This class runs in two periods and they do not do the same lesson on the same day. You are reading the Period 6A-7B calendar, the one with John Carroll bioethics on Mondays.
Scene documentation lab
Safety gate · before any work
- Treat all biological trace samples (hair, fiber) as potentially hazardous: wear gloves when handling and do not touch your face.
- Used forceps must be placed in the designated container between uses; never lay them on the table surface.
- Microscope slides are glass: handle with care; report any breakage immediately and use the sharps disposal container.
Do now
Document a mock crime scene to SOP standard and examine trace evidence under magnification with a team.
- Hand in
- Team scene packet: one photo with scale marker, scaled sketch with orientation, completed evidence log, microscopy sketch at two magnifications, and one contamination risk noted.
- Where
- Submit this on the class form named on this page. The form requires the student's district Microsoft sign-in. The thank-you page is the submission receipt. A physical handoff counts only when the day page names that route. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not count as submitted.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
If the form offers you a saved draft, choose New draft. If the Assignment box comes up empty, type it exactly: Scene documentation lab
Your team has ten minutes to document a mock scene and lift one fiber. If the photographer forgets the scale marker, does the sketcher's perfect drawing still hold up?
Document a mock crime scene to SOP standard and examine under magnification with a team.
- • I can document a scene following an SOP with my team.
- • I can describe observed under magnification.
- Name two things that must appear in every scene photograph so the image can be measured later.
- Why do you record the microscope magnification next to any sketch you make of a fiber or hair?
- 1Read the scene SOP and assign roles: photographer, sketcher, logger.
- 2Photograph and sketch the scene with a scale marker and orientation note.
- 3Collect and label , recording each item in the evidence log.
- 4Examine a trace sample (fiber or hair) under magnification and describe it.
- 5Record one limitation of your documentation and one possible source.
What did this day actually feel like?
Scene documentation lab
TEAM LAB Mock crime scene, and this one was a genuine team job with assigned roles. Photographer, sketcher, logger. I was the logger, which sounded like the boring one and turned out to be the one everybody depends on, because if the log does not match the photographs then none of it holds together.
We had a problem. Our photographer shot the whole scene before our sketcher had set the scale marker, so the first set of photos had no reference for size. We did not catch it until the sketch did not match. We had to decide whether to reshoot, which meant admitting we had already disturbed the scene, or note the limitation honestly in the log. We reshot and logged both, which took most of the period and meant our packet was rushed.
Mr. Mendoza said that was the most useful mistake in the room, because the fix was not better photography, it was talking to each other before starting. We had three people working in parallel and nobody sequencing.
Turned in: team scene packet → Lab Reports folder, with each of our roles on the cover
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
I was the logger. It sounded like the boring job. Then our photographer shot the whole scene before the scale marker was set, and the sketch did not match.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
🛠 Get unstuck · pick your level
Lab day: Tier 1 is the whole class at the bench. No extension today.
🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
🧭 Everything on this day
PBS Unit 1 is one case, not twenty topics. A woman was found dead at home, and you are the team that has to work out how she died. You get the evidence in pieces, in the order a real investigation would get it, and you are not told the answer at any point.
You build the scene record: sketch, photographs with a scale marker, and an evidence log. What you write down here is what a court would eventually see, so a gap in the record is a gap in the case.
- Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene
Look this up in myPLTW to check you are in the right place.
What you cannot claim in this case, on any day
- A physiological chart records breathing and heart rate. It does not measure lying, and nothing in this unit produces a deception call.
- Microscopic hair comparison can support consistency or support exclusion. It cannot identify a person.
- A fingerprint pattern class can narrow a field or exclude a person. By itself it cannot name a source, and it never says when or why a finger touched something.
- A scheduled event is not proof that a person was there. Time of death is not established by the early evidence.
- Repeating a measurement reduces random error. It does not remove a calibration offset, a shared bias, contamination, or a weak method.
Where the case record itself lives: the case file, the source packet and the timeline are PLTW materials and are handed out on paper in class. They are not posted here.
Do the work · 80-minute blockfirst 5 min = hook▸
💡 Big idea: Scene documentation works only as a team SOP, because a missing scale marker, unlogged item, or unrecorded magnification anywhere breaks the chain and weakens everyone's evidence.
