Urine Analysis Forensic Murder Mystery Project (Food Tests/Skills/HSW) - KS3/KS4 Science STEM

Who? For anyone trying to plan something creative to allow various science skills to be developed. This project/lesson has so much scope. At a push this could be done in a lesson and then perhaps for homework but it would work a lot better if a couple of hours of time was given to make a good job of it! Have a look at my other forensic resources which this could be combined with!

The project would sit nicely anywhere within the year or would make a great end of term activity as it is a completely ‘stand alone’ topic. Perhaps you could use this in a STEM week or during Science week? This lesson could also be used within a Biology topic which involves ‘food tests’ (sugar and protein).

This bundle of resources contains a powerpoint to guide through the project as well as teacher/technician notes, a lesson plan, plus a student worksheet to allow them to gather and record data and draw conclusions. Students will need to test four different urine samples for the presence of sugar and protein (these will need to be prepared - see tech notes) using the benedicts and sodium hydroxide/copper sulfate solutions. Students will have to consider how to control various elements of the project/investigation and how to improve accuracy, repeatability, precision etc. They will then need to record their observations as they go along (this can be done on the student sheet).

Great resource! It is fully editable but gives you a resource you can use straight away (you’ll just need to talk to your technicians about making some fake urine…).

Enjoy!