Forensic Science Study Guide
Chapter 1 – Introduction to Forensic Science
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Define forensic science
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Identify the major contributors to the development of forensic science
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Describe the services of a forensic crime laboratory
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Identify the specialized forensic specialties (pathology, anthropology, entomology, psychiatry, odontology, engineering)
Chapter 2 – The Crime Scene
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Describe the steps taken by the first officer at a crime scene
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Explain the steps taken to thoroughly record and process a crime scene
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Understand the chain of custody
Chapter 3 - Physical Evidence
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Define physical evidence
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Understand the difference between identification and comparison of physical evidence
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Define and contrast individual and class characteristics
Chapter 4 – Analysis of Glass
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Identify the composition of glass
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Define and understand the propertied of density and refractive index
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Understand how to examine and identify glass fractures
Chapter 8 – Forensic Serology
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List the A B O antigens and antibodies found in the four blood types
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Understand and describe how blood is typed
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List and describe the tests used to identify and characterize a stain as blood
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List and describe the methods used to interpret bloodstain patterns
Chapter 9 – DNA
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Describe tandem repeats and explain how they can be identified by restriction fragment length polymorphorisms (RFLP)
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Indicate how short tandem repeats and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are different from RFLP
Chapter 14 – Fingerprinting
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Identify the three fundamental principles of fingerprinting
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Know the common ridge characteristics of a fingerprint
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Distinguish between the three major fingerprint patterns and their respective subclasses
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Distinguish between visible, plastic, and latent fingerprints
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List the techniques for developing and lifting latent fingerprints