Forensic Science Laboratory
Test Questions
Course Introduction
The Forensic Science Laboratory course offers students hands-on experience with essential techniques and methodologies used in criminal investigations. Through practical laboratory sessions, students learn to collect, analyze, and interpret physical evidence such as fingerprints, hair, fibers, blood, and other biological samples. The course emphasizes the careful application of scientific principles in evidence processing, documentation, and presentation. By integrating theoretical knowledge with practical skills, students develop a thorough understanding of the role of forensic science in the justice system and gain insight into the ethical considerations involved in forensic investigations.
Recommended Textbook
Criminalistics An Introduction to Forensic Science 12th Edition by Richard Saferstein
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
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Sample Questions
Q1) A forensic ________ can compare bite marks left on a victim to the tooth structure of suspects.
Answer: Odontologist
Q2) A voiceprint transforms a visual graphic display into speech.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Forensic anthropologists can use dental records such as X-rays,dental casts,and a photograph of a person's smile to compare a set of dental remains and a suspected victim.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) The necessity for the forensic scientist to appear in court comes from the U.S.Supreme Court case:
A) Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
B) Crawford v. Washington
C) Coppolino v. State
D) Frye v. United States
Answer: A
Page 3
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Chapter 2: The Crime Scene
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Sample Questions
Q1) Police ________ and the strategic positioning of guards will prohibit unauthorized access to the crime scene.
Answer: Barricades
Q2) The investigators should follow a direct path to the center of the scene.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Warrantless searches are permitted under law in all of the following situations
EXCEPT:
A) The existence of emergency circumstances.
B) The injury or death of a police officer or law enforcement employee.
C) The consent of the parties involved.
D) The need to prevent the immediate loss of evidence.
Answer: B
Q4) Which of the following items is likely to contain DNA evidence?
A) A self-adhesive mailing stamp
B) A bed sheet
C) A blue rug fiber
D) A glass fragment
Answer: B
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Physical Evidence
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Sample Questions
Q1) Paint chips,random glass fragments,and synthetic fibers all exhibit:
A) Individual characteristics.
B) Class characteristics.
C) Identification characteristics.
D) Comparison characteristics.
Answer: B
Q2) IAFIS is maintained by the ________.
Answer: FBI
Q3) The "jigsaw fit" of known and questioned fragments is important for court presentation primarily because:
A) It is a quick way of demonstrating how the object broke.
B) Courts and juries are too nonscientific to understand it any other way.
C) Instrumental analysis is too complicated to explain to nontechnical juries.
D) This method will definitely demonstrate common origin when a match is made.
Answer: D
Q4) The purpose of ________ is to determine the physical or chemical identity of a substance.
Answer: Identification
Q5) The computerized database used to store DNA information is ________.
Answer: CODIS
5
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Chapter 4: Crime Scene Reconstruction: Blood Stain Pattern
Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Name two major limitations of crime scene reconstruction.
Q2) Gunshot exit wounds commonly produce medium-velocity spatter,while explosions produce high-velocity spatter.
A)True
B)False
Q3) 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) Area of convergence
D) Velocity classification
Q4) Drops propelled from a pointed surface will be smaller and the pattern more
Q5) Generally,bloodstain diameter ________ as height increases.
A) Decreases
B) Remains unchanged
C) Increases
D) Increases lengthwise and decreases widthwise
Q6) A(n)________ pattern is a pattern made by drops or large amounts of blood flowing by the pull of gravity. Page 6
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Chapter 5: Death Investigation
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Q1) What is postmortem redistribution and how do forensic pathologists avoid it?
Q2) Forensic entomology is often used to help estimate the time of death. A)True
B)False
Q3) The range of ________ involves the distance between the gun and the victim and can help in distinguishing between homicide and suicide.
Q4) Types of injuries that are classified during the external autopsy include contusions,lacerations,and ________.
Q5) The ________ of a skeleton can be determined by observing the shape of the pelvis and sacrum,the size of the cranium,and the protrusion of the brow bone and mastoid process.
Q6) Rigor mortis,eye fluid potassium levels,livor mortis,and insect infestation can be used to estimate the ________ of death.
Q7) Death intentionally caused by another person is typically ruled a(n):
A) Accident.
B) Suicide.
C) Homicide.
D) Natural.
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Q8) Tearing and crushing of the tissues is known as a ________ force type injury.
Chapter 6: Fingerprints
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which substance is a substitute for Ninhydrin?
A) DFO
B) RAY
C) MRM 10
D) RAM
Q2) A final conclusion made using the ACE-V process is either the individualization or elimination of a print.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The three types of fingerprint patterns are loops,whorls,and ________.
Q4) Why is it pointless to try to obscure or obliterate one's fingerprints by scarring or otherwise damaging the skin?
Q5) Which of the following is NOT a ridge characteristic of a fingerprint?
