Can fingerprint patterns be inherited?

Big Question

Can fingerprint patterns be inherited through family members.

I know that every person has there own fingerprint and that no one’s is the same but I wanted to see if family members could have like fingerprint patterns.

Hypothesis

I do think that fingerprint patterns can be inherited through family members.

It makes sense that fingerprint patterns could be inherited just like hair or eye color can.

Interesting facts

The 3 basic types of fingerprint patterns are arch, loop, and whorl.

Arch fingerprint patterns are found in about 5% of the fingerprints.

Loops occur in about 60%-70% of the fingerprints.

Whorls are seen in about 25%-35% of the fingerprints.

More Interesting Facts (Types of Fingerprints)

Plain Arch

Tented Arch

Ulnar Loop

Radial Loop

Double Loop

Whorl

Procedure1. Label each sheet of

paper with a family member’s name.

2. Split the sheet of paper into 10 equal sections.

3. Label each section of paper with the name of a finger and the hand it is on.

4. Have each member of my family press their finger onto a pad of ink.

5. Each person will then press that same finger onto the piece of paper in the correct section.

6. Repeat with the rest of the family and observe.

Materials1. 4 sheets of paper

2. Ink pad

3. My family

4. Piece of paper and a pencil

5. Magnifying glass

ControlI used the same ink and paper

for each person.

Variables The people/family that I

used.

Data

JD Nash (Dad)IndL: WhorlThmbL: Radial LoopMdlL: Arch RingL: WhorlPnkL: ArchIndR: ArchThmbR: Ulnar LoopMdlR: ArchRingR: WhorlPnkR: Radial Loop

Lois Nash (Mom)IndL: WhorlThmbL: Radial LoopMdlL: WhorlRingL: WhorlPnkL: Radial LoopIndR: Ulnar LoopThmbR: Ulnar LoopMdlR: ArchRingR: ArchPnkR: Ulnar Loop

Data continued

Madison IndL: Double WhorlThmbL: Radial LoopMdlL: WhorlRngL: WhorlPnkL: Radial LoopIndR: WhorlThmbR: Radial LoopMdlR: Ulnar LoopRingR: Ulnar LoopPinkR: Ulnar Loop

HunterIndL: WhorlThmbL: ArchMdlL: ArchRingL: WhorlPnkL: ArchIndR: WhorlThmbR: Ulnar LoopMdlR: ArchRingR: WhorlPinkR: Ulnar Loop

Analysis of Data

80% of Hunter’s fingerprint patterns were either the same as my mom’s or my dad’s.

70% of Madison’s (my) fingerprint patterns were the same as my dad’s or my mom’s.

My data shows that fingerprint pattern’s can be inherited.

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct because based on my data, fingerprint patterns can be inherited.

If I was to do this same experiment again I would use multiple families and more people from each family. I would get fingerprints from grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

After performing my experiment I thought of more questions.

Are fingerprint patterns more often found on certain fingers?

Do identical twins have identical fingerprint patterns?

References

www.fbi.gov www.policensw.com www.odec.com