Forensic Science Segment One Midterm

The first duty of the first responder is to begin collecting evidence.

False

Evidence may be placed into containers like manila envelopes, plastic pill bottles, plastic bags, and carefully folded paper.

True

Virtually any object could be physical evidence under the right circumstances.

True

Forensic entomologists study what to help solve crimes?

Flies

Who stated that there is an exchange of materials when two objects come into contact with each other?

Edmond Locard

Forensic science is the application of science to what field?

Criminal Justice

Who is known as the father of toxicology?

Mathieu Orfila

What is the gradual cooling of the body after death?

Algor Mortis

What criteria might be used to establish someone as an expert witness?

Education, Experience, Publications

What area specializes in the identification and examination of skeletal remains?

Forensic Anthropology

Forensic odontologists might be involved in which of the following circumstances?

A victim has a bite on his arm.

The oldest forensic laboratory in the US was built by whom?

Los Angeles Police Department

As an expert witness, a forensic scientist is ethically responsible for doing what?

Telling the whole truth

Which of the following might be a piece of evidence?

Weapons, Blood, Hair

Which of the following would be an exception for the Fourth Amendment?

An individual gives permission for the search

What is recorded in any sketches done of the crime scene?

The distances of all objects from two points

What type of sketch is done at the scene of the crime before the evidence is collected?

Rough sketch

Firearms are typically found in which way?

By sight

What is the chain of custody?

A list of all people who had possession of the evidence

Small evidence is also called what?

Trace evidence

A sample taken from the crime scene is called what?

A questioned sample

Which of the following could not be shipped by mail to a crime lab?

Explosive materials

Blood should not be stored in which way?

In an airtight container

Forensic soil analysis does not require much extra experience or training.

False

A scale, like a ruler, should be included in photographs of impressions to help show the size of the impression.

True

Class characteristics are those associated with what?

A group

What properties are those that describe what happens when a substance reacts with another substance?

Chemical properties

In order to be valid, a good test used by a forensic scientist should be which of the following?

Reproducible

For glass fragments to be individualized, what must be true?

They must fit together

What is the frequency of an event?

Probability

How long do casts of impressions need to sit before they can be analyzed?

24 hours

What is evidence that is used to help recreate or illustrate a crime?

Demonstrative evidence

Radial fractures in a piece of glass look most like which of the following?

Spokes of a wheel

When the drug heroin comes into contact with the Marquis reagent chemical what happens?

It turns purple

What is the first step in recording an impression?

Taking a photograph

A Chinese book has the first written record of medical knowledge to solving crime in a description of how to distinguish between strangulation and drowning.

True

Giving expert testimony is a fairly easy part of the forensic scientist's job.

False

In the study that the FBI did on examining the physical characteristics of hair, what percentage of the "matches" were not really matches at all?

Ten percent

To distinguish between human and animal hair, forensic scientists may look at what part of the hair?

Medulla

What reagent may be sprayed at a crime scene to identify blood?

Luminol

What type of DNA is easiest to collect?

Mitochondrial DNA

If a fingerprint is discovered on a dark surface, what color fingerprint powder might be used?

Grey

What is the best source of nuclear DNA when working with hair samples?

Follicular tissue

What gives fingerprints their unique characteristics?

Ridge characteristics

How much does hair grow on average in one month?

One centimeter

What test may be used to determine if a stain is blood or not?

Kastle-Meyer Color Test

A hair's form and structure is known as what?

Morphology

The morphology of a hair sample can tie the hair to a single person.

False

On average, there are about 10 ridge characteristics in a fingerprint.

False

Arch fingerprints are the least common type of fingerprints in the population.

True