Advanced Forensic Science Course Outline
I.
Ready to solve cases - review the concepts learned in regular
Forensic Science as you solve cases and present your cases to a
jury. Will your evidence stand up to cross-examination?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
II.
T.O.D.
The autopsy
Anthropology
Trace evidence
Serology
Fingerprints
Arson and Explosives
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Origin of fire
Pour patterns
Arson or accident
What makes an explosive
Means, motive and opportunity in an arson case
Assessing the scene
Evidence collection
Evidence evaluation
Smoke color
Flame color
Gas chromatography
Ignition temperatures
I. A look at what happened at the World Trade Center
 Visit from Bomb squad robot or Accelerant deselecting
dog
 Video Case Studies
III.
Toxicology
A.
B.
C.
D.
Drug classification
Drug testing
Alcohol – effects, involvement in crime
Blood alcohol Count
E. Athletes – Steroids, blood doping and other performance
enhancers
F. Poisons and how to solve cases involving poison
* Poster project of a famous toxicology case
 Guest speaker – former Olympic athlete will talk about
performance enhancing drugs – effects, detection and
risks
 Video Case Studies
IV
Forensic Psychology
A. Profiling – Organized vs. Disorganized
Examine the crime and predict the personality of your
suspect
B. The polygraph – how does it work, what are its limits and how
can it be used in the legal system
C. Predicting future violent behavior
D. Geographic profiling – tool to predict where a serial offender
Is based
* Project/presentation of a famous serial killer
 Guest Speaker pending
 Video Case Studies
V.
DNA
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Mitochondrial DNA
Nuclear DNA
Collection
The laws
Markers used in criminal investigation
Probability
I hope that we will be able to go to court to listen to forensic experts testify.
VI. Facial Reconstruction – recreate the face from a skull to aid in identification