High School

A man's body was found lying in a stream at the back of a factory property. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. His body temperature was 69.1°F, while the ambient air temperature was 80°F. The estimated time since death was calculated to be about 20 hours. However, the actual time of death was later determined to be 13 hours before the body was discovered.

Create a claim that explains what could have accounted for the discrepancy in the estimated time since death.

Answer :

Answer:

Explanation:

The most likely cause of this difference would be the stream of water. Usually, a diseased body would decompose at a slower rate when in water but will decompose at an accelerated rate when taken out of the water. Which is what most likely happened with the body found in this scenario. The dead body was most likely dropped in the river and washed up on the shore where decomposition began at a much faster rate. Also since water is able to dissipate the heat from the body and cool it down at a faster rate as well it would also account for the difference in temperature between the body and the ambient air.

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