Transcript Case of the Hooded Murder

Lord Robert Lancaster’s body – with a
long dagger protruding from the
chest- lay sprawled in his library. A
draft of Lord Robert’s new will, which
would have disinherited his family
and left his vast fortune to charity,
was still on his desk. The will was not
signed so his nieces and nephews
would inherit his money and property.
Who Killed Lord Lancaster?
Living things reproduce and transmit traits to their offspring and theories of genes and
heredity explain the unity and diversity within species. Knowledge of genetics, heredity and
technology is applied to improve agriculture, human health and solve problems.
Key:
Brunette hair (AA or Aa)
Red hair (aa)
Free Ear lobes (EE or Ee)
Attached ear lobes (ee)
Lord Peter and Lady Violet
Lancaster
Lord
Rober
t
Mark Manchester
William Lancaster
By George, I think
they’ve solved it.
Julian Lancaster
The Dickens you
say!
Charles
Lancaster
CSI – Cell Scene Investigators:
Fact or Fiction
1. Man is the highest of the animals; therefore, he has the most chromosomes.
2. An injury suffered in an accident will be passed on to one’s children.
3. If your parents both have brown eyes, you will certainly have brown eyes.
4. You have inherited traits from individuals who are not your parents such as your
aunt or uncle.
5. Hereditary traits are carried from parent to child through the blood.
CSI – Cell Scene Investigators:
Fact or Fiction
6. Each person inherits exactly half of his genetic makeup from each parent.
7. You inherit more from your mother if you are a girl.
8. A parent may give a trait to his child without ever having the trait himself.
9. If you resemble one parent more than the other, you probably inherited more
from that parent.
10. You have all the hereditary traits you are ever going to have at birth.
Keeley, P., F. Eberle, and J. Tugel. 2007 Uncovering student ideas in science:
25 more formative assessment probes. Arlington, VA: NSTA press.
Life Science Assessment Probe
Seif’s pet mouse had babies. Five of the babies were black and two were white. The father mouse was black. The mother mouse
was white. Seif and his friends wondered why the mice were different colors. These were their ideas:
Jerome:
Baby mice inherit more traits (genes) from their fathers than their mothers.
Alexa:
The baby mice got half their traits (genes) from their father and half from their
June:
Male traits (genes) are stronger than female genes.
Seif:
Black mice have more traits (genes) than white mice.
Fiona:
The black baby mice are probably male and the white baby mice are probably
mice are probably female.
Lydia:
Parent’s traits (genes) like fur color don’t matter – nature decides what something
Billy:
Blood type determines what traits (genes) babies will have.
Which friend do you most agree with and why? Explain your thinking.
mother.
male and the white baby
will look like.
The Case of the Hooded Murderer
Court Records
Last Will and
Testament
________________________
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Narrator: The Lancasters were a large, wealthy British
family. Lord Robert’s brothers and sisters had all died
before him, and he never married. But he was scarcely
alone. His twelve nieces and nephews had moved into
the houses on the family estate. Lord Robert
Lancaster’s body was discovered by his nephew- Julian,
who was taken from the scene in handcuffs.
Letter from Julian Lancaster
Inspector Watson,
I am writing this letter in a most bereaved state
of mind. I find myself in the most precarious
position of having to defend my honor against
the insidious accusation that I have taken the
life of my most beloved uncle, Lord Robert
Lancaster. ‘Tis true, he had no children of his
own to leave his vast fortune to; however, the
thought of murder never entered my mind.
Uncle had shown me a copy of his will and I
must say, I faired very well. I assure you, Good
Sir, I am innocent. I beg thee; please assist our
local police in apprehending the true culprit. My
Penelope awaits me, for we are to be married once
I receive my inheritance.
Sincerely,
Julian Lancaster
P.S. I am not the only Lancaster with red hair!
The Case of the Hooded Murderer
Court Records
Last Will and
Testament
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________________________
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Narrator: Inspector Watson received Julian’s letter and decided to
do a background investigation. Inspector Watson had once
planned to be a biologist; however, his passion for mystery won out.
His special interest was genetics and heredity. He was particularly
interested in the Lancaster murder because of certain patterns of
inherited traits in the family. This is his response:
Watson’s Reply
Dear Julian,
I find your situation most intriguing; therefore,
Mr. Holmes and I shall arrive at the Lancaster
mansion by early morning to begin our official
investigation.
Sincerely,
Inspector Watson
Engage Your Brain
What are your initial thoughts about
this scenario?
