Forensics: Study Guide for Unit Test 1
Forensic Science Overview
History
Federal crime labs
Technical units within crime lab
Forensic Science in the court
Roles of the forensic scientist
Expert vs. Fact Witness
Admissibility of Expert Testimony (Frye, Daubert, etc.)
Civil vs. Criminal Law
Witness Testimony vs. Physical Evidence
Types of Physical Evidence
Class vs. Individual Evidence
CSI Effect
Product Rule (know what it is; no calculations)
Crime Scene
Steps that are taken (7Ss)
Rough sketch components
Final sketch
Chain of Custody
Determining time of death
Algor mortis
Rigor mortis
Livor mortis
Eye changes
Digestion
Glass Evidence
Density
Refractive Index/ Becke Line
Lab: Comparative Glass Analysis
Know how to analyze glass using both density and refractive index methods
Soil Analysis
How to collect and analyze soil samples
Know different types of tests used to analyze soil
Activity: Soil and Mineral Analysis
Hair and Fiber Evidence
Hair protein makeup and structure (know all parts and how to differentiate)
Animal versus human hair
Cuticle: Know the three types and one representative animal per type
Medulla: Which animal/human hairs have them and what kind
Know how to calculate medullary index
Hair growth: How quickly does hair grow
Use of hair in toxicology studies
Use in DNA testing (follicular tag for nuclear DNA; rest of hair for mitochondrial)
Fiber structures (synthetic versus natural)
Fiber tests: Know how to determine similarities and difference
Lab: His Hair, Her Hair, Whose Hair
Lab: Fiber Analysis
Activity: Animal Hairs
Activity: Examining Fibers