What is the DRE program? What are its main strengths and weaknesses?
> 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?
> How does a nuclear reactor generate radioactive elements?
> In cooperation with the medical examiner or coroner, evidence retrieved from a deceased victim and sent to the crime lab should include which items?
> What causes radioactivity? List and define the three types of radiation.
> What is a trace element and why are trace elements important in analyzing physical evidence?
> What is a divided-attention task? Name and describe two divided-attention tasks often administered during field sobriety tests.
> What is the key to the accuracy of a breath tester? Describe two steps the operator takes to ensure that this key requirement is met.
> Describe how a fuel cell detector measures blood alcohol.
> What was the first successful breath-test device and what did it measure to determine blood-alcohol concentration? What is the main difference between this device and the breath-test devices currently in use?
> Why is a blood test for alcohol taken shortly after drinking more advantageous for the suspect than one taken 30 minutes or more after drinking?
> Name and describe the process by which most alcohol is eliminated from the body. How is the remaining alcohol eliminated, and how is this useful in testing for alcohol?
> List at least three factors that determine the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream.
> What are the requirements of a suitable test for alcohol intoxication?
> Identify a reasonable manner of death for each of the following situations: a. A contact wound to the back of the head b. An elevated carboxyhemoglobin blood level in a fire victim c. A fractured hyoid bone d. Death by overdose of a first-time user of al
> Why is knowledge of an individual’s history of drug use important in evaluating drug concentrations found by a toxicologist?
> A body is found at a fire scene but investigators are not sure whether the victim was alive when the fire began. How can measuring the level of carbon monoxide in the victim’s blood help determine this?
> Why is it necessary to follow a positive screening test for drugs with a confirmation test? What is the confirmation test of choice?
> What is metabolism and how does it complicate the task of the forensic toxicologist?
> List two significant challenges a forensic toxicologist faces when attempting to identify drugs present in a body.
> At what blood-alcohol level is a typical driver in the United States considered legally intoxicated? At what blood-alcohol level is a commercial truck or bus driver in the United States considered legally intoxicated?
> Why is it best to collect blood samples from different body sites for postmortem alcohol determination?
> What substances are typically added to blood that is collected from a subject before it is sent to a toxicology lab, and why are they added?
> What is horizontal gaze nystagmus and how does the test for it reveal blood-alcohol levels?
> What kind of forensic expert would most likely be asked to help identify human remains in each of the following conditions? a. A body that has been decomposing for a day or two b. Fragmentary remains of a few arm bones and part of a jaw c. A skeleton tha
> What is the primary duty of a forensic toxicologist?
> Name two club drugs that are associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault, rape, and robbery. Why are these drugs relatively easy to administer to an unsuspecting victim?
> Name the two most commonly abused illegal stimulants and the smokable forms of each. Why does smoking provide a more intense drug experience than inhaling, or “snorting,” stimulants?
> How can excessive use of depressants cause death?
> What is the most widely abused drug in the United States? Under what class of drugs is it listed, and what are its short-term physical and psychological effects at low to moderate doses?
> What is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States? Under what class of drugs is it listed and what are its short-term physical and psychological effects at low to moderate doses?
> What opium derivative is most widely used by addicts? How is it typically administered? Give two reasons why this route of administration is popular.
> What is the source of most narcotic drugs? From what plant is this substance derived?
> In what area does mass spectrometry currently have its greatest application for forensic scientists?
> What major advantage does infrared spectrophotometry enjoy over ultraviolet spectrophotometry?
> Rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis are all used to help determine time of death. However, each method has its limitations. For each method, describe at least one condition that would render that method unsuitable or inaccurate for determining t
> What is the main strength and main weakness of ultraviolet spectrophotometry?
> Briefly describe the basic process of spectrophotometry.
> What is Beer’s law and what analytical technique is based on it?
> How are ultraviolet spectrophotometry and infrared spectrophotometry used in drug analysis?
> What is the most important drawback to gas chromatography?
> What two chromatographic processes are most applicable for solving analytical problems typically encountered in the crime laboratory? What is the main advantage of each?
> Under what class of drugs is cocaine listed according to U.S. federal drug laws? Explain why this classification is pharmacologically incorrect.
> Briefly describe the basic chromatographic process. Be sure to explain how motion is important to the process.
> Describe how a microcrystalline test works. Name two advantages of microcrystalline tests.
> How does a color test work? What is the main limitation of a color test for identifying drugs?
> Investigator Terry Martin arrives at an assault scene and finds a cast-off pattern consisting of tiny drops of blood in a very narrow linear arc pattern on a wall near the victim. What does this tell him about the weapon used in the crime?
> Police investigating an apparent suicide collect the following items at the scene: a note purportedly written by the victim, a revolver bearing very faint fingerprints, and traces of skin and blood under the victim’s fingernails. What units of the crime
> What two goals must laboratory testing accomplish to positively identify a drug?
> List and describe the two phases in a criminalist’s scheme of action for identifying a drug.
> What is a precursor? How is possession of a precursor treated under the Controlled Substances Act?
> What is a controlled substance analog? Why are such substances considered schedule I drugs?
> According to the Controlled Substances Act, what is the legal difference between a schedule I drug and a schedule II drug?
> On what three criteria does the Controlled Substances Act classify dangerous substances?
> What is the most popular club drug? Name three negative health effects associated with chronic use of the drug.
> Name two physiological factors and two nondrug factors that influence drug dependence.
> List three important considerations when submitting hair samples to a crime laboratory.
> What is mitochondrial DNA and why is it useful in analyzing hair samples?
> Investigator Priscilla Wright arrives at a murder scene and finds the body of a victim who suffered a gunshot wound, but she sees no blood spatter on the wall or floor behind it. What should she conclude from this observation?
> What type of hair specimens are potentially the richest source of nuclear DNA and why?
> Why are most hair specimens collected at crime scenes not good sources of DNA?
> Which of the following cannot be confidently determined by a microscopic examination of hair: age, sex, racial origin, the part of the body from which the hair came, or whether the hair was pulled out or fell out?
> In comparing two hair samples, what aspects of the hair is the criminalist particularly interested in matching? What other features of hair are important to compare?
> What is the follicular tag and why is it important to forensic scientists studying hair?
> 1. True or False: Henry’s law describes the distribution of a volatile chemical compound between its liquid and gas phases. _________ 2. The (higher, lower) the solubility of a gas in a liquid, the greater its tendency to remain dissolved in that liquid
> 1. _________ are composed of a large number of atoms arranged in repeating units. 2. The basic unit of the polymer is called the _________. 3. _________ are polymers composed of thousands of amino acids linked in a highly organized arrangement and sequ
