Last Tuesday, September 16th, Forensic Science students turned on their hot plates and put hot dogs to the test. As a part of their CSI unit, they explored the concept of algor mortis, the process of body cooling after death, and learned how to estimate time of death using temperature changes. Instead of using real tissue, they used hot dogs to simulate the effects in a hands-on- lab.
“I felt a little weird doing it at first,” said Junior Daffodil Aitkens, “but I realized how accurate it could be when learning about determining a person’s time of death. I learned about Livor Mortis, which is when the blood settles on the side the person was lying on. For example, if there are red spots on their back but they’re found lying on their stomach, that shows their body had been moved after death.”
