Footprints

FEET AND INCHES Even the bones of the feet can tell you a lot about the person they came from. Try the following investigation to see what feet reveal about a person's height. MATERIALS tape measure  calculator  pen or pencil  paper  partner PROCEDURE 1. Remove your shoes before measuring having your height measured. Use the tape measure to measure the height of each partner inches. Write each person's name and height on the paper. 2. Have each partner stand with her or her left heel against the wall and perpendicular to the wall. Carefully measure in inches the length of each person's left foot, from the wall to the tip of the big toe. Write that information next to each person's name and height. 3. Use the calculator to divide the length of each person's left foot by his or her height. Multiply the result by 100. What results do you get? EXPLANATION: The results of your calculations should all have been approximately 15. For example, if a person is 63 inches tall and his or let left foot is 9 1/2 inches long, the result would be 9 1/2 inches divided by 63 inches times 100 equals 15. This means that the length of a person's foot is about 15% of his or her height. If a forensic scientist had to identify a person using only the bones of the foot, he or she could approximate the height of that individual using this technique. This is because the bones in the body grow at certain rates and are in proportion to one another. These values are not always true as people grow. The ratio of one body part to another will change greatly throughout childhood.