A) Enclosure
B) Bifurcation
C) Island
D) Core
Q6) ________ fingerprints are formed when a finger touches a surface and transfers perspiration,along with oils onto the surface.
Page 9
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Chapter 7: Forensic Biometrics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ________ process captures a person's biometric data and stores it in a database for later use.
Q2) Which scanners are largely outdated and considered to be too intrusive to be practical in real-world applications?
A) Iris
B) Retina
C) Pupil
D) Cornea
Q3) The ________ has a criminal database containing millions of front-facing mugshot photos of individuals with tenprints on file.
Q4) A facial recognition system can be easily tricked by a ________ picture.
Q5) The ________ allows for officers to fingerprint individuals they come in contact with and quickly detect whether or not they are a threat.
Q6) Briefly explain how biometric facial recognition works.
Q7) Iris-based biometric systems have one of the easiest enrollment processes that are available today.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: The Microscope
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Sample Questions
Q1) The magnification power of a microscope equals the magnifying power of the objective lens multiplied by two.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The scanning electron microscope produces an image by aiming a beam of electrons onto a specimen.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Briefly describe how a comparison microscope works and what it is used for.
Q4) The most important tool of the firearms examiner is the ________ microscope.
Q5) The major advantages of the SEM image include all of the following EXCEPT:
A) High magnification.
B) High reproducibility.
C) High resolution.
D) Great depth of focus.
Q6) The infrared microspectrophotometer is used to analyze fibers and paints.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Unique shapes,aperture type,and surface ________ are typically used to identify spore samples.
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Chapter 9: Firearms, tool Marks, and Other Impressions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Generally speaking,the amount of gun powder particles found around a bullet hole is ________ to the distance from which the weapon was fired.
A) Indirectly related
B) Not related
C) Directly related
D) None of the above
Q2) The parts of a firearm that leave impressions on a cartridge case that constitute class characteristics of that weapon are the firing pin,the breech face mark,the ejector,and the extractor.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Before any impression is moved or otherwise handled,it must be ________ to show all the observable details of the impression.
Q4) ________ are the cut or low-lying portions between the lands in a rifled bore.
Q5) Discharged evidence bullets must be carefully handled to avoid damage to the:
A) Manufacturer's imprint.
B) Caliber markings.
C) Striation markings.
D) Ejection pattern.
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Chapter 10: Matter, light, and Glass Examination
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Sample Questions
Q1) The English system is used in the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The refractive index of a substance varies with:
A) Its temperature.
B) The wavelength of the light passing through it.
C) The color of the light passing through it.
D) All of the above
Q3) The color of an opaque object is determined by which component color(s)of light it
Q4) A criminalist is attempting to find the side of a glass pane from which a shattering force originated.How can that be determined when examining a fragment from a radial crack?
A concentric crack?
Q5) The weight of an object can vary from one location to another while mass remains the same regardless of location.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The fracture pattern of glass usually has radial and ________ lines.
Q7) As the temperature of a liquid or gas increases,its density ________.
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Chapter 11: Hairs and Fibers
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Sample Questions
Q1) The cortex of hair derives its major forensic importance from the fact that it contains:
A) Scales.
B) Pigments.
C) Medullae.
D) DNA.
Q2) The visible light microspectrophotometer is a convenient tool with which to compare the color of fibers because:
A) Very small samples can be compared
B) Fibers can be studied right on a microscope slide
C) Fibers are not destroyed
D) All of the above
Q3) A criminalist is more likely to obtain DNA from hairs in the:
A) Anagenic stage.
B) Catagenic stage.
C) Telogenic stage.
D) Terminal stage.
Q4) A microscopic examination can tell whether a hair is from a scalp or a beard.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Drugs
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Sample Questions
Q1) Multiple chemical components of a mixture are separated via thin-layer chromatography using silica gel as the stationary phase and ethanol and acetic acid as the mobile phase.What does the distance travelled by each component tell the analyst about their chemical identity?
Q2) Barbiturates act to:
A) Produce sleep.
B) Create a feeling of well-being.
C) Promote relaxation.
D) All of the above
Q3) Methadone and OxyContin are two ________ opiates.
Q4) The reagent used for the field test of heroin is:
A) Marquis
B) Duquenois-Levine
C) Scott reagent
D) Van Urk
Q5) Gas chromatography cannot be considered an absolute means of identification.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The pharmacological definition of a ________ is a substance that relieves pain and produces sleep.
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Chapter 13: Forensic Toxicology
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Sample Questions
Q1) An alcoholic disinfectant should be applied to a subject's skin before drawing blood.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What are acids and bases?
How are they used to extract and categorize drugs?
Q3) A fuel cell detector converts alcohol in alveolar breath into ________ acid.
Q4) The quantity and type of food present in the stomach at the time of drinking does not affect the rate at which alcohol is absorbed.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The concentration of alcohol in an exhaled breath is in direct proportion to that of the blood of the same individual.The ratio of this relationship is closest to:
A) 1:10.
