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Name ______________________

Fingerprinting Exercises

Fingerprinting Exercise #1 - Pencil Smudge

On a separate sheet of paper, make a pencil smudge. Rub your right thumb in the smudge. Gently press transparent tape over your right thumb, and then gently remove the tape. Place the tape in the appropriate box below. Repeat the procedure with the rest of your fingers. Label your prints ache, loop, or whorl.

Right Hand

Left Hand

Fingerprinting Exercise #2 - Inkpad

Using an inkpad, take a fingerprint of the pointer finger of each member of your group, as well as your own pointer finger. To do this, you will need to firmly grasp the other person's hand. Roll the finger from left to right over the inkpad. While still holding the person's hand and finger, transfer the print to the chart by placing the left side of the finger on the chart, rolling the finger to the right, and then lifting the finger STRAIGHT up to avoid smearing the print. Label each box with the person's name.

___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Fingerprinting Exercise #3 - Dusting for latent prints

Group members will need to place a latent print of their pointer finger on a piece of Plexiglas. To do this, rub your finger across your nose or through your hair, and then touch the Plexiglas. As a group, collect the Plexiglas sheets, mix them up, and then hand out the Plexiglas to your group so no one knows whose print they have.

To dust for the fingerprint, place a small paintbrush into the Cocoa powder. GENTLY brush this over the Plexiglas where you think the print is located. In order to prevent the fingerprint from smearing, gently twist and lift the paintbrush as you dust the area for the print. When you have located the fingerprint and it is visible from the dusting, "lift" it by GENTLY placing a piece of tape over the print. Press down on the tape to transfer the print, and then gently remove the tape from the Plexiglas. Place the tape onto the box below. Based on Exercise #2, identify the type of fingerprint pattern and determine whose print you have.

 

Fingerprint Pattern: _____________________

Name : _______________________________