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Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Investigation

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a. RATIONALE:
It’s not uncommon to find bloodstains at a crime scene, especially if a violent crime has been committed. These bloodstains are crucial for forensic scientists because, when analyzed, they can fill in details about the crime that was committed and even help investigators solve the case. Each bloodstain is distinctive and it’s size and shape is dependant upon several factors like velocity, location, and angle of impact. For this experiment, I will be investigating bloodstain pattern analysis, or BPA for short. Specifically, I will examining how impact angle affects the size and shape of a blood spatter. This experiment, but more generally, BPA as a discipline is important to maintain the foundation of the judicial system. This may seem like a bit of an exaggeration, but it isn’t. BPA allows criminal investigators to gain a better understanding of the scenario that occurred at a crime scene by analyzing the distinct blood spatters left behind. With this information, the investigators are then able to …show more content…

I will be attempting to answer the question of how does the impact angle affect the size and shape of a low velocity blood spatter? Going into my experiment, I believe that, as the angle of impact decreases, the elongation of a low velocity blood spatter will increase and the spines and satellites of the spatter will become more focused on the side opposite the angle of impact due to the gravitational force acting upon the blood spatter. Therefore, I expect that, if the impact angle is 90°, the blood spatter will be nearly spherical. The closer to zero that the impact angle becomes, the more oval-like I will expect the spatter will become (i.e. it will become longer and narrower). I also expect to see a distinct, though possibly small, change in shape at each level of the independent variable because each consecutive variable will vary by

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