The Great Chocolate Caper

A Mystery That Teaches Logic Skills (Rev. Ed., Grades 5-8)

Mary Ann Carr

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000489613
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

Reginald Van Feisty, owner of the world-famous chocolate factory, Dutch Delight Chocolates, is excited about his brand-new recipe for chocolate. But, before he can manufacture even the first chocolate bar, the recipe is stolen! Have your students discover who stole Van Feisty's famous chocolate recipe and they'll not only be great detectives, they'll be masters of logical thinking. There are nine suspects, but which one is guilty? This mystery becomes a vehicle for teaching logical thinking. In solving the mystery, students will: differentiate between valid conclusions and invalid assumptions, use syllogisms to reach valid assumptions, recognize false premises, solve deductive matrix puzzles, and decode a secret message.

Grades 5-8

STUDENT PAGES FOR LESSONS

D0I: 10.4324/9781003238805-13

LESSON 1.1 NAME:_______________________________________________________________

DOES CHOCOLATE REALLY GROW ON TREES?

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238805-14

How is chocolate like an apple? How is it like a black-eyed pea? It does not take a detective to answer these perplexing questions. It simply takes someone who knows all about chocolate. An expert on the subject would immediately tell you that chocolate is like an apple—not only because both can be eaten, but also because both grow on trees.

"Trees!" you might exclaim, disbelieving.

"Indeed," the chocolate expert would say. "Cacao tree—a tree that grows in the warm climates south of the equator in Brazil and along the Ivory Coast of Africa." She'd glance at you, and then continue. "And chocolate is like a pea, because both grow in pods."

"But how could chocolate come from a pod?" you'd ask. "It's nothing like a pea or even a bean."

"Ah, there you are wrong," she'd tell you. "Chocolate really is a bean. A white bean called a cocoa bean. And about 30 of these beans grow in each pod."

"Do you shell them like I've seen people shell peas and butter beans?" you might ask, picturing in your mind's eye a soft pod like a pea pod.

"Oh, no, you could only open these green, red, or yellow pods with a sharp knife or a tool they use in Brazil called a machete. You really do need to learn about chocolate!" the expert would say, laughing. "Listen and I'll tell you all about it.

"After the cocoa beans have been removed from the pod, they are piled on the ground and covered with banana leaves. They are kept there for several days while they ferment and turn a brownish-red. Then they are spread out and dried in the sun.

"After they have dried completely they are sent to chocolate factories, where they are roasted. After roasting, the beans smell like chocolate, and their shells are brittle. A machine then shells the beans and cracks them into little pieces. These pieces are called nibs. The nibs are ground in another machine into a paste called chocolate liquor.

"Baking chocolate is made from this chocolate liquor when the liquor hardens. The liquor can also be separated into cocoa and cocoa butter or made into the kind of chocolate you eat.

"Dark chocolate is made from chocolate liquor mixed with cocoa butter and sugar. The lighter milk chocolate is made by adding milk to the dark chocolate. Occasionally you see white chocolate. isn't real chocolate, because it is not made with the chocolate liquor. Instead, it is made with cocoa butter, milk, and sugar."

LESSON 2.1 NAME:_______________________________________________________________

DAILY TIMES
April 6, 2010

SECRET RECIPE STOLEN

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238805-15

Mr. Reginald Van Fiesty, owner of the Dutch Delight Chocolates factory.

The recipe for a new chocolate bar was stolen last night from the Dutch Delight Chocolates factory. The recipe was a closely guarded secret and was locked in a drawer in Mr. Reginald Van Feisty's office. Van Feisty, the company's owner, reported the break-in to police last evening.

"We were keeping the recipe under lock and key until the new candy bars were stocked on every candy shop counter in the world," Van Feisty stated. The company was scheduled to begin production of the new candy bar next week, according to Van Feisty "This will certainly upset that plan," he told police.

Dutch Delight Chocolates is the world's leading chocolate manufacturer and is reported to sell more varieties of chocolate than any other chocolate company "Though we make the best candy, indeed," Van Feisty said, "this new bar was to be even better than our best. It was to be our top-of-the-line product."

Police are investigating the scene of the crime and are preparing a list of suspects.

STORIES INSIDE . . .

