From the Sparks students

As a follow-up to the successful STREAM Night last Thursday, SPARKS students wanted to answer some of the questions parents and students posed when examining their fingerprints. So, we used our iPads and a teaching strategy called Consensus to determine the best answers to pass along to our curious crowd. 1. What type of fingerprint is most common? Answer: Loop (60-65%) 2. What type of fingerprint is least common? Answer: Arch (5%) 3. Are there any common traits found in people with the same fingerprint pattern? Answer: Yes. Certain personality traits are common among those with Loop, Whorl, or Arch fingerprint patterns. For example, those with a Loop pattern are said to have strong opinions, are easy going, are comfortable leading a group, not the best at being organized, and have good work ethics. Those with a Whorl pattern were found to prefer to lead than follow, be above average in intelligence, independent, and extremely organized. Characteristics of those with an Arch pattern include being analytical, practical, and cautious, not a fan of change, and can be difficult to get along with as they are very set in their ways. 4. Are fingerprint patterns inherited? Answer: Yes, there is an inheritable quality to fingerprints. Pattern types are often genetically inherited, but the individual details that make a fingerprint unique are not.

One interesting fact that we found was that koalas have fingerprints that are almost identical to human ones! 

Chimps and gorillas have fingerprints, too!