Criminalistics Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Criminalistics is the scientific study and application of various techniques and methods to analyze physical evidence in criminal investigations. This course explores the fundamental principles and practices used in forensic science laboratories, covering topics such as fingerprint analysis, DNA profiling, ballistics, trace evidence identification, and crime scene reconstruction. Students will learn how to collect, preserve, and interpret different types of evidence, as well as the legal and ethical considerations associated with presenting forensic findings in court. Emphasis is placed on developing analytical skills, understanding the chain of custody, and appreciating the role of criminalistics in modern law enforcement and the justice system.
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Forensic Science An Introduction 2nd Edition by Saferstein Richard
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) Forensic science is the application of science to:
A) civil laws.
B) crime scene reconstruction.
C) speech making.
D) both criminal and civil laws.
E) criminal laws.
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following can be rightfully cited as an explanation for the rapid growth of crime labs during the last 25 years?
A) advent of DNA profiling
B) increase in drug-related arrests
C) staggering increase in crime rates in the United States
D) Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s
E) all of the above
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: Securing and Searching the Crime Scene
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Q1) The first officer arriving at a crime scene, after providing or obtaining medical assistance for the injured and effecting an arrest of suspects (if possible), should immediately:
A) photograph the scene.
B) search for evidence.
C) make a rough sketch of the scene.
D) take notes.
E) secure the scene.
Answer: E
Q2) Which type of evidence must be packaged separately from other evidence?
A) biological stain evidence
B) DNA-containing evidence
C) arson evidence
D) A and B
E) all of the above
Answer: E
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Chapter 3: Recording the Crime Scene
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Q1) List and describe three categories of physical evidence that are commonly found at crime scenes.
Answer: 1. Biological evidence: This category includes any physical material that originated from a living organism, such as blood, saliva, hair, skin cells, and bodily fluids. Biological evidence is commonly found at crime scenes and can be crucial in identifying suspects through DNA analysis.
2. Trace evidence: This category includes small, often microscopic, pieces of physical material that can be transferred between people or objects during a crime. Examples of trace evidence include fibers, glass fragments, paint chips, and gunshot residue. These types of evidence can provide important clues about the events that took place at a crime scene.
3. Impressions and tool marks: This category includes evidence left behind by objects or tools used during a crime. This can include shoeprints, tire tracks, fingerprints, and tool marks left on surfaces such as doors or windows. Impressions and tool marks can be used to link a suspect to a crime scene or to identify the tools or objects used during the commission of a crime.
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Chapter 4: Collection of Crime-Scene Evidence
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Q1) A piece of glass is immersed in a liquid. It proceeds to float on the liquid's surface. This shows that the density of the glass is ___________ the density of the liquid. A) not comparable B) equal to C) less than D) more than E) none of the above
Q2) A(n) ___________ property describes the behavior of a substance without reference to any other substance while a(n) ___________ property describes the behavior of a substance when it reacts or combines with another substance.
A) optical; birefringent B) physical; biological C) chemical; biological D) optical; chemical E) physical; chemical
Q3) The density of liquids is ________ the density of gases. A) the same as B) greater than C) less than
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Chapter 5: Physical Evidence
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Q1) The details of the pattern of an infrared (IR) spectrograph are ________ the details of an ultraviolet (UV) spectrograph.
A) less than
B) greater than
C) the same as
Q2) Marijuana is considered to be a:
A) stimulant
B) hallucinogen
C) depressant
D) narcotic
E) tranquilizer
Q3) The pattern and intensity of dependency on a drug does not depend on the:
A) cost of the drug.
B) bioavailability of the active metabolite.
C) individual's rate of metabolism.
D) frequency of administration.
E) dose and route of administration.
Q4) Briefly describe the proper collection techniques for the preservation of drug evidence.
Q5) Explain the difference between a qualitative and quantitative test.
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Chapter 6: Death Investigation
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Q1) Field sobriety tests that can be employed to ascertain the degree of an individual's alcohol impairment normally do not include the following:
A) Horizontal gaze nystagmus
B) Portable, roadside breath tester
C) One-leg stand
D) Gas chromatography
E) Walk and turn
Q2) There is a(n) ________ relationship between the amount of alcohol in the blood and that in the alveolar breath.
A) direct
B) indirect
C) punctuated
D) undetermined
E) variable
Q3) List and describe the most commonly employed field sobriety tests.
