Summary

In this activity, students are challenged to solve forensic chemistry themed clues in order to complete a crossword puzzle.

Grade Level

High school

Objectives

By the end of this activity, students should be able to

• Explain how fundamental chemistry practices can be applied to a forensic investigation.
• Recognize that forensic scientists use chemistry techniques to analyze evidence.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

• Real-word connections
• Interdisciplinary topics (forensic science)

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal

Lesson: 20-30 minutes

Materials

• Forensic chemistry crossword puzzle

Safety

• No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

• The Forensic Science Teacher Magazine created this Forensic Chemistry themed crossword puzzle to appear in the September 2016 issue of Chemistry Solutions.
• The Forensic Science Teacher Magazine is a fantastic free resource for science teachers. Over 25 issues of this magazine have been published, each containing classroom-ready resources for teachers! Check out their website, www.theforensicteacher.com, to find helpful links, mini-mysteries, how-to guides and much more.
• This puzzle was developed in hopes of being used in chemistry classrooms to promote the ACS National Chemistry Week 2016 theme Solving Mysteries through Chemistry.
• This activity could be used as a research opportunity in a typical chemistry class, so that students have the opportunity to learn about the many real-world applications of chemistry.