CSI Algebra - Using Formulae & Linear Regression

Here's a real life crime scene application of algebra and statistics for your students....

Human skeletal remains have been found on a construction site. Most of the bones have been crushed leaving only a pelvis, femur and tooth for students to examine. Students must identify who the remains belong to using their knowledge of formulae and linear regression. A task involving the normal distribution is optional (see further details below).

What comes with this resource:
- Teacher Guide
- Workstation task sheets (data & photo provided for the femur task)
- Workstation signs
- Answer sheet
- Missing person database

The activity involves 3 tasks:

★ The Tooth - Students will use a formula and measurements from the tooth to determine the age of the individual.

★ The Femur - Students will be given a sample dataset of human heights and femur lengths. They must produce a linear regression model relating femur length to height. Students will then have to measure the femur found at the site (photo provided) and use their regression model to predict height.

★ The Pelvis - Students will use a formula and measurements of the pelvis to determine sex. There is the option to replace this task with one that uses z-scores and the normal distribution. Two worksheets for the pelvis are therefore provided but only one worksheet is needed for the activity.


Here are some other crime scene activities you may be interested in:
Crime Scene Algebra - Writing & Using Formulae
Crime Scene Algebra - Using Formulae & Quadratic Equations