Q4) Briefly describe how a toxicologist finds a drug in human tissue or organs.
Q5) Explain how alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, transported through the body and eliminated.
Q6) Explain how alcohol is released by the lungs.
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Chapter 7: Crime-Scene Reconstruction
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Q1) Working Distance
Q2) The resolving power of a lens with a numerical aperture (N.A.) of 1.3 is ________ a lens with an N.A. of 0.65.
A) less than
B) the same as C) greater than
Q3) Depth of Focus
Q4) A compound microscope is equipped with two objectives lenses (10x and 45x) and has a 10x ocular lens. The highest magnification attainable with this instrument is:
A) 100x.
B) 650x.
C) 4500x.
D) 65x.
E) 450x.
Q5) Briefly describe how a microspectrophotometer is used to examine trace evidence.
Q6) Field of View
Q7) Compare and contrast the comparison microscope to the compound microscope.
Q8) Magnification
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Chapter 8: Fingerprints
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Q1) The sensitivity of the Takayama and Teichmann crystal tests for the identification of bloodstains is ________ the sensitivity of the Kastle-Meyer color test for bloodstain identification.
A) less than
B) greater than
C) the same as
Q2) What is true about monoclonal antibodies?
A) They are expected to be medicine's version of the "magic bullet."
B) They are produced utilizing rapidly multiplying blood-cancer cells.
C) They can be produced in limitless supply.
D) They are produced by injecting a mouse with an antigen.
E) all of the above
Q3) In which phenotype pairings can the genotypes of the individuals be directly known?
A) type A and type AB
B) type AB and type O
C) type A and type B
D) type O and type A
E) type B and type O
Q4) List the lab tests that are used to characterize seminal stains.
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Chapter 9: Firearms, Toolmarks, and Other Impressions
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Q1) The PCR technique requires the use of a thermal cycler to:
A) hydrolyze polymerase.
B) synthesize protein.
C) copy DNA.
D) make probes radioactive.
E) analyze the sequence of bases.
Q2) Which of the following depicts correct base-pairing in DNA?
A) A-U
B) T-A
C) A-C
D) C-T
E) G-A
Q3) Note that suspect B has only one band in his lane. This is most likely an indication that:
A) band shifting occurred.
B) his DNA was contaminated during the collection process.
C) he is homozygous for the gene.
D) he did not provide a complete sample to the laboratory.
E) he is trisomic for the trait.
Q4) Diagram the complementary strand for the following DNA segment ATAGCCGTA.
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Chapter 10: Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
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Q1) At the crime scene, the string method is used to find the ___________ of an impact spatter pattern.
A) area of origin
B) void pattern
C) drying time
D) velocity classification
E) area of convergence
Q2) Widely spaced bloody shoeprints with satellite spatter between the shoeprints were likely deposited by an individual who was:
A) standing in place.
B) carrying a bloody weapon.
C) injured during the incident.
D) running.
E) walking slowly.
Q3) The pointed end of a bloodstain always faces:
A) toward the position of the blood source.
B) opposite its direction of travel.
C) toward the direction from which the force came.
D) in its direction of travel.
E) none of the above.
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Chapter 11: Drugs
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Q1) Which race is most likely to have head hair with continuous medullae?
A) Icelandic
B) Negroid
C) Caucasian
D) Mongoloid
E) Native American
Q2) Generally, the parallel refractive index of a fiber is ________ the perpendicular refractive index of the same fiber.
A) greater than
B) the same as
C) less than
Q3) In what stage can a hair most readily be removed from the scalp?
A) generic
B) analgesic
C) catagenic
D) telogenic
E) anagenic
Q4) List and explain the three phases of hair growth.
Q5) Describe the correlation between hair analysis and DNA typing.
Q6) Label the cuticle, cortex and medulla on the following hair sample.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Forensic Toxicology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which coating helps resist UV radiation and acid rain?
A)electrocoat primer
B)primer surface
C)basecoat
D)clearcoat
Q2) Atoms having the same atomic number but different atomic masses are called:
A) isobars.
B) isotopes.
C) isotherms.
D) isometrics.
E) isomers.
Q3) An element is selective in the frequency of light it will absorb. This selectivity is due to its:
A) electron energy levels.
B) atomic mass.
C) atomic number.
D) number of neutrons.
E) proton cloud.
Q4) List and explain the most useful examinations that forensic scientists use in a paint comparison.