List the facts that you have been
given.
List the information you need to
continue with hypotheses
generation.
Mr. Holmes and Watson arrived at the home of
Lord Robert Lancaster early morning as promised. As Watson
explained to Holmes, ”Old Lord Peter (Lord Robert’s father) is
shown over the fireplace. As a young man, he had bright red
hair. His wife Violet, was a brunette. Half their children,
including the late Lord Robert, had red hair the others were
brunettes. As only a recessive pair of genes (aa) will produce
red hair, each of Lord Peter’s children received an (a) gene
from him.”
Watson went on, We know Lady Violet had (A) genes
because she was a brunette, and even one (A) gene will
produce brown hair. But Lady Violet must have been
heterozygous (Aa) because half her children had red hair.
Lord Peter Lancaster and Lady Violet Lancaster
Explore This:
What are recessive genes? What are dominant genes?
When representing genes, how are recessive genes differentiated
from dominant genes?
Why are two letters used to represent a trait, i.e. (aa) for red hair?
What is the rule for expressing recessive genes?
Why is only one (A) gene necessary to produce brunette hair?
What does it mean for an individual to be heterozygous for a trait?
What does it mean for an individual to be homozygous for a trait?
How would you represent homozygous dominant genes?
How would you represent homozygous recessive genes?
How can you use this information to help you solve the murder?
Prepare a vocabulary foldable.
What other information do you need to proceed?
Our Story Continues…….
The Maid’s Account of the Mystery
Do I dare tell
the truth?
Narrator: In questioning the family servants, Inspector Watson
found a witness to the murder, a maid who heard a groan from
the library. Afraid to go in, she had peep through the keyhole
and seen someone in a long hooded cape.
“I couldn’t even tell whether it was a man or woman sir.
But I did see a bit of red hair sticking out from under the
hood. The person had a nervous habit of pulling on one
earlobe, which I noticed was not an attached ear lobe.”
By George, we both have attached
ears lobes!
“Aha” said Watson. “Earlobes, also, owe their
attachments to one pair of genes. A person who is
homozygous dominant (EE) or heterozygous (Ee)
has free earlobes, and someone who is homozygous
recessive (ee) has attached earlobes.”
“The PLOT Thickens”
Court Records
Last Will and
Testament
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________________________
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Narrator: The inspector began drawing up a chart of the Lancaster family,
using portraits and family albums. Some information was not available, but he
learned three important pieces of information. First, old Lord Peter Lancaster
had free ear lobes. Second, Lady Violet had attached ear lobes. Third, some of
their children had attached ear lobes.
By a strange coincidence, Lord Robert’s brothers and sisters had all married
persons having attached ear lobes. Unfortunately, no pictures of the suspects
were available, and Inspector Watson had not yet met them in person. The
servants could not remember whether the suspects had free or attached
earlobes, but of course they knew which had red hair and which were brunettes.
Watson added that information to the chart.
Explain Your Thoughts!
How does this change your list of facts?
What hypotheses can you form now?
What information would you like to have now?
What type of chart could Inspector Watson have created to show
family traits?
Analyze Watson’s chart and identify likely suspects.
Elaborate on your logic…
Who Killed Lord Robert Lancaster?
You and your team represent Julian’s defense team.
Unfortunately, Inspector Watson has no Jurisdiction
in your district. You must take Inspector Watson’s
chart and prepare statistical data that proves Julian’s
innocence. In order for Julian to obtain his
inheritance and pay your fee, you must provide
statistical data that proves who murdered Lord
Lancaster. Finally, in your closing statement, you
must provide a plausible scenario that explains any
discrepancies between your suspect and the details
provided by the eyewitness.
The Jury Renders the Verdict…
We must correct this
mistake…
Heredity KWL
Prepare a KWL foldable indicating
what You know about genetics and
heredity and DNA. After the
opening activity complete what you
would like to know about heredity.
Start your heredity foldable…
(Explore Activity)
Explore activity: Use the notes presented by Watson and the pedigree chart to answer the
Explore questions.
Prepare a vocabulary foldable
Hands on: How do genes show in offspring?
Lab: Can Chromosomes be seen? (Remedial)
Lab: Do all corn seeds have genes for becoming green plants? (Grade level)
Lab: How do genes show in offspring of drosophila? (Extension)
Use pictures to represent the following heredity
vocabulary:
Dominant gene, Recessive gene, Pure dominant,
Pure recessive, genotype, phenotype, Punnett
square, pedigree