Forensic Sci Final Exam with Complete Solutions
"A forensic researcher wanted to test the validity of the polygraph or "lie detector"
machine. She recruited ten test subjects. All test subjects were male high school
graduates between the ages of 20 and 25. She wrote a list of ten questions and asked
the subjects to tell the truth on questions 1, 2, 5, 8, and 10, and lie on questions 3, 4, 6,
7, and 9. She recorded the blood pressure of all test subjects during all ten questions."
What is a valid hypothesis for this experiment? - ANSWER-Blood pressure will be
above baseline when subjects answer untruthfully.
"Two women are suspects in a crime. One is wearing a green dress, and the other is
wearing an orange dress. The women are named Sally and Susan, but you do not know
which one is Sally and which one is Susan.
The woman in the orange dress yells, "I'm Sally!"
The woman in the green dress yells, "And I'm Susan!""
If we are certain that at least one or both of the women is a liar, which color dress is
Sally wearing? - ANSWER-Green
20 dgree blood spatter - ANSWER-An elongated tail and single satellite form on one
side of the blood drop only.
45 degree angle blood spatter - ANSWER-Spines, scallops, and satellites form more on
one side of the drop than the other.
85 degree angle blood spatter - ANSWER-Spines, scallops, and satellites will be formed
fairly evenly on all sides of the drop.
A body is found in a field, and insect evidence is collected including adult flies, first,
second, and third instar larvae, and pupae. However, none of the pupae have been
ruptured. All are intact and carrying developing flies. How long has the body been in the
field? - ANSWER-Over a week but less than two weeks
A body is found, and investigators collect first instar larvae, eggs, and adult flies but no
other stages in larval development or pupae. How long do you estimate that the body
has been dead? - ANSWER-One day to a day and a half
A construction worker was standing on scaffolding to wash windows when he was shot
in the hip approximately 63 feet in the air. The angle of impact was 38 degrees to
parallel.
Where was the shooter's likely position? - ANSWER-C—The tiki cabana about 80 feet
away
A coworker is performing a DNA extraction. What would happen if a detergent were not
added? - ANSWER-The cell membranes would not be dissolved.
,A coworker performs PCR on a DNA sample expecting a bright band of DNA near the
middle of the gel. The amplified DNA is missing. She made a list of all the things that
could have gone wrong. Three of the issues on the list are valid. One is not. Based on
the image, which is the one step that could not have been the issue? - ANSWER-Forgot
to add primers to the PCR reaction
A crime scene investigator examines prints found at a crime scene. They match a
woman named Lottie Burke. Lottie has an identical twin sister named Dottie Burke. The
crime scene investigator decides to give the twins a DNA test since as twins, their
fingerprints might be the same. What do you tell the CSI? - ANSWER-Lottie's
fingerprints will not match Dottie's, but the twins will have the same DNA.
A drug user is experiencing symptoms of sweating, nausea, and shaking. This type of
response is part of his or her _____. - ANSWER-physical addiction
A firearm is found at a crime scene and the position of the hammer, safety, and all fired
and unfired ammunition are recorded. The weapon is ready to be made safe for
transport. List the next steps you should do to render the firearm safe, and explain why
they should be done. - ANSWER-First, point the weapon in a safe direction. This should
be done to avoid anyone accidentally getting shot. Second, press the magazine release
to drop the magazine. This should be done to remove the stored cartridges. Third, rack
the slide to check for chambered cartridges and then eject them. This should be done to
make sure the weapon is not loaded anymore. Now, the firearm can be rendered safe.
A forensic investigator enters the digital crime scene at a bank and performs the
following procedures. One or more of the procedures is incorrect. Can you identify
which ones?
1- Secure the device to make sure radio frequencies are blocked.
2- Prevent all unauthorized personnel from entering the area.
3- Check to make sure no commands have been executed to delete data.
4- Get help from a bank official, if offered, to help with the command checks.
5- Document all who had access to the computer.
6- Pack the computer in plastic to prevent it from getting wet during transport.
7- Make a copy of the hard drive, and work from the copy rather than the original. -
ANSWER-4 and 6
A forensic investigator finds blood at a crime scene with a good amount of EDTA in it.
What conclusion might the investigator draw? - ANSWER-The blood was possibly
planted at the scene.
