2014 - Spring Semester Exam Review

  1. Define trace evidence. Give 5 examples of items which could be classified as trace evidence.
  2. What is the difference between the physical properties and the chemical properties of a substance? How does this relate to trace evidence?
  3. Define the three types of impressions and give three examples of each.
  4. Describe techniques used to lift latent impressions.
  5. Why do tires have treads?
  6. What kinds of impressions can be left by tires?
  7. Define the three types of tire marks.
  8. How many point of comparison can be made when comparing a suspect’s dental patterns with bite marks left at a crime scene?
  9. Draw the four patterns of grooves in a lip impression.
  10. When studying a lip impression, how does an investigator split up parts of the print?
  11. What kind of evidence are tool marks?
  12. Why is ownership of a tool circumstantial evidence?
  13. Define and describe the 3 types of tool marks.
  14. What is casting? What is the purpose of casting?
  15. What do you need to do to present tool mark evidence to a jury?
  16. When was soil first used in a criminal case?
  17. What are the 3 main grain sizes and 3 subcategories of soil?
  18. Define humus, and where is it located in relation to other horizons of soil?
  19. What is a soil horizon? Draw a soil profile and label the “parallel” layers
  20. What factors can affect the pH of soil?
  21. What physical factors do investigators look at when they are studying soil?
  22. What chemical factors do investigators look at when they are studying soil?
  23. Why is the evidential value of soil so good? How can soil be individualized as evidence?
  24. What is palynology?
  25. How is sand formed? What causes sand to have different colors?
  26. Why does wind blown sand grains become rounded more quickly?
  27. How long does it take for sand to form naturally?
  28. What is the settling rate for soil, how is it measured?
  29. What is glass made of? How is it made?
  30. What does it mean when glass is described as an “amorphous solid”?
  31. List and describe the 6 different types of glass.
  32. How is density calculated? In what units is it usually measured?
  33. How is the physical property of Density used to match glass fragments?
  34. What is a refractive index?
  35. Describe the immersion method for determining refractive index. How does a Becke Line relate to this method? When do you know a substance has reached it’s "match point" with a liquid?
  36. Which type of fracture is formed first? Which type of fracture is formed on the same side of the force? Which is formed on the opposite side of the force?
  37. Define: concentric crack, radial crack, stress line, hackle, ream, and Wallner line.
  38. How does the cone shaped piece of glass that exits a bullet hole affect the appearance of the glass?
  39. How can glass fracture patterns be individualized? When is glass evidence class?
  40. What are the types of items which can be forged?
  41. Define forensic document examination.
  42. Define exemplar.
  43. What is fraudulence?
  44. What are some reasons for forging documents?
  45. What are the differences between simulated, traced, and blind forgeries?
  46. What is literary forgery? List same things forgers use in literary forgery?
  47. What is chromatography? How does it relate to forgery? What are the different types of chromatography?
  48. What kind of paper is used in paper money? How is different from normal paper money?
  49. List some new features of paper money which makes it difficult to forge?
  50. What is a watermark and how is it made? What currencies have watermarks?
  51. Define the 3 cell types in blood, describe them and explain what they do.
  52. What is hemoglobin and why is it important? What types of “tests” check for the presence of hemoglobin?
  53. Define antigen. Where are antigens located?
  54. What is the protein that helps with clotting? What is the liquid that remains after the RBC’s clot?
  55. What is plasma? What does it contain?
  56. Define agglutination.
  57. Fill in the following chart:

Type A / Type B / TypeAB / Type O
Antigens present
Antibodies present
Can receive from?
Can donate to?
Serums which cause agglutination are:
  1. What are the different ways that blood evidence is detected at a crime scene?
  2. Define the following terms: parent drop, satellite drop, origin/source, angle of impact, spines/spikes
  3. What can an investigator learn from blood spatter?
  4. How much blood does the human body contain?
  5. Describe the changes in the appearance of a blood pool after it has set for some time.
  6. How do the following things effect what a blood stain looks like: height it falls, surface it contacts, angle

of impact?

  1. Describe the difference between passive, projected and transfer stains and give an example of how each could occur at a crime scene.
  2. Describe how the patterns made by cast off stains, arterial gushing, and expiratory stains are different and how they are made.
  3. What is the difference between a wipe and a swipe?
  4. What is the main job of a pathologist?
  5. What is the difference between rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis?
  6. Why does rigor mortis occur? When does it occur? (how long after death)
  7. Why does livor mortis occur?
  8. Where is the temperature of a corpse taken?
  9. Briefly describe the different stages of decomposition.
  10. List some factors which can affect the rate of decay.
  11. What are the two major orders of insects which are used in investigations?
  12. Which insect “order” is the first to arrive at a corpse? Which is 2nd?
  13. What is species succession?What conditions could alter the normal species succession on a corpse?
  14. What is PMI?
  15. What are factors which could affect PMI estimates from a forensic entomologist’s perspective?
  16. What are the different stages of fly metamorphosis and how long does it take to complete each stage?
  17. What is forensic anthropology and what are some of the things that the anthropologists do?
  18. List things which could be determined from a single bone.
  19. How many bones are in the human body?
  20. What are the three main cranial sutures and why are they significant?
  21. How is the closure of the cranial sutures different in males versus females?
  22. What is an epiphysis and how is it useful in forensics?
  23. Which bones are useful in estimating height of an individual?
  24. How does the pelvic bone differ between males and females? What other differences are there between

the bones of males and females?

  1. What nationalities are represented by the three race classifications of bones? Are these differences always

a determining factor for race?

  1. List some differences between the three racial classes of bones.
  2. Why are teeth often used for body identification?
  3. What is facial restoration? What is the purpose of facial reconstruction?
  4. Who is Dr. William “Bill” Bass? What is the name of his research facility?
  5. In what year was his research facility established and where is it located?