Examine your fingerprints using every day items. What shapes can you see in your fingerprints?
What you need:
- white paper
- sticky tape
- pencil
- magnifying glass (optional)
What to do:
- Colour squares on a piece of paper using a grey lead pencil. These should be larger than your finger.
- Rub the tip on your finger in the pencil colourings until your entire fingerprint is covered with pencil.
- Tape a piece of sticky tape and smooth it over your fingerprint.
- Peel off the sticky tape and stick it on a piece of white paper. You should be able to see the print left by the finger.
- If you have a magnifying glass, use it to look at the fingerprint. What shapes can you see in the print?
What happens:
There are different shapes within fingerprints, including arches, loops and whorls. Everyone has different fingerprints, even identical twins. Fingerprints are formed in the womb, creating lines that are sometimes called “friction ridges”. When we touch things, the oils on our skin leave behind invisible prints in the shapes of these lines. Police can find and examine these prints and match them to people’s fingers to determine if they committed crimes.
Back to Home Science activities.