Topical Study Guide: Forensics Second Semester 2014
Below is a list of topics that we covered during second semester and may appear on the final exam. Be sure to use your textbook (Chapters 8, 9, 10,11, 14, 16), your notebook, labs, and another other materials that we used in class as study aids. You may also use your data sheet from the last lab to answer questions. May have 1 3 x 5 notes card 2 sided.
Serology:

Components of blood and their functions/locations

Blood Typing
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Fluorescence

Tests for blood detection
Blood Spatter

How/why the angle/height of blood droplet impact affects the shape/size of the blood stain

High/medium/low impact spatter

Angle of origin/convergence
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Cast off spatter

Voids
DNA


PCR

RFLPs


The structure and function of DNA
STRs
Electrophoresis
Hair and Fiber

Ways to collect hair/fiber evidence

Morphology of Hair

Differences between human and animal hair

Differences between hair of different somatic regions

Scale Casts of Hair

Classifications of fibers and their characteristics/uses

Polymers vs. monomers
Gunshot residue and Bullet Striations

Residue patterns and detection

Bullet striations
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Casing striations

Bullet calibers
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Bullet holes
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Trajectory

Types of weapons
Fire Debris Analysis

Types of accelerants

Detection/analysis
Forensics Semester 2 Final Review Questions
1.
What are the 4 blood types?
2.
What is Rh factor?
3.
Who can donate blood to a type AB+ person? Why?
4.
Who can a type O+ person donate to and why?

5.
What antigens does type A blood have? What antibodies does it have?
6.
What does a positive test for Type A+ blood look like? Type O-?
7.
If a person with Aa and a person with aa have a child what are the chances that the child will be heterozygous for the trait?
8.
Name 5 tests that can be used to detect for blood. Name a presumptive test and a confirmatory test.
9.
What is the backbone of DNA made of?
10.
What are 3 parts of a nucleotide.
11.
What are the 4 different nucleotide bases found in DNA? How do they pair together?
12.
If there are 200 total bases (100 on each side) in one double stranded section of DNA and 20 of those bases are adenine how many are thymine? How many are cytosine?
13.
What is PCR? What are the main steps?
14.
What is RFLP? What is STR? DNA fingerprinting? Why would you use one instead of the other?
15.
What do restriction enzymes do?
16.
How does gel electrophoresis work? Why do the DNA strands separate?
17.
What is the area of convergence? What is the area of origin? How are they different?
18.
How does a blood drop change as the height it is dropped from changes? As the angle changes?
19.
How does the pattern change as velocity of the weapon changes?
20.
What weapons would make low velocity spatter? Medium? High?
21.
Describe the basic structure of a piece of hair including the root, shaft, cortex, medulla, and cuticle.
22.
What is the difference between an absent, fragmented, interrupted, and continuous medulla?
Which would be found in humans, which in animals?
23.
Draw a sketch of the 3 different cuticle patterns. Which are found in humans, which in animals?
24.
Describe stages of hair growth. At what stage does hair come out most easily? When might it leave a follicular tag?
25.
Why is a follicular tag such important evidence?
26.
Describe the features found in cortex include the pigment granules and cuticle fusi.
27.
Where do cotton, hemp, wool, silk, mohair, and cashmere come from?
28.
Name 2 regenerated fabrics and explain how they are created.
29.
Give 3 examples of low explosives. How do these compare to high explosives?
30.
Explain the difference between primary and secondary high explosives.
31.
What are the main ingredients in dynamite, black powder, and TNT? How is TATP formed and where is it used?
32.
Name 4 military explosives.
33.
Describe the difference between and purpose of the lands and grooves inside the barrel of a gun.
34.
Besides lands and grooves, what other features of a gun can leave distinctive marks on a bullet?
On a bullet casing?
35.
How are bullets analyzed? Which characteristics are class? Which are individual? What computerized systems are used to analyze bullet evidence?
36.
What information can be acquired from analyzing gunshot residue. How is residue evidence collected?
37.
How are tool marks, tire marks, and shoe prints collected? What are the class characteristics of shoes? What are individual characteristics?