- 0:00Assign or confirm roles; review scene SOP as a class; set expectations for handling
- 0:10Scene documentation: teams photograph and sketch scene (do not touch items yet)
- 0:25Evidence collection: log each item, bag, and seal with team signatures on custody label
- 0:40Microscopy station: examine assigned trace sample; sketch at 40x and 100x with magnification labeled
- 1:00Record one documentation limitation and one risk in lab notebook
- 1:10Scene packet review as a class; preview Thursday analysis
- • You have your roles assigned from Tuesday. Today is the real thing: a mock scene is set up in the room, and your team has exactly 15 minutes to document it correctly before collection begins.
- • Your photographer cannot move a single item. Your sketcher must include a scale marker and mark which direction is north. Your logger must fill in every field on the evidence log before the collector bags anything.
- • We will also get our first look at under the microscope. Trace evidence is the invisible record left behind at every scene, and the only way to see it is magnification.
- • Remember: if you skip a step in the SOP, it is not just a grade issue. In a real case, that evidence might not be usable.
- • Scale markers (rulers) and orientation notes (compass direction, room label) must appear in every scene photograph.
- • such as fibers and hair is collected with forceps into labeled, sealed bags and logged immediately on the evidence form.
- • Microscope magnification must be recorded with any sketch or observation so that scale can be interpreted later.
Unit 1.1 Investigating the Scene: Forensic scene documentation, evidence log, crime-scene sketch, trace evidence, biometric data. · Scene documentation lab
Day 3 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: In myPLTW, open Lesson 1.1 Investigating the Scene and go to Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene. Record your team roles and case number there before you touch the scene.
Mark Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene complete in myPLTW once your scene packet is logged.
You completed the evidence-log task Tuesday. Today your team's full scene packet (photos, sketch, evidence log) should be done before leaving.
Submitted scene packet including a photo with scale marker, a labeled sketch, and a completed evidence log.
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Submit this on the class form named on this page. The form requires the student's district Microsoft sign-in. The thank-you page is the submission receipt. A physical handoff counts only when the day page names that route. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not count as submitted.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 1.1 Investigating the Scene: Forensic scene documentation, evidence log, crime-scene sketch, trace evidence, biometric data. · Scene documentation lab
In myPLTW, open Lesson 1.1 Investigating the Scene and go to Activity 1.1.1 A Sketchy Scene. Record your team roles and case number there before you touch the scene.
You completed the evidence-log task Tuesday. Today your team's full scene packet (photos, sketch, evidence log) should be done before leaving.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Document a mock crime scene to SOP standard and examine under magnification with a team.
- Read the scene SOP and assign roles: photographer, sketcher, logger.
- Photograph and sketch the scene with a scale marker and orientation note.
- Collect and label , recording each item in the evidence log.
- Examine a trace sample (fiber or hair) under magnification and describe it.
- Record one limitation of your documentation and one possible source.
Lab report: Team scene packet: one photo with scale marker, scaled sketch with orientation, completed evidence log, microscopy sketch at two magnifications, and one risk noted.
Submit this on the class form named on this page. The form requires the student's district Microsoft sign-in. The thank-you page is the submission receipt. A physical handoff counts only when the day page names that route. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not count as submitted. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Read the scene SOP and assign roles: photographer, sketcher, logger. | _______ |
| Photograph and sketch the scene with a scale marker and orientation note. | _______ |
| Collect and label , recording each item in the evidence log. | _______ |
| Examine a trace sample (fiber or hair) under magnification and describe it. | _______ |
| Record one limitation of your documentation and one possible source. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- I can document a scene following an SOP with my team.
- I can describe observed under magnification.
- 1Do thisDocument a mock crime scene to SOP standard and examine trace evidence under magnification with a team.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisLab report: Team scene packet: one photo with scale marker, scaled sketch with orientation, completed evidence log, microscopy sketch at two magnifications, and one contamination risk noted.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the form. It must say For students at the top: if it says For parents and guardians, press Back and pick I am the student.
- 2If it offers you a saved draft, choose New draft: an old draft brings back the old assignment.
- 3Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 4Check the Assignment box says today's assignment from this page, then pick your period and type your student ID, all nine digits.