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Chapter 13: Trace Evidence I: Hairs and Fibers
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Q1) The movement of heat through a solid object is a process known as:
A) convection.
B) radiation.
C) pyrolysis.
D) oxidation.
E) conduction.
Q2) Which substance has the highest ignition temperature?
A) kerosene
B) benzene
C) fuel oil
D) turpentine
E) octane
Q3) Gasoline residues are best characterized by:
A) emission spectroscopy.
B) ultraviolet analysis.
C) infrared spectrophotometry.
D) gas chromatography.
E) atomic absorption.
Q4) Describe the three mechanisms of heat transfer.
Q5) List the conditions that are necessary to initiate and sustain combustion.
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Chapter 14: Trace Evidence Ii: Paint, Glass, and Soil
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Q1) What is NOT true about taggants?
A) They can help the bomb-scene investigator recover useful evidence.
B) They are widely used to help trace an explosive to its last legal possessor.
C) They are color-coded chips that can survive explosions.
D) They carry information regarding where, when and for whom an explosive was manufactured.
E) They are magnetic sensitive and fluorescent.
Q2) A chemical used to synthesize the explosive TATP is:
A) aluminum.
B) magnesium.
C) potassium chlorate.
D) hydrogen peroxide.
E) none of the above
Q3) Describe how a forensic scientist would collect physical evidence at the scene of an explosion.
Q4) Briefly explain the classification of explosives.
Q5) For each of the following provide an example of a common type of explosive; commercial, homemade and military.
Q6) At the crime lab, what procedures to they use to detect and identify explosive residues?
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Biological Stain Analysis: DNA
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Q1) Chemical methods for developing latent fingerprints must be used in the following sequence:
A) Iodine, ninhydrin, physical developer
B) Iodine, physical developer, ninhydrin
C) Ninhydrin, physical developer, iodine
D) Ninhydrin, iodine, physical developer
E) Physical developer, ninhydrin, iodine
Q2) Super Glue fuming is NOT suitable for use on:
A) leather.
B) floor tile.
C) metal.
D) plastic bags.
E) cardboard.
Q3) Protein residues are best developed into fingerprint impressions with: A) physical developer.
B) iodine.
C) dusting powder.
D) ninhydrin.
E) all of the above
Q4) List and diagram the three major fingerprint patterns.
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Chapter 16: Forensic Aspects of Fire and Explosion Investigation
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Q1) The likelihood of detecting GSR on swabs taken from living subjects more than six hours after a firing has occurred is ________ the likelihood of detecting GSR within two hours of a firing.
A) greater than
B) less than
C) the same as
Q2) The presence of gunpowder residues on a garment whose color conceals the existence of the residues is best revealed by
A) infrared spectrophotometry.
B) color photography.
C) gas chromatography.
D) infrared photography.
E) ultraviolet photography.
Q3) Gun powder residue patterns can be detected by:
A) the Greiss test.
B) IR photograph.
C) both A and B
D) neither A nor B
Q4) Explain how a comparison microscope is used to compare bullets and cartridge cases.
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Chapter 17: Document Examination
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Q1) Document examiners frequently uncover the original writing of words that have been crossed out with the aid of:
A) transmitted radiation.
B) color photography.
C) infrared radiation.
D) thin-layer chromatography
E) side lighting.
Q2) The writing characteristics of a person may be altered by whether:
A) a significant amount of time has passed between writing of exemplar and the questioned document.
B) the posture or stance of the author varies between writings.
C) pencil, ballpoint or fountain pen is used.
D) paper is ruled or unruled.
E) all of the above
Q3) List and describe some of the techniques that document examiners use to uncover alterations, erasures, obliterations, and variations in pen inks.
Q4) What is a questioned document?
Q5) List and describe some of the class and individual characteristics of printers and photocopiers.
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Chapter 18: Computer Forensics
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Q1) A(n) ___________ is placed on a hard disk drive by a website to track certain information about its visitors.
A) e-mail
B) cache
C) phish
D) IP address
E) cookie
Q2) A device that permits only requested traffic to enter a computer system is known as a(n) :
A) internet cache
B) network traffic manager
C) firewall
D) central processing unit (CPU)
E) cookie
Q3) Unauthorized intrusion into a computer is called:
A) whacking.
B) spamming.
C) crashing.
D) hacking.
E) slamming.
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