Fingerprints are used to identify individuals because prints are:

• A. Persistent and Individualistic
• B. Constant and Similar to Each Other
• C. Persistent and Common
• D. Constant and Uncommon

Answer: (A)

Fingerprints work for identification because they stay essentially the same over a person’s life while being unique to each individual. The ridge patterns form before birth and remain stable through life, with only minor changes if the skin is scarred or injured. At the same time, the exact details of those ridges—the minutiae like ridge endings and bifurcations—are highly individual, and even identical twins do not share the same prints. This combination of persistence over time and distinctive individuality is what makes fingerprints reliable for identifying a person. That’s why the best description is persistent and individualistic. The other options mix ideas like being common or similar across people, which doesn’t fit the reality that the precise ridge details are unique to each person.