Forensic Sciences

Question 1

What is forensic science?

Answer 1

“The application of scientific methods and techniques to matters under investigation by a court of law”

Question 2

What are the 4 main areas of Forensic Analysis?

Answer 2

Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Toxicology

Question 3

What is Locard’s Principle?

Answer 3

Every contact leaves a trace

Question 4

What is trace evidence?

Answer 4

Very small amounts of material

Question 5

What are some ways you can recover evidence?

Answer 5

Shaking
Brushing
Taping
Vacuuming
Swabbing
Hand Picking
Extracting
Pipette/Swab

Question 6

How can glass be used as evidence?

Answer 6

Glass can be put through colour, physical and chemical analysis.
Crater shaped holes in glass can indicate direction of impact

Question 7

What can be used for Fibre Analysis?

Answer 7

Tapings, Microscopy, Thin Layer Chromatography, Infrared Spectroscopy

Question 8

What type of tests are used for semen?

Answer 8

Microscopy
Acid Phosphatase
p30
The DNA
Seminal fluid, is it sterile?

Question 9

What type of tests can be used for saliva?

Answer 9

Starch/Iodine
Salivary Amylase
Does it contain bacterial/cheek cells?

Question 10

How can blood be characterised?

Answer 10

Animal or human
Blood type
Sex
Age
Race

Question 11

What is blood pattern analysis?

Answer 11

“The examination of shapes, location, and distribution patterns of blood stains, in order to provide an interpretation of the physical event which gave rise to the origin”

Question 12

What are some of the purposes of blood pattern analysis?

Answer 12

Information on the sequence of events: struggle evidence, victim position

Question 13

What are the three types of blood patterns?

Answer 13

Passive (gravity, drops, pools, clots)

Transfer (Contact, smear, wipe, smudge)

Projected (Arterial spurt/gush, cast off stains, impact, point of convergence)

Question 14

What is entomology and what is forensic entomology?

Answer 14

Entomology is the study of insects. And forensic entomology is the used of insects and/or arthropods to aid in legal investigations.

Question 15

What are the three areas of application of forensic entomology?

Answer 15

1. Insects that inhabit human remains
2. Insects that damage structures
3. Infestation of foods

Question 16

What is pharmacodynamics?

Answer 16

What a drug does to the body. Includes the biochemical, physiological, and molecular effects on the body.

Question 17

What is pharmacokinetics?

Answer 17

What happens when drugs go into the body.
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Elimination

Question 18

What happens (generally) when alcohol enters the body?

Answer 18

Alcohol is absorbed into many structures (mouth, oesophagus, intestine, stomach, circulatory system) and is passed into the blood stream and finds its way to various organs around the body.

Question 19

What factors affect the rates of Absorption?

Answer 19

Quantity
Concentration
Contact time in GIT
Food
Stomach emptying

Question 20

What is one way to limit alcohol contact time with the GIT?

Answer 20

Having food in the stomach

Question 21

What can happen if alcohol goes through a microsome oxidative pathway?

Answer 21

The pathway will produce free radicals, build up of these will cause liver damage!

Question 22

What are the four places you can measure alcohol from?

Answer 22

Blood, Urine, Breath, Saliva

Question 23

What are some of the types of toxicology cases?

Answer 23

Road traffic act offences
Drink driving
Drug driving
Drug-facilitated sexual assault
Hair testing for social services
Sudden or suspicious deaths

Question 24

What are drug classes based on?

Answer 24

The harm that the drug can cause to an individual or to society