Chapter 7

Forensic Science
 What is forensic Science?
Forensic science is the application of science to solve crimes, using scientific principles, technology
and laws. Crimes are usually solved by forensic scientists!

The place where crimes like theft and murder take place is called the

Prevention and Reconstruction of Evidence: Once a serious crime has been reported, the evidence
is sealed off to prevent anyone from removing or destroying any evidence that may be there. Crime
scenes cannot be preserved for a long period of time, especially when crimes happen in public places.
So, detectives and forensic scientists take a lot of photographs, sketches, and video recordings. The
position of every piece of evidence is carefully measured and recorded before anything is removed.
Items of evidence are stored in separate plastic bags and carefully labelled.
When entering a crime scene, forensic scientists wear protective clothing over their regular clothes.
This prevents .

This may include a disposable full-body suit with a hood, a mask, booties and gloves. Booties are
collected in a paper sack, because they often pick up evidence from the floor of a crime scene.
Samples from the crime scene are analysed in the .
Some forensic tests can be completed in a few hours, but others may take several days and even
months.

When analysing a crime scene we should take note of the following:

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1. Fingerprints

Fingerprint patterns are unique to each person. There are no two persons having the exact same
fingerprints! Thus, we can compare fingerprints of suspects with those found at a crime scene.

There are different types of fingerprints. The following are some examples.

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2. The Body Temperature

We can find the estimated time of death, taking into consideration that in those circumstances the
body temperature of the victim went down 2°C per hour. So:
→ Normal body temperature: 37 C
→ Victim’s body temperature: 32 C
→ Temperature difference: 5C

If the body temperature goes down at 2C per hour, then the person has been dead for two hours
and a half. Therefore the time of death is 5:30am

3. Bite Marks
We can compare bite marks, and
differences include:
→ Size and shape of teeth
(ex: missing teeth)
→ Overlap between upper and
lower bite

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 Types of Human Teeth
An adult human has 32 teeth, with different teeth doing different jobs.

There are 4 types of human teeth:

1. Incisors 3. Premolars
2. Canines 4. Molars

Molars and pre-molars are the flat-topped teeth at the back of the jaws. Their function is to grind
food into tiny pieces.
The front teeth in each jaw are called incisors. Their job is to bite off food.
Biting off food is also the job of the canine teeth. There are two canines in each jaw.

4. Hair
Hair samples are one of the most important resources in the forensic analysis of crime scenes, often
providing valuable information that can help to lead to the identification of a suspect or victim.
Changes in shape, colour, and root appearance can help forensic scientists to determine age, gender,
and racial origin of the person that shed the hair, as well as which area of the body hair has come
from. Hair can also be used to extract DNA for analysis that can help to narrow down who may have
been involved in a crime.

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5. DNA

DNA is a chemical made up of two long molecules, arranged

in a spiral. We refer to this as the double-helix structure. DNA
carries genetic information. It has all the instructions that a
living organism needs to grow, reproduce and function.

Forensic scientists use DNA profiles to help solve crimes. Every human has unique DNA). Forensic
scientists collect human cells left at a crime scene, perhaps from blood, saliva or hair. Then they
extract DNA from the cells, analyse it and make a DNA profile. The DNA profile is then checked against
a database of other profiles. If there is a match, it could be used as evidence.

6. Flame Tests

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 We can identify chemicals through flame tests. This is done by burning the chemicals and looking at
the colour of the flame.

7. Forces

A force can be a push or a pull. For example, when you

push open a door you have to apply a force to the
door. You also have to apply a force to pull open a
drawer. You cannot see a force but often you can see
what it does.

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When a force is exerted on an object, it can change the object’s speed, direction of movement and
shape (for example, an elastic band gets longer if you pull it). The diagram below shows how forces
effect the movement of a car.

Friction is a force that stops two surfaces sliding past each other. Friction gives grip on our shoes and
car tyres. We cannot move over the ground without friction, while brakes on bicycles and cars use
friction to slow down wheels.

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Name: Class: Date:

Forensics: Case 1
Princess has been dognapped!

Case to solve:
The Crime:
Mrs. Camilleri came home to find her front door open and her dog Princess missing. She
found a ransom note on her kitchen table.

The Suspects:
Mrs. Camilleri suspects one of her neighbours as she has often seen them looking at
princess and commenting on how expensive she must be.

Your job:
Find out which neighbour is involved in the 'dognapping' by matching the ink used in the
ransom note with that of the suspect.

Method:

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Results:

________________________________________________________________________
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Discussion and Conclusion:

________________________________________________________________________
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Mark:
Mark Max.

Participation 7

Report 5

Problem solving 3

Experiment 14 15

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Name: Class: Date:

Forensics: Case 2
Help the warehouse manager!

Case to solve:
The Chemicals to sort:
Some bags of different salts have arrived at a warehouse. The new store man has put the
bags of different powders in the store room without labelling them! The list of salts in the
bags is:
• Calcium chloride
• Potassium chloride
• Copper (I) chloride
• Barium chloride
• Common salt (sodium chloride)

Your job:
The warehouse manager asks you to help in identifying the powders. Carry out a series
of tests on samples of the powders in order to identify each salt.

Apparatus:

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Method:

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Precautions:

________________________________________________________________________
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Results

Chemical used Colour

Discussion and Conclusion:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Mark:
Mark Max.

Participation 7

Report 5

Problem solving 3

Experiment 15 15

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