Course Syllabus: Forensic Science
Welcome to forensic science at Reservoir! Forensic science is a science of comparison, requiring a serious eye for details and a willingness to be patient when trying to master a new technique. This course will challenge you to use your deductive reasoning skills, and at times may contain images and topics that some people may find disturbing. Please discuss any concerns you have about this class with me immediately so we can determine if this is the proper placement for you.
This course consists of four different units. We will do our best to work
through all parts of each unit, but may skip certain topics in order to allow
enough time for others. If there are topics in which you have a particular interest,
please let me know and we will do our best to spend sufficient time on them.
Unit I: Introduction to Forensic Science and the Human Body
" Major contributions to forensic investigation
" Typical crime labs - national, state, and local
" Locard's exchange principle of transfer of evidence
" Crime scene data analysis
" Identification, collection, and preservation of physical evidence
" Principles of forensic pathology
o Time of death, stages of decomposition, rigor, livor, and algor mortis, effect
of temperature and precipitation on time of death
" Forensic anthropology
o Determining age, gender, stature, and race of a skeleton
o Facial reconstruction
o Archaeology and findings
Unit II: Identification of Human Evidence
" Bite marks and analysis
" Fingerprints
o Ridge characteristics
o 3 major patterns and subclasses
o On porous objects/chemical techniques
o Preserving latent prints
" DNA
o Polymerase chain reaction, capillary electrophoresis, STR, CoDIS, NDIS
" A-B-O blood typing, antigens, and agglutination
o Blood stain tests, precipitin test, absorption - elution, blood spatter
Unit III: Trace Evidence
" Physical and chemical properties of glass
o Refractive index
o Crystalline vs. amorphous solids
o Flotation vs. immersion comparison
o Glass fractures
o Collecting glass evidence
" Properties of soil
o Density-gradient tube
o Collecting soil evidence
" Animal vs. human hair
o Hair cuticle, cortex, and medulla
o Features for comparison
o Collecting hair evidence
" Classification of fibers
o Properties for fiber comparison
o Polymers
" Components of paint
o Auto paint classification
o Comparison of auto paint
" Pollen, fungi, and feathers
" Collecting and preserving drug evidence
o Breathalyzer, preservation of blood for alcohol analysis
" Forensic toxicology for isolating drugs and poisons
" Drugs in human tissue and organs
Unit IV: Additional Services of the Crime Lab
" Classes and characteristics of bullets and cartridge cases
o Use of comparison microscope for bullet analysis
o Caliber vs. gauge
o Determining distance from target of weapon fire
o GSR test
o Restoring obliterated serial numbers
o Collection of firearm evidence
o Tool mark comparison
" Questioned documents and handwriting characteristics
o Alterations, erasures, obliterations, variations in pen ink
" Fire scene investigation
o Collection of evidence at arson or explosion scenes
o Detection and identification of hydrocarbon and explosive residue
o Lab tests for explosives
o Three requirements for combustion
" Entomology
o Life cycles of carrion insects
o Types of carrion insects in sun vs. shade
o Number and type at a crime scene