What is multiplexing and why is it used in DNA profiling?
> What are cookies? What is their basic purpose and how are they used by forensic examiners?
> What is an Internet cache and why is it of interest to forensic examiners?
> At the Museum of Culture Studies, a diary that belonged to Martin Luther King, Jr., has been stolen and replaced by a fake. The only evidence is a fingerprint impression left by the thief on the fake diary. The police suspects four individuals who have h
> What is unallocated space? Name three processes that cause latent data to be stored in unallocated space.
> What is file slack? How can it be useful to the forensic examiner?
> What is the difference between visible and latent data? How is latent data viewed?
> What is a swap file and how is it useful for forensic examiners?
> Why does a forensic examiner take a “fingerprint” of a drive before and after imaging its contents?
> What is the forensic examiner’s main goal when obtaining data from an HDD? Why is this best accomplished by removing the HDD from the system and placing it in a laboratory forensic computer?
> Describe the difference between software and media and give two examples of each.
> What is infrared luminescence? Describe how it can be used to detect alterations or erasures in a document.
> What class characteristics can an examiner study to help identify a suspect photocopy machine?
> What kinds of marks can a document examiner use to identify the machine that produced a photocopy? What information is used to identify the machine that produced a fax copy?
> Count the number of bifurcations in the following prints. Choose between 9, 11, and 13 as the number of bifurcations:
> What individual characteristics are most valuable for proving the identity of a typewriter?
> List three characteristics of exemplars that should be as alike as possible to the questioned document.
> Why might a traced signature be more easily detected as a forgery than one that is copied freehand?
> List three factors that can make it difficult for an examiner to determine the author of a questioned writing.
> List three characteristics of handwriting, as well as three characteristics of writing not related to handwriting, that an examiner compares when studying a questioned document.
> From what substances are most commercial inks made? What technique is used to compare inks? What characteristic provides points of comparison between different inks?
> Describe two methods used to read indented writing.
> Describe two methods used to recover writing from charred documents.
> What activity is critical to the outcome of document examination, and why is it so important?
> What is the primary focus of a fire-scene search and why? What evidence at a fire site may indicate the possibility of arson?
> The following are fingerprint patterns of three men and a woman with criminal records for robbery. Identify the following fingerprints according to the three groups and the subgroups of fingerprints.
> Why is it important that the arson investigator begin examining a fire scene for signs of arson as soon as the fire has been extinguished?
> What are oxidizing agents and why are they used in explosives?
> Define and describe the process of pyrolysis.
> What physical state must a fuel occupy in order to produce a flame? Why can it produce a flame only in this state?
> How does the speed of an oxidation reaction affect its ability to produce a flame? What factors influence the speed of the reaction?
> What is the energy barrier and how does it relate to the concept of ignition temperature?
> In what organic liquid does a forensic scientist rinse debris recovered from an explosion site, and why?
> What role does ammonium nitrate play in water gels, emulsions, and ANFO explosives? In what commercial form can ammonium nitrate be readily obtained?
> What is a detonator? What is the most common form of detonator?
> What happens to the atoms of a molecule that undergoes a chemical reaction? How is energy consumed in a chemical reaction? How is energy released in a chemical reaction?
> Criminalist Frank Mortimer is using digital imaging to enhance latent fingerprints. Indicate which features of digital imaging he would most likely use for each of the following tasks: a. Isolating part of a print and enlarging it for closer examination
> List at least three advantages of having an evidence-collection unit process a crime scene instead of a patrol officer or detective.
> What are primary explosives and what are they used for?
> Why does black powder not explode unless it is ignited in a confined area? What practical application (besides explosives) does this make black powder suitable for?
> Name two types of low explosives and list the ingredients of each.
> What characteristic of an explosive determines whether it is classified as a low explosive or a high explosive? How is this reflected in the type of pressure wave produced by the explosive?
> What is an oxidizing agent? Why is an oxidizing agent important to an explosion?
> What produces the violent physical disruption of the surrounding environment released in an explosion? Explain how this creates shrapnel when a bomb explodes.
> Describe the headspace technique for recovering accelerant residues. What instrument is most often used to detect and characterize recovered flammable residues?
> Why might an investigator conduct laboratory tests on unburned control material collected from a fire scene?
> Why are some traces of the accelerants used in an arson usually found even after intense fires?
> Where will an investigator usually locate the probable point of origin of a fire? What factors can cause a fire to deviate from normal behavior?
