperature can be used to
determine the time of death.

FORMULAE
Body Temperature (98°F) – Rectal Temperature / 1.5

1.5°F is being lost by the dead body every 1 hour.

The answer this formula gives will be in hours. It will depict

how many hours it has been since the person had died.
WHAT IS RECTAL TEMPERATURE?
Rectal thermometry is taking a person's temperature by
inserting a thermometer into the rectum via the anus. This is
generally regarded as the most accurate means of
temperature-taking, but some may consider it to be an
invasive or humiliating procedure.

HYPOTHESIS

H0: The temperature of the dead body is not affected by time.

H1: The temperature of the dead body reduces 1.5 degrees
every hour.

CORRELATION DATA COLLECTION

51.8°F is the common rectal temperature for corpses / dead

bodies.

98-51.8/1.5

CALCULATING CORRELATION
98-51.8/1.5 = 46.2/1.5
=46.2 hours
= 1.28 days

So this confirms that the person died 1.925 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 51.8°F.
98-50/1.5=48/1.5
=32 hours
=1.33 days

So this confirms that the person died 1.33 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 50°F.

98-45/1.5=53/1.5
=35.33 hours
=1.47 days

So this confirms that the person died 1.47 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 45°F.

98-0/1.5=98/1.5
=65.33 hours
=2.72 days

So this confirms that the person died 2.72 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 0°F.
98-2.3/1.5=95.7/1.5
=63.8 hours
=2.65 days

So this confirms that the person died 2.65 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 2.3°F.
98-4.9/1.5=93.1/1.5
=93.1/1.5
=62.06 hours
=2.59 days

So this confirms that the person died 2.59 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 4.9°F.

98-30/1.5=68/1.5
=45.33 hours
=1.89 days

So this confirms that the person died 1.89 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 30°F.

98-23/1.5=75/1.5
=50 hours
=2.08 days

So this confirms that the person died 2.08 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 23°F.
98-17/1.5=81/1.5
=54 hours
=2.25 days

So this confirms that the person died 2.25 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 17°F.
98-37/1.5=61/1.5
=40.66 hours
=1.69 days

So this confirms that the person died 1.69 days ago, this was
calculated using the body temperature which was 37°F.

TABLE
RECTAL TEMPERATURE HOW MANY DAYS AGO
THE PERSON DIED
51.8°F 1.28
50°F 1.33
45°F 1.47
0°F 2.72
2.3°F 2.65
4.9°F 2.59
 30°F 1.89
23°F 2.08
17°F 2.25
37°F 1.69

GRAPH

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
51.8 50 45 0 2.3 4.9 30 23 17 37

X-axis - Rectal temperature

Y-axis – How many days ago the person died.

ANALYSIS

The coldest rectal temperature was 0°F which also gave the
highest days the person was dead. The hottest temperature
was 51.8°F which also gave the least days the person was
dead. So this tells us that the colder the temperature is the
longer the body has been dead.

CONCLUSION
The formula is very simple to use and calculate but there are
always factors affecting the experiment. Here I have
considered the factors to be constant. That the ambient
temperature hasn’t changed since the death or that the
victim was discovered clothed and in the air rather than a
bathtub full of water. As per the results I have calculated,
most dead bodies that are around a day old will have a
sudden drop in body temperature.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/how-is-time-of-death-determined
for-a-crime-scene-victim-hint-it-usually-involves-maggots
• https://www.google.com/search?q=temperature+definition&rlz=1C1CH
ZN_enIN942IN942&biw=1707&bih=849&sxsrf=AOaemvLkPrKvm2He2kD
89TSo09YuuVXk1Q%3A1635703342279&ei=Ltp-YcKxEJ2a4-
EPzaut0Ag&oq=temperature+def&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIICAA
QsQMQkQIyBQgAEJECMgUIABCRAjIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDI
FCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQ6BwgjEOoCECc6BAgjECc
6BAgAEEM6CggAELEDEIMBEEM6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOgcIABCxAxBDOg
o
IABCxAxDJAxBDOgUIABCSAzoICAAQgAQQsQM6DQgAEIAEEIcCELEDEBR
K
BAhBGABQkw9Yo0Jg8k1oAXACeACAAZIBiAG4C5IBAzkuNpgBAKABAbAB
CsABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEuJhFWs6E
• https://theforensicdoc.com/how-does-a-forensic-witness-determine
the-time-of-death/