FIS 201 – Exam 1 Study Guide and Practice Questions
It is 10:30pm. Ginny Weasley has called 911 because she has returned from a 45-minute trip to
the grocery store to find her apartment's back window broken and her laptop and jewelry
stolen from her bedroom. The house is located in Morgantown, WV, and is (scene description
withheld). You have been dispatched to search and secure the scene as a (description of your
role on scene). As part of your visual investigation, you find a spot of blood on the outside of the
windowsill and (type of evidence withheld) nearby. About a week later, you learn from speaking
with detectives that Ginny had thrown a party after the previous weekend's football game. The
prime suspect, her ex-boyfriend, presents a boarding pass for a flight from Pittsburgh
International airport on the night of the robbery. - ANS✔✔
Leia Organa calls to report that Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are fighting in the parking lot.
When officers arrive, Calrissian is unconscious and bleeding profusely from (description
withheld) injuries on his face. Solo has driven off. He is later arrested, and (a type of evidence) is
found in his car. You are dispatched to collect evidence at the scene as the lead CSI/investigator
to meet the first responder and find (some kinds of evidence). As the lead responder, it will be
your responsibility to properly plan the searching, packaging methods, and documentation for
the scene. - ANS✔✔
Cave Johnson's body is found sitting in his armchair in Charles Town, WV. On a table nearby are
empty bottles of oxycodone (a powerful central nervous system depressant) and a goodbye
letter is found in his hand. The body is (description of remains' outward appearance). Death
investigators had a hard time collecting evidence because (description of postmortem change).
You are the (job withheld) responsible for conducting the autopsy and completing the legal
death certificate. During the (phase of autopsy), you observe (anatomical feature). You also
observe a (description of trauma) The trauma is located on the forearm and (indication of ante,
peri, or postmortem timing). - ANS✔✔
Describe how forensic science uses the scientific method. What hypotheses are tested? How do
scientists remain ethical when describing their findings, even when they are wrong? - ANS✔✔
, Recognize a falsifiable hypothesis. Why is this an important part of good science? - ANS✔✔
Match different kinds of evidence with the specialists who handle them. - ANS✔✔
Explain how forensic scientists learn what they need to know. - ANS✔✔
Describe the purpose and organization of a crime lab. How does evidence and information
move through it, and why does it work that way? - ANS✔✔
Explain the significance of Locard's Exchange & Kirk's Individuality Principles for the detection
and identification of forensic evidence. In other words, how do these principles let us be
confident that we can identify what physical evidence is and where it came from. - ANS✔✔
Explain the roles of persistence, background noise, and contamination on evidence detection.
Why are these important in crime scene investigation? - ANS✔✔
Describe the movement of transferred evidence - direct, indirect, primary, secondary etc. -
ANS✔✔
Explain how the process of comparison allows us to identify an individual or an object. (What
hypothesis are we testing? Is our hypothesis falsifiable? Further hint: you should be able to
differentiate class vs. individual characteristics. Also, be able to use the words "identify" vs.
"individualize" - ANS✔✔
Identify which exemplars should be used in comparison tests - I'll give you a scenario, you tell
me which kind of known that you need to use to demonstrate something. - ANS✔✔
Given a result and the Real Truth, identify the outcome of a test as true positive, true negative,
false positive and false negative. - ANS✔✔
It is 10:30pm. Ginny Weasley has called 911 because she has returned from a 45-minute trip to
the grocery store to find her apartment's back window broken and her laptop and jewelry
stolen from her bedroom. The house is located in Morgantown, WV, and is (scene description
withheld). You have been dispatched to search and secure the scene as a (description of your
role on scene). As part of your visual investigation, you find a spot of blood on the outside of the
windowsill and (type of evidence withheld) nearby. About a week later, you learn from speaking
with detectives that Ginny had thrown a party after the previous weekend's football game. The
prime suspect, her ex-boyfriend, presents a boarding pass for a flight from Pittsburgh
International airport on the night of the robbery. - ANS✔✔
Leia Organa calls to report that Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are fighting in the parking lot.
When officers arrive, Calrissian is unconscious and bleeding profusely from (description
withheld) injuries on his face. Solo has driven off. He is later arrested, and (a type of evidence) is
found in his car. You are dispatched to collect evidence at the scene as the lead CSI/investigator
to meet the first responder and find (some kinds of evidence). As the lead responder, it will be
your responsibility to properly plan the searching, packaging methods, and documentation for
the scene. - ANS✔✔
Cave Johnson's body is found sitting in his armchair in Charles Town, WV. On a table nearby are
empty bottles of oxycodone (a powerful central nervous system depressant) and a goodbye
letter is found in his hand. The body is (description of remains' outward appearance). Death
investigators had a hard time collecting evidence because (description of postmortem change).
You are the (job withheld) responsible for conducting the autopsy and completing the legal
death certificate. During the (phase of autopsy), you observe (anatomical feature). You also
observe a (description of trauma) The trauma is located on the forearm and (indication of ante,
peri, or postmortem timing). - ANS✔✔
Describe how forensic science uses the scientific method. What hypotheses are tested? How do
scientists remain ethical when describing their findings, even when they are wrong? - ANS✔✔
, Recognize a falsifiable hypothesis. Why is this an important part of good science? - ANS✔✔
Match different kinds of evidence with the specialists who handle them. - ANS✔✔
Explain how forensic scientists learn what they need to know. - ANS✔✔
Describe the purpose and organization of a crime lab. How does evidence and information
move through it, and why does it work that way? - ANS✔✔
Explain the significance of Locard's Exchange & Kirk's Individuality Principles for the detection
and identification of forensic evidence. In other words, how do these principles let us be
confident that we can identify what physical evidence is and where it came from. - ANS✔✔
Explain the roles of persistence, background noise, and contamination on evidence detection.
Why are these important in crime scene investigation? - ANS✔✔
Describe the movement of transferred evidence - direct, indirect, primary, secondary etc. -
ANS✔✔
Explain how the process of comparison allows us to identify an individual or an object. (What
hypothesis are we testing? Is our hypothesis falsifiable? Further hint: you should be able to
differentiate class vs. individual characteristics. Also, be able to use the words "identify" vs.
"individualize" - ANS✔✔
Identify which exemplars should be used in comparison tests - I'll give you a scenario, you tell
me which kind of known that you need to use to demonstrate something. - ANS✔✔
Given a result and the Real Truth, identify the outcome of a test as true positive, true negative,
false positive and false negative. - ANS✔✔