- 5Attach your file and press Submit. The thank-you page is your receipt.
Submit this on the class form named on this page. The form requires the student's district Microsoft sign-in. The thank-you page is the submission receipt. A physical handoff counts only when the day page names that route. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not count as submitted. Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science) › Unit 1.1 Investigating the Scene: Forensic scene documentation, evidence log, crime-scene sketch, trace evidence, biometric data. › Lab reportTurn it in
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
In science documentation is the evidence, because a record that is unsigned, undated, or out of sequence cannot be verified, so no documentation means no case.
Scene documentation works only as a team SOP, because a missing scale marker, unlogged item, or unrecorded magnification anywhere breaks the chain and weakens everyone's evidence.
A detective board holds observations, possible explanations, and one next question.
- Which notes are direct observations?
- Which notes are explanations?
- What new evidence would separate the explanations?
Keep observations separate from explanations, then collect the evidence that can distinguish the options.
Biomedical investigations use controlled procedures and validated measurements, not intuition alone.
- • Board notes map to the signs, results and measurements you recorded.
- • Possible explanations map to the competing biological causes.
- • The next question maps to the test or observation that would separate them.
Driving question: Your team has ten minutes to document a mock scene and lift one fiber. If the photographer forgets the scale marker, does the sketcher's perfect drawing still hold up?
What you already know: In science documentation is the evidence, because a record that is unsigned, undated, or out of sequence cannot be verified, so no documentation means no case.
New idea: Scene documentation works only as a team SOP, because a missing scale marker, unlogged item, or unrecorded magnification anywhere breaks the chain and weakens everyone's evidence.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Scene documentation lab. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Use the labels and arrows in F1 to identify the relationship that supports Scene documentation lab.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in scene documentation lab.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: Keep observations separate from explanations, then collect the evidence that can distinguish the options.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: Your team has ten minutes to document a mock scene and lift one fiber. If the photographer forgets the scale marker, does the sketcher's perfect drawing still hold up?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : Relating to the use of science to examine evidence and answer questions in legal investigations, such as identifying a person or cause of harm.
- • : Tiny physical materials, such as hair, fibers, or soil, transferred during contact at a scene, used to link people, places, and objects in an investigation.
- • biometric: A measurable physical or behavioral trait, such as a fingerprint, iris pattern, or heart rate, used to identify a person or track health.
- • observation: Information gathered directly through the senses or instruments, recording what actually happens without yet interpreting it.
- • inference: A conclusion drawn by reasoning from evidence and observations rather than from direct, firsthand measurement.
- • : The documented record of who handled a piece of evidence, when, and where, proving it was never lost, swapped, or tampered with.
- • : A reference sample treated like the others but without the variable being tested, giving a baseline to compare experimental results against.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
Biomedical evidence supports a conclusion only to the level allowed by the measurement, comparison, controls, source quality, and uncertainty in the investigation.
Limit: The classroom evidence supports the stated learning decision, not a real clinical diagnosis, causal conclusion, or treatment recommendation.
Keep observations separate from explanations, then collect the evidence that can distinguish the options.
Limit: Biomedical investigations use controlled procedures and validated measurements, not intuition alone.
You can document a scene following an SOP with my team.
Limit: E3 defines the classroom product or success criterion. It is not independent scientific evidence and cannot justify a clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-PBT@P67-2026-09-11 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: biomedical team member
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from scene documentation lab supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
- • Choose the strongest supported explanation.
- • Choose the next evidence to collect.
- • Hold the decision because the evidence is insufficient.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the lab report.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about scene documentation lab. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from scene documentation lab supports before submitting the lab report named on the lesson page.
Context: documentation is a team standard operating procedure where every role matters, because a break anywhere in the process weakens the whole chain no matter how good the rest of the work was.
- • T1: Read the scene SOP and assign roles: photographer, sketcher, logger.
- • T2: Photograph and sketch the scene with a scale marker and orientation note.
- • T3: Collect and label , recording each item in the evidence log.
- • T4: Examine a trace sample (fiber or hair) under magnification and describe it.
- • T5: Record one limitation of your documentation and one possible source.
- • E1: Biomedical evidence supports a conclusion only to the level allowed by the measurement, comparison, controls, source quality, and uncertainty in the investigation.
