Chapter 3 Reading Guide Name: Forensic Science
What type of biological evidence can sometimes be found at crime scenes?
What type of impression evidence can sometimes be found at crime scenes?
What type of manufactured evidence can sometimes be found at crime scenes?
Draw a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting identification and comparison.
Differentiate between individual and class characteristics.
For each of the following pieces of evidence, indicate whether the item is more likely to possess class or individual characteristics.
o impression from a new automobile tire
o fingerprint
o spent bullet cartridge
o mass-produced synthetic fiber
o pieces of a shredded document
o commercial potting soil
o skin and hair scrapings
o fragments of a multi-layer custom automobile paint
How does a forensic scientist assess the value of evidence?
What limitations must be understood about the value of physical evidence?
Briefly tell what the following databases are used for:
o IAFIS –
o CODIS –
o NIBIN / IBIS –
o PDQ –
o SICAR –
What is crime scene reconstruction?
What forensic science personnel are involved in crime scene reconstruction?
Case Reading, pages 100-110
1. In what respects did the use of fiber evidence in the Williams’ case differ significantly from its use in previous cases?
2. What did investigators hope to learn from their initial examination of fibers found on the bodies of several murder victims found in the Atlanta area from July 1979 to May 1981? What steps did they take to gather this information? What did they learn from their investigations?
3. How could information on the source of the fibers be helpful to investigators?
4. What pieces of information did investigators collect from the West Point Pepperell Corporation that led them to conclude that the fibers found on Nathaniel Carter’s body came from the carpeting in Wayne Williams’ house?