Maths: The Math of Forensics - Unit 3 Assessment

Math of Forensics - Application Assignment

This is an application assignment, meaning we have to apply math to a real-life situation. In this assignment, we are applying math to forensics - the study of crime scene evidence. There are different "branches" of forensics, such as DNA, fingerprinting, car accidents, ballistics (gun-shots).

There were three different parts to it. The first is about the length of bones in our bodies. We were to measure the length of some (fake paper) bones from the different body parts of a "dead person". Then, we were to use math equations for men and women and compare it to the provided measurements of bones of three people. Afterwards, we were to hypothesise whom the bones belonged to and explain. I did very bad on this part since I forgot to take it home the day before this part was due, and so I didn't finish even half of it.

The second part is about a car accident. We received another booklet and we were to follow the instructions of an online activity. We examined car(drawing)s - how and where they are damaged; took notes from (cartoon) witnesses; substituted our (online) measurements into equations to find collision speeds and impact forces on people.

The third part is a "crime scene" that was set up at school by the teacher to represent the road the road outside the school. For this part, we made measurements of tire marks and the distance between body and point of collision. Next, we read some short "witness statements" and took important notes. Afterwards, we substituted our measurements into formulas involving drag factors and brake percentages. The formulas were complicated so we didn't really learn what's behind them. But for this part, we had to understand them a little more to find the thinking distance, and what how long would he need to brake before the pedestrian if he wasn't speeding.

I got 7 for KU, 5 for Comm, 3- for App. I didn't do very well for application because I didn't finish the first part so I couldn't hypothesise with the mathematical data. And I didn't have enough time to answer "would the car have collided with the pedestrian". They were the main parts where math was applied the real life situations to find solutions. But I didn't do them. So I didn't do very well on this assignment. I think I will remember to take my work home to finish and be more responsible. I will also try to work quicker the next time and arrange my time better.