- • E2: Keep observations separate from explanations, then collect the evidence that can distinguish the options.
- • E3: You can document a scene following an SOP with my team.
Measurements: Use only the measurements, units, graph, or counts supplied in today's task. No additional patient measurement is implied.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for Scene documentation lab. Use the labels and arrows to identify the decision-relevant relationship. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Mean = sum of values / number of values. Median = middle ordered value. Range = maximum - minimum.
For 2, 4, 4, and 10: mean = 20 / 4 = 5, median = 4, and range = 10 - 2 = 8.
Mean, median, and range keep the measurement unit. Order the values before finding the median.
Calculate the requested summary for today's supplied values, then write what it reveals and what it hides.
Students often think Students think a magnified fiber looks the same and means the same thing whether or not the magnification was written down.. The trap: Without the recorded magnification a sketch has no scale, so a thick fiber and a thin one look identical on paper. The number is what lets anyone later reconstruct the true size, and without it the observation cannot be compared to a reference.
Roles: Maria (photographer), Andre (sketcher), Lin (logger).
Photo: One overhead photo includes a ruler for scale and a label reading North.
Sketch: Scaled room sketch with a compass arrow and the table measured at 120 cm wide.
Evidence log:
- Item 1: blue fiber near table leg, bagged and sealed, logged at 10:14
- Item 2: single hair on chair, bagged and sealed, logged at 10:21
Microscopy: Blue fiber sketched at 40x (smooth, uniform width) and at 100x (twisted strands visible).
Contamination risk: A team member leaned over the table, so a stray hair could have dropped onto the scene. We noted this so it can be ruled out later.
| Item | Description | Collected | Logged time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue fiber by table leg | Forceps, sealed bag | 10:14 |
| 2 | Single hair on chair | Forceps, sealed bag | 10:21 |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: A team packet documenting a mock scene to SOP standard, including a scaled photo, a scaled sketch, an evidence log, and microscopy sketches of a trace sample at two magnifications.
- State the question and method.
- Present the observations and data with units.
- Explain the result, limitations, and next investigation.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit the team scene packet as a shared document; each member notes their role on the cover page.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Scene documentation lab. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about scene documentation lab. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
You sketch a fiber under the microscope but do not write down the magnification. A week later, why can no one determine the fiber's actual width from your sketch?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
Run this before you touch the bench. It is built from the real lab procedure, so the decisions you make here are the ones you will make with the equipment in your hands. This lesson has more than one, and they cover different skills.
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can identify each named hazard and the control that reduces it: Treat all biological trace samples (hair, fiber) as potentially hazardous: wear gloves when handling and do not touch your face. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Treat all biological trace samples (hair, fiber) as potentially hazardous: wear gloves when handling and do not touch your face.
- • Used forceps must be placed in the designated container between uses; never lay them on the table surface.
- • Microscope slides are glass: handle with care; report any breakage immediately and use the sharps disposal container.
- • Evidence bags containing trace material must remain sealed after logging; do not open them without teacher direction.
- • Wash hands with soap and water after completing the trace-evidence station, even if gloves were worn.
- • Photograph equipment is shared: wipe down camera surfaces with a disinfectant wipe before and after use.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2Read the scene SOP and assign roles: photographer, sketcher, logger.
- 3Photograph and sketch the scene with a scale marker and orientation note.
- 4Collect and label trace evidence, recording each item in the evidence log.
- 5Examine a trace sample (fiber or hair) under magnification and describe it.
- 6Record one limitation of your documentation and one possible contamination source.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Trial or sample ID | Independent condition | Measured result with units | Observation before interpretation | Quality-control note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
As a team, document a home-staged scene (photos, scale sketch, evidence log) and examine a fiber or hair using a virtual microscope, then submit a shared scene packet.
learn.genetics Cell Size and ScaleThen submit your Lab report. Submit this on the class form named on this page. The form requires the student's district Microsoft sign-in. The thank-you page is the submission receipt. A physical handoff counts only when the day page names that route. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not count as submitted.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Khan Academy: using the microscope (Cell biology)- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in through the one route named under Submit here and confirmed by the form receipt or the named physical handoff. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.