Biomedical Sciences Experimental Design

Steps of Experimental Design

1. Identify the Problem or Question
How does the size of the bloodstain affect the height from which it came?
2. Predict a solution to the problem or an answer to the question.
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If we drop blood droplets from high heights, then the diameter of the blood
splatter will be larger than if they were dropped from a lower height.
Independent variable: the height we drop the blood droplet from
Dependent variable: the diameter of the blood splatter

3. Design the experiment to be used to test your hypothesis.

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Pipette or bottle with eye- dropper

Meter stick
Simulated blood
White paper

Procedure:
1. Gather all materials needed for the experiment
2. Put on PPE
3. Determine the amount of blood simulator to put in the pipette or
eyedropper
4. Place the white paper on the floor
5. Take the meter stick and measure to a height that you want to test
6. Take the dropper of blood simulator and hold it next to the meter stick with
the bottom end of the dropper at 15cm
7. Record the height the blood simulator was dropped from in cm
8. Repeat steps 4-6 for heights 25cm, 50cm, 75cm, and 100cm
9. Measure the diameter of all bloodstains in mm
4. Carry out the experiment.
Height of Drop

Diameter of Blood splatter

15 cm

5 mm

25 cm

7 mm

50 cm

8 mm

75 cm

9 mm

100 cm

10 mm

5. Analyze the data and observations.

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Biomedical Sciences Experimental Design Page 1

How Height Affects the Diameter of a Blood Splatter

12
10
8

Diameter of Blood Splatter (mm)

6
4
2
0
15

25

50

75

100

Height of Drop (cm)

Change in Diameter due to Height

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6. State the conclusion.
The hypothesis was correct because as the height increased so did the diameter
of the blood splatter.
7. Summary Paragraph
In this experiment, we tested how the height the blood is dropped from affects the
size of the blood splatter. The higher the blood is dropped from the larger the
blood splatter. Although it is a small increase, the drops still increase in size from
one drop to the next. This experiment can also be done on a larger scale so that
people are able to determine the height from which blood came from if the height
is higher than one meter. The same principle will apply, as the distance between
the floor and the drop increase, so will the size of the blood splatter.
After step #7:
If we did this procedure again, we would perform more tests at more heights to
add more precision and accuracy to the experiment. This way we can have more
data to compare to later. Also, a new question that arose after the experiment is:
Are there specific formulas to determine the height of the blood splatter, or do
you always have to compare and test them?

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Biomedical Sciences Experimental Design Page 2