Genetics Science Fair Projects On The Effect of Fingerprint Similarity

Fingerprint Science Fair Project Tips

To get the best fingerprints possible you will want to perfect your fingerprinting technique before you start your experiment. You can also improve your fingerprint samples by wiping down each finger with an alcohol swab before you press the finger in the ink. This will help to eliminate body oils and debris that can impact the inks permiability.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the similarity of fingerprints between siblings and non-siblings.

I became interested in this idea when I was looking at my sister’s and my fingerprints last year and I noticed how they looked a little bit alike.

The information gained from this experiment could help police to determine criminal’s fingerprints by looking at some of their family member’s. If my hypothesis is correct it could also help orphans find their biological parents.

HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis was that siblings would have a higher percentage of similar type fingerprints than people who are unrelated.

I based my hypothesis on an article I found in World Book Online by John Thornton. He stated, “Although no two fingerprints are alike, families have the same style of fingerprints (loops, whirls, arch, or abstract).”

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were:
• Same fingerprinting tools used
• Same finger used for printing
• Same jewelers’ loupe used for studying
• Same method of printing

The manipulated variable was the hereditary relationship of the subjects.

The responding variable was the similarity of the fingerprints.

To measure the responding variable, I classified the fingerprints and compared the similarity for people who are biologically related to those who are not.

MATERIALS

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