SPORTS

Jaguars Take Friday's Game A2

LIVING

Decorating Your Library A4

BUSINESS

Spending Allowance Wisely B1

WORLD NEWS

Tiger Breaks Out of Zoo C1

LOCAL NEWS

Cat Burglar on the Loose D1

LESSON 2.2 NAME:_______________________________________________________________

EVIDENCE FOUND AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238805-16

The first patrol officer at the scene of the crime found the following items on Mr. Van Feisty's desk. Which items do you think might be important to the case and should be included in the police report?

If you had difficulty deciding which items were important to the case, you probably realized you did not have enough information about each one to know whether or not it was important. With this limited information, you could only make an assumption about the items and why they were found on the desk.

An assumption is something that is taken for granted. It is believed to be true because of past experience or knowledge. For example, because you know that people often keep pictures of their children on their desks in their offices, you might assume that Mr. Van Feisty has children and displayed a picture of them on his desk.

What other assumptions could you make about these items and the reasons for them being found on the desk? Write your assumptions about each of the items.

1. picture: Mr. Van Feisty has children.
2. lunch box: _____________________________________________________________────────────────────
3. birthday card: ___________________________________________────────────────────
4. ballpoint pen: ___________________________________________────────────────────

LESSON 2.3 NAME:_______________________________________________________________

TWO KINDS OF ASSUMPTIONS

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238805-17

Detectives make assumptions when they are investigating a case. They are careful, however, not to rely on these assumptions as evidence until they have gathered as many facts as possible to make the assumptions valid. A valid assumption is one that is based on enough facts to prove that the assumption is true. A false assumption is one that does not have enough facts to prove that the assumption is true.

Because you did not have all of the facts regarding the items on the desk, your assumptions about them were probably false. Read the additional facts listed below, and then make a valid assumption about each item.

Additional Facts

• ➢ Mr. Van Feisty does not have any children, but his sister does. He is very fond of her two sons.
• ➢ The lunch box was heavy and rattled when shaken. A lock pick, a small crowbar, a screwdriver, and a flashlight were found inside the box.
• ➢ The birthday card stated, "To my sister on that special day. May you have many, many more Happy Birthdays!" It was signed "Reginald" in red ink. An envelope addressed in red ink to Clair Curtis in Cleveland, OH, was lying beneath the card.
• ➢ Several red ballpoint pens were found in the top drawer of Mr. Van Feisty's desk.

Now that you have these additional facts, write a valid assumption about each item and tell why each was found on the desk.

1. picture: _________________________________________
2. lunch box: _________________________________________
3. birthday card: _________________________________________
4. ballpoint pen: _________________________________________

Based on your valid assumptions, which of the items would be considered important evidence in the crime? Put an asterisk (*) by the items you think are important.

LESSON 2.4 NAME:_______________________________________________________________

MORE VALID ASSUMPTIONS

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238805-18

Read each set of facts pertaining to the case. Then write your assumption about how the crime was committed based on these facts.

1. Mr. Van Feisty locks his door each evening when he leaves his office. "I never forget," he stated emphatically. The metal lock in the door to his office was scratched.
   Assumption: __________________________________________________________________________
2. Mr. Van Feisty locked the recipe in the bottom drawer of his desk. The drawer's lock was broken. The wood around the lock was scarred.
   Assumption: __________________________________________________________________________
3. On the night of the crime, the night security guard checked Van Feisty's office every hour on the hour. At 8:00 p.m., he entered the office, walked to the desk, and checked the locked drawer. He found nothing unusual and recorded on his report form, "8:00 p.m. check—OK." When the night security guard checked the office again at 9:00 p.m., he discovered the crime.
   Assumption: __________________________________________________________________________
4. When the night security guard checked the office at both 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., it was dark. A red light on a security panel in the security guard's room would continuously blink if the light in Mr. Van Feisty's office were turned on. The red light had not blinked at all on the night of the crime, according to the security guard. "I never took my eyes off that security panel," he stated when questioned.
   Assumption: __________________________________________________________________________
5. All four entrances to the factory were locked. A small video camera was located outsi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• LESSON PLANS
• STUDENT PAGES FOR LESSONS
• PRACTICE PUZZLES
• APPENDIX
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ALIGNMENT