Forensics Unit 1/Unit 2 Test Review

Chapter 1 Review page 13

T or F, if a statement is false correct it so that it becomes true. (You should still circle F if it is false.)

1. Good observation skills do not come naturally to investigators; they need to be trained. T or F

2. If we remember seeing something happen, we can can’t trust that it happened just as we think it did. T or F

3. The Innocence Project is an organization that seeks to get convicted killers the wrongly convicted based on

eyewitness statements out of prison. T or F

4. A forensic scientist is called to a court of law to provide facts.

5. The Innocence Project found that most faulty convictions were based on inaccurate eyewitness accounts.
6. Describe why two people might remember the same crime scene differently. Some people are more observant
than others, memory is faulty, trauma, or there is more focus placed on the weapon than what’s actually
happening.

Chapter 2 Review page 36. Write out the answers!

1. Locard’s Principle of Exchange implies all of the following except blood spatter can be used to identify blood
type.
2. The reason it is important to separate the witnesses at the crime scene is to prevent the witnesses from talking
to each other.
3. Correct collection of evidence requires which of the following? Documenting location, correct packaging, and
maintain proper chain of custody.
4. A crime scene sketch should include all of the following except the type of search pattern used.
5. Skip
6. Skip.
7. When the crime scene investigators arrive at a potential homicide scene, one of their duties is to collect
evidence from the victim’s body. However, some evidence needs to be collected at a later time in the morgue.
For each type of situation listed, describe why each situation has been done.
a) Transporting a body in a closed body bag. Keeps the body free from contaminants and maintains any
evidence that may fall off the body.
b) Taking nail scrapings from the deceased. DNA or soil could be found under the nails.
c) Skip.
d) Brushing the clothing of the victim with a lint roller. To collect trace (small evidence such as hairs and
fibers) evidence.
Forensics Unit 1/Unit 2 Test Review
8. Identify the errors in each of the following cases:
Case 1: A dead body and a gun were found in a small room. The room was empty except for a small desk and a
chair. The room had two windows, a closet, and a door leading into a hallway. The crime scene sketch artist
measured the perimeter of the room and drew the walls to scale. He sketched the approximate position of the
dead body and the gun. He sketched the approximate location of the chair and the desk. What did he forget to
do? He didn’t include the closer or the hall doors. There is no triangulation mentioned. He should have labeled
North and listed the scale of distance.

Case 2: At the scene of the crime, the evidence collector found a damp, bloody shirt. The evidence collector
quickly wrapped the shirt in paper. He inserted the paper with the shirt into a plastic evidence bag. The bag was
sealed with tape, and the collector wrote his name across the tape. The CSI also picked up three cigarette butts
and put them in to a plastic evidence bag, which he sealed and labeled. An evidence collection log was
completed and taped to each of the evidence bags. What did he do incorrectly? The blood on the shirt was not
allowed to dry before being collected.

Case 3: Several different labs often need to share a small amount of evidence. It is important that the chain of
custody be maintained. If the chain of custody is broken, then the evidence may not be allowed in a court
proceeding. Identify the break in the following chain of custody.
After obtaining evidence, a lab technician removed the tape that contained the signature of the crime
scene evidence collector. Upon completion of her examination of the evidence, the lab technician put the
evidence back into a paper bindle, and inserted the bindle into an evidence bag. The technician resealed the bag
in the same place as the original CSI. After carefully sealing the bag, the lab tech signed her name across the
tape. She completed the chain-of-custody form on the outside of the evidence bag and brought the evidence to
the next lab technician at the crime lab. What did she do wrong? The bag should be opened along a different
edge from the sealed and signed edge. Then the bag should be sealed and signed in the new spot.
9. Analyze the JonBenet Ramsey case described on page 20.

a. The crime scene investigators who first arrived at the scene had a preconceived idea that JonBenet was
kidnapped. Describe how important evidence may have been lost or destroyed because they assumed they were
investigating a kidnapping as opposed to a murder. They did not look in the basement and only blocked off the
bedroom-evidence could have been altered or destroyed. Also, the pathologist took 18 hours to examine the
body.

b. Describe how the father’s actions upon finding the body resulted in a loss of evidence and/or contamination of
the evidence. Evidence left by the murder could have been contaminated or lost because of the blanket.
Forensics Unit 1/Unit 2 Test Review
No longer the review in the book. Use your notes.

10. Be able to define the various types of evidence found at crime scenes. (In your vocabulary.)
11. Classify the following pieces of evidence. Remember, some will fall under multiple types.

B: Biological C: Chemical D: Direct I: Indirect/Circumstantial P: Physical

A. Hair IPB
B. Synthetic Fibers IPC
C. Pollen IPB
D. Confession D
E. Bullets IP
F. Blood IPB
G. Fingerprints IP
H. Poison IPBC
I. Ransom Note IP
J. Eyewitness Statement D
K. Shoe Impression IP
L. Bitemarks IP

12. What is the difference between a primary and a secondary crime scene? The primary scene is where the crime
happened and the secondary is where evidence relating to the primary can be found. (A body gets removed
from where it was murdered and dumped somewhere else. If it was transported in a car the car would be the
secondary crime scene.)
13. What is triangulation? Method of estimating positions of objects given locations of stationary objects.

14. What are the 7 steps for processing a crime scene?

1) Securing the Scene

2) Separating the Witnesses

3) Scanning the Scene

4) Seeing the Scene

5) Sketching the Scene

6) Searching for Evidence

7) Securing and Collecting Evidence

15. Crime scene photos should be taken close up and far away. Close ups should be taken with and without a

ruler and placard to show a scale.

16. What heading should a rough and final sketch always show? North
17. A final rough sketch should include triangulation. T or F
Forensics Unit 1/Unit 2 Test Review
18. What search pattern is an effective way to search an exterior or an intricate interior scene? It covers almost

every inch of the crime scene. Grid search.

19. What tool may be used to pick up small items such as hair? Tweezers/forceps
20. What are excellent containers for hairs, glass, fibers, and other trace evidence? Plastic unbreakable pill bottles
21. What should bloodstained materials be packaged in? Paper
22. What containers are good for collecting powders, tablets, etc.? Paper bindles
23. Each evidence collection container should be labeled with (5 things): Name of collector, date, time, and
location of collection and description of evidence.
24. Areas of a crime scene should be vacuumed and sweepings from different areas can can’t be packaged together.
T or F
25. It is acceptable to open an evidence bag in the same a different place the original collector sealed it with tape.

T or F

26. Correctly finish the rough sketch below. Make all measurements in cm.

________cm Legend:

1) Victim

2) Shotgun

3) Shotgun shells
________ cm

Compass:

Make sure to have

measurements for all of the
triangulation lines!

Door