> While searching a murder scene, you find the following items that you believe may contain latent fingerprints. Indicate whether prints on each item should be developed using fingerprint powder or chemicals. a. A leather sofa b. A mirror c. A painted wood
> List three factors that make investigating arson and explosions particularly difficult for forensic scientists.
> List two advantages STRs have over restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP).
> What are short tandem repeats (STRs) and what is their significance to DNA typing?
> What are tandem repeats and how are they useful to forensic scientists?
> What is polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and how is it useful to forensic scientists?
> Describe the process of DNA replication. What is the importance of DNA replication?
> List three advantages gained from decoding the human genome.
> How are proteins formed? What determines the shape and function of a protein?
> List four steps an investigator should take to prevent contamination of DNA evidence.
> A description of the types of prints from the fingers of a criminal suspect appears below. Using the FBI system, determine the primary classification of this individual.
> How should packages containing DNA evidence be stored? Name one common exception and explain why it should be handled differently and how it should be stored.
> Name two advantages and two disadvantages of mitochondrial DNA analysis compared to nuclear DNA analysis.
> What are the three main differences between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA?
> What characteristics are revealed by the amelogenin gene and Y-STRs?
> What is complementary base pairing? What is the importance of the order in which base pairs are arranged?
> What is the purpose of a precipitin test? Name three strengths of precipitin tests.
> List two commonly used color tests for blood. How does a luminol test differ from these tests?
> What three questions must the criminalist be prepared to answer when examining dried blood?
> What is the difference between monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies? Which type are more useful for the forensic scientist and why?
> For what other application do forensic scientists often use specific antigen–antibody reactions? What is the EMIT technique frequently used for, and what is its greatest limitation?
> Classify each of the prints shown in the figure as loop, whorl, or arch.
> What factor is most whole blood typed for? What is the most common blood type in the United States? Which is least common?
> What is an antibody, and what happens when an antibody reacts with its specific antigen?
> What is an antigen and how is it useful in individualizing blood?
> Why is it important for investigators to seek information about when and if voluntary sexual activity last occurred before a sexual assault?
> List three reasons why spermatozoa are often not found in seminal fluid collected at a crime scene.
> What is acid phosphatase and how is it used by forensic scientists?
> What is a genotype and how do parents’ genotypes affect the blood type of their offspring? In what area of the law does this information have important implications?
> What is the A-B-O system? Why is the system no longer used by forensic scientists?
> What is an isotope? List two ways in which isotopes differ from one another.
> What is measured in emission spectroscopy?
> Sequence of Insect Arrival in Forensic Entomology. The following images depict the sequence of events at the site of a decomposing body. Place the arrival events in order of occurrence from earliest to latest.
> What causes an electron to move to a higher energy level? What happens when an electron moves to a lower energy level?
> What is the net electrical charge of an atom? What does this indicate about the arrangement of subatomic particles in an atom?
> List the three basic subatomic particles and indicate whether each has positive, negative, or no electrical charge.
> Why do forensic scientists often use inductively coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectrophotometry to analyze mutilated bullets?
> Describe the difference between a continuous spectrum and a line spectrum. Which is most helpful in identifying a particular element and why?
> Why is soil collected from suspect automobiles left in lump form?
> What is the most important consideration when collecting soil samples from a crime scene? At what locations should soil standard/reference samples be collected?
> What is a mineral and how can minerals be important in the comparison of soil samples?
> How can soil evidence be valuable even if the site of the crime has not been ascertained?
> Why should paint evidence from a hit-and-run accident be collected close to the area of the car suspected of being in contact with the victim?
> Creating a Forensic Anthropology Victim Profile. A nearly complete human skeleton has been found. The skeleton has the features shown in the accompanying table and image. Approximate the gender, ancestry, age range, and height of the individual based on
> Explain how the analysis of trace elements was important to the investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
> Where is most paint evidence likely to be found?
> What is PDQ and how is it used in identifying paint samples?
> How is pyrolysis gas chromatography used to distinguish one paint binder formulation from another?
> Why is layer structure important for evaluating the significance of paint evidence? What is the greatest shortcoming in using layer structure to analyze paint evidence?
> What three features of paint does a forensic scientist compare using a microscope?
> How does the way most automobile manufacturers paint their cars help in the forensic comparison of automobile paint?
> What is the main advantage and the main weakness of neutron activation analysis?
> Describe the process of neutron activation analysis. How does the process allow a forensic scientist to identify an isotope?