A horizon - ANSWER-called topsoil
A house is set on fire, and the firefighters are doing their best to extinguish the blaze. As
an investigator, what should you do immediately to attempt to catch the arsonist? -
ANSWER-collect personal info from all bystanders
, A man and a woman, both 24 years old and who weigh the same, have had the same
number of drinks in the same amount of time, yet the woman has a higher BAC. Is that
likely? Why or why not? - ANSWER-It is likely because the enzyme alcohol
dehydrogenase is less effective in women.
A patient comes into the emergency room with risus sardonicus. What poison do you
suspect? - ANSWER-Strychnine
A person complains that they're feeling sensations of pins and needles around their
mouths and hands and having a difficult time seeing objects to the side. Your partner
says, "Sounds like lead poisoning." What do you respond? - ANSWER-It actually
sounds a lot like mercury poisoning.
A person with type A blood has _______ antibodies circulating through his or her
plasma and produces ________ antigens on the cell surface. - ANSWER-anti-B; A
A red shoe print is left on a carpet. The print could be blood. Which TWO of these
packing procedures DO NOT conform to proper protocol? - ANSWER-1- Cut out only a
section of the footprint because that's all that is needed.
2- If the footprint is still wet, use a hairdryer to dry it.
A technician wants to make images of her cat's hair cuticle. She painted some clear nail
polish on a slide, placed a single hair in the nail polish, waited until it dried and looked at
it under the microscope. However, all she saw was a dark brown line. What mistake did
she make? - ANSWER-She forgot to remove the hair after the polish was almost dry
A victim of a drug overdose arrives at the morgue. You expel a sample of the victim's
urine but you get no positive tests for drugs. Where would you check next? - ANSWER-
vitreous humor
A woman comes into the hospital complaining of severe vomiting and diarrhea. She has
patches of scaly skin and Mee's lines on her fingernails, and she smells faintly of garlic.
What toxin do you suspect? - ANSWER-arsenic
A woman is shot in the ankle from a building 78 feet away. Investigators determine that
the wound entered from approximately 11 degrees to parallel. Which floor was the
shooter on? The following information will help determine the location of the suspect:
First floor window = 4 feet from the ground
Second floor window = 14 feet from the ground
Third floor window = 24 feet from the ground
Fourth floor window = 34 feet from the ground
Fifth floor window = 44 feet from the ground
Sixth floor window = 54 feet from the ground
The shooter was on floor number_____. - ANSWER-2
"A forensic researcher wanted to test the validity of the polygraph or "lie detector"
machine. She recruited ten test subjects. All test subjects were male high school
graduates between the ages of 20 and 25. She wrote a list of ten questions and asked
the subjects to tell the truth on questions 1, 2, 5, 8, and 10, and lie on questions 3, 4, 6,
7, and 9. She recorded the blood pressure of all test subjects during all ten questions."
What is a valid hypothesis for this experiment? - ANSWER-Blood pressure will be
above baseline when subjects answer untruthfully.
"Two women are suspects in a crime. One is wearing a green dress, and the other is
wearing an orange dress. The women are named Sally and Susan, but you do not know
which one is Sally and which one is Susan.
The woman in the orange dress yells, "I'm Sally!"
The woman in the green dress yells, "And I'm Susan!""
If we are certain that at least one or both of the women is a liar, which color dress is
Sally wearing? - ANSWER-Green
20 dgree blood spatter - ANSWER-An elongated tail and single satellite form on one
side of the blood drop only.
45 degree angle blood spatter - ANSWER-Spines, scallops, and satellites form more on
one side of the drop than the other.
85 degree angle blood spatter - ANSWER-Spines, scallops, and satellites will be formed
fairly evenly on all sides of the drop.
A body is found in a field, and insect evidence is collected including adult flies, first,
second, and third instar larvae, and pupae. However, none of the pupae have been
ruptured. All are intact and carrying developing flies. How long has the body been in the
field? - ANSWER-Over a week but less than two weeks
A body is found, and investigators collect first instar larvae, eggs, and adult flies but no
other stages in larval development or pupae. How long do you estimate that the body
has been dead? - ANSWER-One day to a day and a half
A construction worker was standing on scaffolding to wash windows when he was shot
in the hip approximately 63 feet in the air. The angle of impact was 38 degrees to
parallel.
Where was the shooter's likely position? - ANSWER-C—The tiki cabana about 80 feet
away
A coworker is performing a DNA extraction. What would happen if a detergent were not
added? - ANSWER-The cell membranes would not be dissolved.
