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Home » How Fingerprints Differ

How Fingerprints Differ

By Janice VanCleave

Fingerprints

Zoology is a study about people and animals.

Fingerprints are grooved patterns on the tips of the fingers. Everyone’s fingerprints are different, so they can be used for identification.


Zoology Project Ideas

Purpose: To discover how these variables affect fingerprint patterns:

* Different fingers on the same hand.

* Fingers on right and left hand.

* Different family members.

Clues: How to collect fingerprints.

1.Press your finger against an ink pad or mark on a piece of paper with a pencil and rub your finger tip across the marking.
2. Press the sticky part of a piece of transparent tape across the colored part of your finger.
3.Remove the tape and stick it to a piece of white paper.

How to Identify Fingerprints

Compare collected fingerprints to the three basic patterns shown here.


The ridges and val
leys of fingerprints form three basic patterns: loops (left), whirls (center), and arches (right).


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Filed Under: Science Projects Tagged With: fingerprints, science fair project tips

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