Teacher Guide: Fingerprinting

Learning Objectives
Students will …
 Discover how to search for and collect fingerprints.
 Distinguish between patent, plastic, and latent prints.
 Classify fingerprints according to main pattern and subgroup.
 Identify the various types of minutiae found in fingerprints.
 Match prints collected at a crime scene to those of a suspect.

Vocabulary
accidental whorl, arch, central pocket loop whorl, double loop whorl,
fingerprint, fingerprint powder, latent print, loop, minutiae, patent
print, plain arch, plain whorl, plastic print, radial loop, tented arch,
ulnar loop, whorl

Lesson Overview
The Fingerprinting Gizmo introduces students to the science of
fingerprint classification. Students will first learn how to identify
and collect prints from a crime scene. Next, they will classify prints
into groups and subgroups. Finally, students will use minutiae
(small details) to match collected prints from the crime scene to
suspect prints.

The Student Exploration sheet contains three activities:

 Activity A – Students collect fingerprints at a simulated crime scene.
 Activity B – Students classify fingerprints according to main pattern and subgroup.
 Activity C – Students identify minutiae and match collected prints to suspect prints.

Suggested Lesson Sequence

1. Pre-Gizmo activity: Three types of prints ( 10–20 minutes)

Students can make each of the three types of fingerprints—plastic, patent, and latent. To
make a plastic print, give each student a soft substance such as clay, playdough, or
putty. Direct students to firmly press their thumb into the material. A clear impression of
their fingerprint will be visible. To form a patent print, ask students to place their fingers
in finger paint (or any other non-toxic, washable colored liquid), wipe off excess fluid,
and then gently touch a piece of white paper. The fingerprint should be clearly visible.

Making a latent print is easy—ask students to press down firmly on a smooth, hard
surface such as a tabletop or a drinking glass. There is a good chance a print will be left
behind but one that will not be visible to the naked eye. Latent prints can be revealed by
dusting with fingerprint powder, which sticks to the oils that make up the print.
Fingerprint powder is available at scientific or hobby supply stores or you can substitute
baby powder, cocoa powder, or a mixture of corn starch and soot.

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 2. Prior to using the Gizmo ( 10 – 15 minutes)
Before students are at the computers, pass out the Student Exploration sheets and ask
them to complete the Prior Knowledge Questions. Discuss student answers as a class,
but do not provide correct answers at this point. Afterwards, if possible, use a projector
to introduce the Gizmo and demonstrate its basic operations.

3. Gizmo activities ( 15 – 20 minutes per activity)

Assign students to computers. Students can work individually or in small groups. Ask
students to work through the activities in the Student Exploration using the Gizmo.
Alternatively, you can use a projector and do the Exploration as a teacher-led activity.

4. Discussion questions ( 15 – 30 minutes)

As students are working or just after they are done, discuss the following questions:
 Are each of the fingerprints on your hands the same or different? [No two
fingerprints are identical, not even those from the same hand.]
 What causes latent fingerprints to be left behind? [Latent prints are composed of
the oily residue and sweat produced by glands beneath the skin.]
 How can you distinguish between arches, loops, and whorls? [For arches, the
ridges enter on one side of the print and exit on the other. For loops, the ridges
enter and exit on the same side. Whorls are formed from concentric circles or
combinations of other patterns, such as double loops.]
 Fingerprinting is a valuable tool, but can’t solve every crime. What are the
limitations of using fingerprints as evidence? [Fingerprints may not be left behind
if the criminal wears gloves, wipes surfaces down, or doesn’t touch a smooth
surface. Fingerprints can prove that a person was at a crime scene, but cannot
establish when they were there or whether they actually committed the crime.]

5. Follow-up activities: Model a crime scene ( varies)

Using an ink pad, have each student record their own set of fingerprints on a sheet of
paper or an index card. Ask students to classify the group and subgroup of each of their
prints. Collect class data and create a bar graph or pie chart to represent the frequency
of each fingerprint type in the class. Compare these frequencies to national averages
(about 65% loops, 25% simple whorls, 5% composite whorls, and 5% arches).