,A coworker performs PCR on a DNA sample expecting a bright band of DNA near the
middle of the gel. The amplified DNA is missing. She made a list of all the things that
could have gone wrong. Three of the issues on the list are valid. One is not. Based on
the image, which is the one step that could not have been the issue? - ANSWER-Forgot
to add primers to the PCR reaction
A crime scene investigator examines prints found at a crime scene. They match a
woman named Lottie Burke. Lottie has an identical twin sister named Dottie Burke. The
crime scene investigator decides to give the twins a DNA test since as twins, their
fingerprints might be the same. What do you tell the CSI? - ANSWER-Lottie's
fingerprints will not match Dottie's, but the twins will have the same DNA.
A drug user is experiencing symptoms of sweating, nausea, and shaking. This type of
response is part of his or her _____. - ANSWER-physical addiction
A firearm is found at a crime scene and the position of the hammer, safety, and all fired
and unfired ammunition are recorded. The weapon is ready to be made safe for
transport. List the next steps you should do to render the firearm safe, and explain why
they should be done. - ANSWER-First, point the weapon in a safe direction. This should
be done to avoid anyone accidentally getting shot. Second, press the magazine release
to drop the magazine. This should be done to remove the stored cartridges. Third, rack
the slide to check for chambered cartridges and then eject them. This should be done to
make sure the weapon is not loaded anymore. Now, the firearm can be rendered safe.
A forensic investigator enters the digital crime scene at a bank and performs the
following procedures. One or more of the procedures is incorrect. Can you identify
which ones?
1- Secure the device to make sure radio frequencies are blocked.
2- Prevent all unauthorized personnel from entering the area.
3- Check to make sure no commands have been executed to delete data.
4- Get help from a bank official, if offered, to help with the command checks.
5- Document all who had access to the computer.
6- Pack the computer in plastic to prevent it from getting wet during transport.
7- Make a copy of the hard drive, and work from the copy rather than the original. -
ANSWER-4 and 6
A forensic investigator finds blood at a crime scene with a good amount of EDTA in it.
What conclusion might the investigator draw? - ANSWER-The blood was possibly
planted at the scene.
A horizon - ANSWER-called topsoil
A house is set on fire, and the firefighters are doing their best to extinguish the blaze. As
an investigator, what should you do immediately to attempt to catch the arsonist? -
ANSWER-collect personal info from all bystanders
, A man and a woman, both 24 years old and who weigh the same, have had the same
number of drinks in the same amount of time, yet the woman has a higher BAC. Is that
likely? Why or why not? - ANSWER-It is likely because the enzyme alcohol
dehydrogenase is less effective in women.
A patient comes into the emergency room with risus sardonicus. What poison do you
suspect? - ANSWER-Strychnine
A person complains that they're feeling sensations of pins and needles around their
mouths and hands and having a difficult time seeing objects to the side. Your partner
says, "Sounds like lead poisoning." What do you respond? - ANSWER-It actually
sounds a lot like mercury poisoning.
A person with type A blood has _______ antibodies circulating through his or her
plasma and produces ________ antigens on the cell surface. - ANSWER-anti-B; A
A red shoe print is left on a carpet. The print could be blood. Which TWO of these
packing procedures DO NOT conform to proper protocol? - ANSWER-1- Cut out only a
section of the footprint because that's all that is needed.
2- If the footprint is still wet, use a hairdryer to dry it.
A technician wants to make images of her cat's hair cuticle. She painted some clear nail
polish on a slide, placed a single hair in the nail polish, waited until it dried and looked at
it under the microscope. However, all she saw was a dark brown line. What mistake did
she make? - ANSWER-She forgot to remove the hair after the polish was almost dry
A victim of a drug overdose arrives at the morgue. You expel a sample of the victim's
urine but you get no positive tests for drugs. Where would you check next? - ANSWER-
vitreous humor
A woman comes into the hospital complaining of severe vomiting and diarrhea. She has
patches of scaly skin and Mee's lines on her fingernails, and she smells faintly of garlic.
What toxin do you suspect? - ANSWER-arsenic
A woman is shot in the ankle from a building 78 feet away. Investigators determine that
the wound entered from approximately 11 degrees to parallel. Which floor was the
shooter on? The following information will help determine the location of the suspect:
First floor window = 4 feet from the ground
Second floor window = 14 feet from the ground
Third floor window = 24 feet from the ground
Fourth floor window = 34 feet from the ground
Fifth floor window = 44 feet from the ground
Sixth floor window = 54 feet from the ground
The shooter was on floor number_____. - ANSWER-2
