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A very famous pastry chef, who was the favorite to win a big-time, high-stakes, baking contest with a big money reward was humiliated when the judge found his cake so distasteful that he spat it out — on national television!

The tape of the show shows that an intern who was assigned by the TV network to assist the chef carried a bowl of white powder from backstage to replenish the chef's sugar bowl. The chef insists it was this mystery ingredient — plus sabotage or incompetence — that ruined his confection.

The intern insists she filled the bowl up with sugar from the huge bin backstage, exactly as instructed. The humiliated chef is badmouthing the television network in the media and threatening to sue to sue the intern, the network, and everyone associated with the production, claiming that his career will be ruined.

The president of the network is desperate to get to the bottom of this mess, so she has enlisted the help of the CSIT team to examine the chef's ingredient bowls, including the bowl refilled by the intern, to determine whether this a case of a bumbling baker or sweet sabotage.

pre-lab A
Paper Chromatography

Students use coffee filters, cups of water, and knowledge of Solubility to practice this Forensic Science technique, exploring the migration of ink molecules based on size.

No CSIT Equipment needed

pre-lab B
pH of foods

In this Inquiry based hands-on lesson students investigate the relationship between pH and concentration using common foods.

No CSIT Equipment needed

pre-lab C
Introduction to fingerprints

Students examine examples of fingerprints and learn how to classify prints according to their pattern.

No CSIT Equipment needed

lesson 1
Introduction to the mystery, KWHL discussion

Students read emails accounts detailing the facts of the mystery and create charts outlining what they Know (the Evidence) what they Want to know, How they will use the evidence to answer these questions, and leave space for filling in what they have Learned.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 2
Investigation of Physical Properties

Comparing the unknown powder to known powders, students use magnifying lenses to observe visible properties and use a collection of lab equipment to measure each powder's density.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 3
Investigation of Chemical Properties:
Solubility

Students discuss difference between physical and chemical properties. They create solution with each powder to observe its solubility, comparing the unknown powder to known powders.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 4
Investigation of Chemical Properties:
pH and Conductivity

Students use digital probes to measure pH and conductivity of each powder in solution, comparing the unknown powder to known powders.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 5
Paper Chromatography:
solubility of pigment molecules

Students use Paper Chromatography to determine which marker was used to mislabel ingredient bin backstage.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 6
Fingerprinting I:
Super Glue Fuming and Digital Image Enhancing

Teacher demonstrates Forensic Science technique of Super Glue fuming to reveal latent fingerprints. Students use software to further enhance digital images of faint prints lifted from markers found at the scene.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 7
Fingerprinting II:
Matching unknown print against known prints

Students match "unknown" prints from markers found at the scene against the "known" prints of all possible suspects.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students:

lesson 8
Preparing evidence for presentation to the jury

Students gather all evidence into a multimedia presentation detailing their investigation.

Equipment provided in CSIT Portable Lab for each pair of students: