Forensics Final Exam|184 Q’s and
A’s| Distinction Graded
What are six questions that can be answered by bones? - -sex, age, height,
ancestry, weight, genetic diseases
-How are striations (internal ballistics) created? - -the rifling inside the gun
leaves marks on the bullet as it leaves the chamber
-How can clothing show that someone has fired a gun? - -gun powder
residue can be left on the clothes
-what types of insects invade a decaying body? - -blowfly, maggots, flesh
flies, beetles, and necrophages
-How can a forensic entomologist tell the time of death? - -based on the
stage of larval laid by the blowflies
-What are five things that can be determined from a single hair? - -race,
DNA, drug test, animal or human, disease
-Who was the first person to classify fingerprints? - -Sir Francis Galton
-What are the seven basic fingerprint patterns? - -plain arch, tented arch,
loop, ulnar loop, radial loop, whorls, plain whorls
-Why is super glue sometimes used to find prints? - -it sticks to the
fingerprints on surfaces like cans so that they can be seen
-What four components are needed to superglue fume fingerprints? - -super
glue, aluminum foil, low level heat source, fuming chamber
-What is done in bite mark analysis? - -a cast is made and dental records
are compared to cast
-Name ten things done in an autopsy - -1) outside of body is examined 2) Y-
incision 3) remove organs 4) weigh organs 5) examine organ content 6) get
samples of all of the organs 7) blood tests and toxicology 8) brain is removed
9) tissue samples taken 10) put all of the organs back and sew the body up
-Describe the six stages of decay that a body undergoes after death - -1:
fresh stage- (1-2 days) commences at moment of death and ends when
bloating is first evident
,2: bloated stage- (2-6 days) putrefaction begins, gasses build up
3: Decay stage- (5-11 days) begins when abdominal wall is broken, carcass
assumes blacked, wet appearance, maggots remove flesh
4: Post-decay stage- (10-25 days) remains consist of dry skin, cartilage, and
bones, in wet habitats, viscous material remains.
5:Dry-stage-(25+ days) mainly bones and hair, odor is gone
-How might DNA fingerprinting be helpful in solving a crime? - -Can be used
to compare suspects fingerprints, helps identify who was there; especially
useful if fingerprint is extra unique due to scarring or extra fingers
-Describe the collect collection technique at a crime scene for each of these:
a. blood stains
b. seminal stains
c. hair
d. fibers and threads
e. firearms evidence
f. latent fingerprints - -a. blood stains- take picture and collect with gauze if
wet and pick up object if dried
b. seminal stains- you can take a swab or allow to dry and package object it
is found on
c. hair- sticky tape, lint roller, evidence vacuum
d. fibers and threads- use clean forceps, fold fiber into small sheet of paper,
store in paper bag
e. firearms evidence- photograph, grab any shell casings and disarm guns,
cut out any surface containing bullet
f. latent fingerprints- dusting, iodine fuming, ninhyrdrin, silver nitrate, and
superglue
-What types of cells can be observed under the microscope? - -all living
cells can be observed under a microscope
-What are the four steps in DNA processing? - -extract, amplify, separate,
and analyze
-What is a DNA profile? - -the determination of an individual's DNA
characteristics
, -What is forensic toxicology? - -The evaluation of drugs or substances to
solve crimes
-What are the three fluids collected from the body? - -blood, saliva, and
vitreous humor
-What does a "maggot milkshake" test for? - -any drugs or substances the
victim had in their system
-Why do toxicologists analyze so many different body fluids? - -Each fluid of
the body can tell the toxicologist different stories about the deceased person
-When was forensic toxicology invented? - -1814 by Mathieu Orfila
-Describe how alcohol is screened for? - -take the blood alcohol level
-What does an EISLA test screen for? - -detects and measures antibodies in
your blood for infectious diseases
-What are the restrictions of ELISA tests? - -Some of the positive results
don't explain why patient is sick, false negatives, and positive result may
occur if an unrelated antigen reacts
-What is the confirmatory test used in forensic toxicology? - -tests required
to confirm the analysis of substance
-How are firearms and toolmarks used in forensic science? - -you can figure
out what weapon was used
-List the parts of the gun and tell the function of each. - -sights- helps view
and aim
slide- loads bullets
slide-lock- keeps slide from moving
barrel- path the bullet travels out of the gun
ejection port- where the bullet comes out in a gun
trigger- initiates the shooting of the bullet
trigger guard- keeps the trigger from being moved accidently
magazine- holds the extra bullets