Next, create a “crime scene” in your classroom, similar to the Gizmo. Choose one
student to secretly leave a variety of patent, plastic, and latent prints in the room. Then,
have the other students collect and classify the crime scene prints. Students can then
use minutiae to match the collected prints to the “suspect” prints collected earlier.

Scientific Background:
No two fingerprints in the world are alike, not even those of identical twins. This singular fact has
helped to make fingerprinting the most widely used technique in the world for apprehending
criminals – more crimes have been solved using fingerprints than by any other method. The
Chinese were the first to use fingerprints in any legal capacity, using them to sign important
documents 3,000 years ago. But it was not until 1910 that fingerprints would be used to make a
conviction in the U.S., when a man was found guilty of murder after his prints were discovered
in wet paint at the crime scene.

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Fingerprints are composed of friction ridges. These ridges help people grasp objects without
dropping them. Humans are not the only animals with fingerprints – koalas, chimpanzees, and
gorillas also have fingerprints. In humans, fingerprints begin to develop in the womb about ten
weeks after conception and are fully formed when the fetus is about six months old. They
remain unchanged during a person’s lifetime. Attempts to remove one’s fingerprints inevitably
fail, as 1930s gangster John Dillinger discovered when he attempted to erase his fingerprints
using acid. (Enough of Dillinger’s prints remained undamaged to still allow identification.)

Fingerprints can be divided into three main patterns: arches, loops, and whorls. In an arch, the
ridges begin on one side of the print and if traced can be seen to exit on the opposite side. The
ridges of loops, on the other hand, begin and end on the same side of the print. Whorls are
divided into four categories. Plain whorls consist of concentric circles. Central pocket loop
whorls consist of concentric circles within a loop. Double loop whorls are composed of two loops
meeting like a yin-yang symbol, and accidental whorls are prints that have two or more patterns
combined. Loops make up about 65% of all prints, whorls about 30%, and arches about 5%.

When an object is touched, the pattern of the fingerprint is often left behind. This transfer can
occur in several different ways. If a fingerprint makes an impression in a soft object (like clay or
butter), a plastic print is formed. Patent prints are formed when a person touches a liquid, such
as blood, and then transfers that liquid to another surface. Latent prints are composed of oils
transferred from the skin to a smooth surface. Invisible to the naked eye, latent prints can be
revealed by dusting with fingerprint dust or other substances.

History Connection: Using fingerprints to catch criminals

While fingerprints were used to sign contracts and other documents in many ancient cultures,
their modern use in criminal forensics did not begin until the 19th century. Starting in 1788,
various studies gradually established that fingerprints were unique to each individual and could
be used for identification. In 1882 Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, established the
fingerprint classification system still used today. But despite the suggestions of many scientists,
police departments resisted the idea of collecting and matching fingerprints.

In 1891, an Argentinian police chief named Juan Vucetich was the first to begin collecting
fingerprints from criminals. The next year, a young mother named Francisca Rojas was found
bleeding from her throat and her two children brutally murdered. A protégé of Vucetich’s,
Inspector Eduardo Alvárez, found a bloody thumbprint on the door of the crime scene that he
matched to Rojas. As a result, Rojas confessed to murdering her children and became the first
criminal to be arrested and convicted based on fingerprint evidence.

Selected Web Resources

Collecting fingerprints: https://ncforensics.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/techniques-for-collecting-
and-analyzing-fingerprints/
Fingerprint classification: https://www.livingston.org/cms/lib9/NJ01000562/Centricity/Domain/
781/NCIC%20Fingerprint%20Classification%2014.pdf
Fingerprinting activities: http://sciencemadefunsg.net/downloads/fingerprinting.pdf,
https://betterlesson.com/lesson/641955/caught-red-handed-fingerprint-analysis
History of fingerprinting: https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/fingerprintsourcebkchp5.pdf
Francisca Rojas case: https://www.obscurehistories.com/fingerprinting
DNA Profiling Gizmo: https://www.explorelearning.com/gizmo/id?1092
Mystery Powder Gizmo: https://www.explorelearning.com/gizmo/id?433

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