B) 1:1,000.
C) 1:100.
D) 1:2,000.
Q6) Blood and ________ should be collected from any suspected drug user.
Q7) About 95-98 percent of alcohol is oxidized to water and ________.
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Chapter 14: Metals, paint, and Soil
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Sample Questions
Q1) An element is selective in the frequency of light it will absorb.This selectivity is due to its:
A) Number of neutrons.
B) Proton cloud.
C) Atomic mass.
D) Electron energy levels.
Q2) The presence of trace elements is useful because they provide markers that may establish the source of a material.
A)True
B)False
Q3) After examining small paint chips from an auto accident scene and using the PDQ database,the crime lab worker can determine the ________ of the vehicle.
A) Model
B) Make
C) Year
D) All of the above
Q4) After the paint has been applied to a surface,the solvent evaporates.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Forensic Serology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gel diffusion takes advantage of the fact that antibodies and antigens move toward one another on a plate.
A)True
B)False
Q2) To determine the human or non-human origin of a blood sample,the forensic scientist needs antibodies for each species of interest.Briefly describe how antibodies capable of reacting are produced in animals.
Q3) Buccal cells are obtained from:
A) Semen.
B) The mouth and inside of the cheek.
C) Urine.
D) Blood.
Q4) Chromosomes are the fundamental units of heredity.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Antibodies are found:
A) In the red blood cells
B) In the white blood cells
C) In the solid portion of blood
D) In the blood serum
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Chapter 16: DNA: the Indispensable Forensic Science Tool
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the number of nitrogenous bases needed to code for a specific amino acid?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 5
D) 6
Q2) Name two advantages and two disadvantages of mitochondrial DNA analysis compared to nuclear DNA analysis.
Q3) DNA analysts are able to examine samples containing as few as ________ cells for an STR profile.
A) 18
B) 36
C) 180
D) 800
Q4) DNA ________ are enzymes that assemble a new DNA strand in the proper base sequence determined by the original or parent DNA strand.
Q5) The four bases associated with DNA are adenine,cytosine,guanine,and ________.
Q6) ________ repeats are regions of a chromosome that contain multiple copies of a core DNA sequence arranged in a repeating fashion.
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Chapter 17: Forensic Aspects of Fire and Explosion Investigation
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Q1) Bombs made of high explosives must be detonated by an initiating explosion.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which type(s)of screening and confirmation tests are used for analyzing evidence of explosives?
A) TLC
B) Color spot tests
C) Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
D) All of the above
Q3) Factors that can contribute to abnormal observations at a fire scene include:
A) Winds or drafts.
B) Secondary fires due to collapsing floors or roof.
C) Stairways or elevator shafts.
D) All of the above
Q4) Military "dynamite" contains no nitroglycerin.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is the main advantage of analyzing accelerant residues from a fire using the vapor concentration technique over the headspace technique?
Q6) Metals,beams,nails,fasteners,and bolts are examples of good ________. Page 20
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Chapter 18: Document Examination
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Sample Questions
Q1) Margins,spacing,crowding,insertions,alignment,spelling,punctuation,phraseology,and grammar cannot impart individual variations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ________ printers include inkjet and laser printers.
Q3) When dictating to a person in order to obtain samples of handwriting,one should NOT:
A) Use paper similar to that of the questioned document.
B) Use a pen similar to that of the questioned document.
C) Dictate the contents of the text at least three times.
D) Allow the suspect to view the questioned document before dictating it.
Q4) Variations in vertical and horizontal alignment cannot be used to identify a typewriter.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe two situations in which a document examiner may be prevented from coming to a positive conclusion about a questioned document.
Q6) Two analytical techniques used to analyze writing inks are microspectrophotometry and ________ chromatography.
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Chapter 19: Computer Forensics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most web browsers use a(n)________ to expedite and streamline browsing.
A) Area network
B) Cable modem
C) Domain
D) Caching system
Q2) A bit,or a binary digit,is the smallest unit of information on a computer.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The definition of software is:
A) Storage programs used to start the boot process.
B) A set of instructions compiled into a program that performs a particular task.
C) A complex network of wires that carry data from one hardware device to another.
D) A primary component of storage in the personal computer.
Q4) Software comprises the physical components of the computer.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ________ comprises the physical components of the computer.
Q6) Chat and instant messages typically are stored in ________.
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Chapter 20: Mobile Device Forensics
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Q1) All mobile devices have architecture.
A)True
B)False
Q2) From a forensic perspective it is a toss-up as to how much data you may be able to extract from a 2G device.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If there is a GPS capability on a smartphone,how might the investigator use it in the investigation?
Q4) The Smartphone was developed under which technology?
A) Digital networks
B) Broadband networks
C) Native IP networks
D) Analog networks
Q5) When working with mobile devices,________ searching is probably the most useful source of information available to the investigator.
Q6) Integrated circuit Identification (ICCID)number is located on each SIM.
A)True
B)False
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