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    Silver Nitrate Fingerprint Development: Chemical Reaction

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    Usman Ghani
    Silver nitrate solution can be used to develop latent fingerprints on paper. When sprayed onto paper with latent fingerprints, the silver nitrate reacts with chloride salts left in fingerprints to form silver chloride deposits that appear dark against the paper. Upon exposure to sunlight, the silver chloride converts to silver oxide which is even darker, enhancing the visibility of the developed fingerprints. The document then describes the materials and step-by-step procedure for students to develop their own fingerprints on paper using silver nitrate solution.

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    Silver Nitrate Fingerprint Development: Chemical Reaction

    Uploaded by

    Usman Ghani
    676 views3 pages
    Silver nitrate solution can be used to develop latent fingerprints on paper. When sprayed onto paper with latent fingerprints, the silver nitrate reacts with chloride salts left in fingerprints to form silver chloride deposits that appear dark against the paper. Upon exposure to sunlight, the silver chloride converts to silver oxide which is even darker, enhancing the visibility of the developed fingerprints. The document then describes the materials and step-by-step procedure for students to develop their own fingerprints on paper using silver nitrate solution.

    Original Title

    Finger printing

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    Silver nitrate solution can be used to develop latent fingerprints on paper. When sprayed onto paper with latent fingerprints, the silver nitrate reacts with chloride salts left in fingerprints to form silver chloride deposits that appear dark against the paper. Upon exposure to sunlight, the silver chloride converts to silver oxide which is even darker, enhancing the visibility of the developed fingerprints. The document then describes the materials and step-by-step procedure for students to develop their own fingerprints on paper using silver nitrate solution.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    676 views3 pages

    Silver Nitrate Fingerprint Development: Chemical Reaction

    Uploaded by

    Usman Ghani
    Silver nitrate solution can be used to develop latent fingerprints on paper. When sprayed onto paper with latent fingerprints, the silver nitrate reacts with chloride salts left in fingerprints to form silver chloride deposits that appear dark against the paper. Upon exposure to sunlight, the silver chloride converts to silver oxide which is even darker, enhancing the visibility of the developed fingerprints. The document then describes the materials and step-by-step procedure for students to develop their own fingerprints on paper using silver nitrate solution.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Silver Nitrate Fingerprint Development

    Chemical Reaction
    Silver nitrate (AgNO3) can react with the salt (NaCl) left from the perspiration on the friction
    ridge skin to form solid silver chloride (AgCl) and sodium nitrate. The silver chloride can then
    be converted to silver oxide (Ag2O), which is dark in color and can be more easily seen.

    Materials
     Silver Nitrate Solution, 3% (0.75 g AgNO3 in 25 mL water; contained in a spray
    bottle)
     Copy Paper (1 sheet per student)
     Newspaper (or other covering to collect overspray)
     Pencils

    Preparation
     Cover the lab surface with newspaper to collect overspray.
     Arrange for students to be able to expose their prints to direct sunlight, either by
    opening a window or by taking the paper outside.

    Student instructions

    Materials
     Silver Nitrate Solution, 3% (contained in a spray bottle)
     Copy Paper (1 sheet per student)
     Pencil
     Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
     Work Surface (covered with newspaper or similar material)

    Procedure
    1. Set up your evidence.

    a. Draw a horizontal line dividing a piece of paper in half. Write your initials
    or name in both pencil and pen in both the top half and the bottom half of the
    paper.
    b. With your left hand, place several random fingerprints in the top half of
    the paper.
    2. Allow the paper to dry and to absorb the prints for 5 minutes. Wear gloves for the
    remainder of the procedure.
    3. Place your paper on the work surface.
    4. Hold the spray bottle containing the silver nitrate solution approximately 2 to 3 inches
    from the surface of the paper. Remember, this chemical reacts with skin, so avoid
    contact.
    5. Spray from the upper left corner across the page and then move down the page,
    spraying until the sheet is saturated.
    6. Allow the paper to dry for 1 minute.
    7. Expose the paper to sunlight for 1 to 2 minutes. Once the prints begin to develop,
    remove the paper from the sunlight. Further exposure will continue to darken the prints
    and background.

    Iodine Vapor Method Fingerprint Development

    Reagents
    Copper (II) sulfate
    Potassium iodide

    Safety
    Put on protective gloves and eyewear.
    Conduct the experiment on the plastic tray.

    Step-by-step instructions
    Potassium iodide KI contains iodine ions I−, which we can turn into iodine molecules I 2 using
    CuSO4.
    Iodine is quite volatile. This means that its molecules leave the solution easily and disperse as a
    gas.

    Iodine sticks to fats really well, and our fingerprints are mostly made of fats.

    Expe
    cted result
    Iodine vapors are absorbed by fats contained in the fingerprints left on the paper. Iodine reveals
    the fingerprints by coloring them characteristic brown.

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