CRJA 3800
Survey of Forensic Science
Hypothesis formulation exercise
Karina Ibarra
Sadie and Simone and the crayons
Sadie (5 years old) and Simone (3) are sisters. Both are coloring on separate pieces of paper with the
crayons that they share. Suddenly their mother hears a commotion and yelling, and Simone runs into
the kitchen, where mom is preparing dinner, and complains loudly that Sadie took the red crayon out
of her (Simone’s) hand and started coloring with it her (Sadie’s) own paper. When their mother runs
goes into the room where the girls were coloring, she sees a red crayon resting on Simone’s paper,
and Sadie denies taking her crayon, or ever using it on her coloring.
1) What question arises as a result of this story?
– The question that arises from the story is did Sadie take the red crayon from Simone?
2) The specific conflict between the two girl’s stories is:
The answer is C, Simone says that Sadie took her crayon, and Sadie denies it
3) The set of opposing hypotheses (scenarios) generated from the conflict that you chose in the
