Question

On a cold December day in Dallas, Detective Daniels went to an apartment complex to investigate a murder. When he arrived at noon, the sergeant informed the detective that they were having trouble determining the time of death. Detective Daniels measured the temperature of the body, finding it to be 77.9℉. He also noted that the thermostat in the room was set at 72℉. He then left for lunch, announcing that when he returned, he would tell them when the murder was committed. Upon his return at 1:00 pm, he found the body temperature to be 75.6℉.

a) 1.9℉
b) 2.3℉
c) 3.5℉
d) 2.1℉

Answer 1

This high school physics question touches on the concept of heat transfer as observed in body temperature change postmortem. The correct temperature difference found by Detective Daniels is 2.3°F, not applicable for actual forensic conclusions. The context and content suggest misunderstandings about body temperature norms and temperature scale conversions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question given by the student appears to involve using the principles of thermoregulation and heat transfer to deduce information pertinent to a fictional murder investigation. Detective Daniels noticed a change in body temperature from 77.9°F to 75.6°F, which is a difference of 2.3°F, option b). However, the context in which this question is set is not reflective of accurate forensic practices, as the problem is overly simplified and lacks certain variables such as the variable rate of cooling in a real human body after death, commonly known as algor mortis. Even though the question relates to temperature measurements, its context is fictional and not suitable for providing genuine forensic conclusions.

Concerning the mistakes made by the reporter or in the study materials, these likely relate to misunderstanding the normal human body temperature or incorrect conversion between temperature scales. It is common knowledge that the average human body temperature is approximately 98.6°F, while actual body temperatures can vary. Incorrect conversion between Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin can lead to substantial mistakes, as seen in the references where temperature increases to 73°C (163°F) are deemed unreasonably large, since they would result in a temperature lethal to humans.