Name: ________________________________
Final Exam Study Guide – Forensic Science
35 points due on the day of the Final Exam
Introduction to Forensic Science
1. What is Forensic Science?
2. What does a Forensic Scientist do?
3. What does the word “forensic” mean?
4. Who was Edmond Locard and why was he important? What is Locard’s Exchange Principle?
5. What is deductive reasoning? What is inductive reasoning?
6. How is an observation different from a perception?
7. Name all five of the major crime labs.
There are two general types of evidence – Testimonial and Physical
8. What is Testimonial Evidence?
Examples:
a. What factors impact the reliability of a witness?
9. What is Physical Evidence?
10. Define the following types of physical evidence and give an example of each one.
Transient Evidence –
Pattern Evidence –
Conditional Evidence –
Transfer Evidence –
Associative Evidence -
11. Evidence Characteristics:
Class –
Individual –
Categorize the following types of evidence:
DNA __________ Blood __________
Broken Glass __________
Fingerprints _____________
Fiber __________
12. What are the seven major activities included in a Forensic Investigation?
13. What are Miranda Rights? How did they originate?
14. How is evidence determined to be admissible? Explain the difference between Daubert and Frye.
15. Detail the steps to processing a Crime Scene.
16. What is “documentation” with regard to a Crime Scene? Give an example of each kind of documentation.
17. What does ADAPT stand for?
18. Search Patterns:
a. Grid
b. Inward Spiral
c. Outward Spiral
d. Parallel
e. Zone
A child is lost in the woods – which search pattern is most appropriate?
The police need to search the room in a house for a missing bullet, which search pattern is most appropriate?
Two men drown while fishing during a storm, one body was located but the other body is still missing in the
lake. Which search pattern is most appropriate?
19. What are some elements that must be included in a Crime Scene Sketch?
20. Why is collecting and packaging evidence so important?
21. What is a “Chain of Custody” and why is it so important?
22. What is the difference between a Medical Examiner and Coroner? Which one can be a medical doctor?
23. When and how do fingerprints form?
24. What are the major types of fingerprints? Which one is most common in the population?
25. Classify each of the following prints as loop, whorl or arch.
a.
b.
c.
26. While searching a murder scene, you believe the following items may contain latent fingerprints. Indicate
whether prints on each item should be developed using fingerprint powder or chemicals.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A leather sofa
A mirror
A painted wooden knife handle
Blood-soaked newspapers
27. Fingerprints that deposited on a surface when oils and sweat are excreted from pores on the friction ridges
are called ________________ fingerprints.
28. The most common fingerprint pattern is the _________________ .
29. True or False
a. The individuality of a fingerprint is determined by its pattern.
b. Fingerprints cannot be changed during a person’s lifetime.
c. Arches have type lines, deltas and cores.
d. Identical twins have the same fingerprints.
e. Computerized fingerprint search systems match prints by
comparing the positions of bifurcations (分岔) and ridge
endings.
f. A fingerprint left by a person with soiled or stained fingertips is
called a latent print.
Practice the identification skills – FIGURE 1 (below)
e.g. fork
1.
2.
3.
Examine the fingerprint above with a magnifying glass if necessary.
To which class does the fingerprint pattern belong? Write down your answer.
Use Table 1 to help identify fingerprint ridgeline details. Locate and label at least 8 positions of ridgeline
details in Figure 1.
Table 1
Fingerprint ridge details
Fork
Double Fork
Triple Fork
Delta
Dot
Bridge
Hook
Eye
Short Ridge
Ending Ridge
30. What is AFIS and what is its purpose?
31. How do you dust and lift prints?
Blood (DE students may not get to this information)
32. What are the major blood spatter patterns?
33. How is blood type determined?
34. What type of evidence is blood type?
35. How does height, velocity, and target surface affect stains?
36. Explain angle of impact.