Paxton Patterson Forensics Practice Test

These questions are part of the practice quiz. Start practicing

• If a print from the tip of a finger is not available for identification purposes, which of the following cannot be used?
• Why is an original document generally more useful than a photocopy in a forensic examination?
• Recreating facial features using the skull found with skeletal remains is the work of:
• Which factor is not typically used to estimate time of death?
• An investigator handles several evidence items while wearing the same pair of gloves. Why could this compromise the evidence?
• What do forensic DNA profiles commonly compare when assessing whether samples may share a source?
• Which feature of an elongated bloodstain may help indicate the direction the drop traveled?
• Why might a partial fingerprint be unsuitable for a reliable comparison?
• When estimating time of death, what part does the contents of a victim's stomach play?
• The primary purpose of recreating a face from a skull is to approximate the person's facial appearance.
• True or False: Images from forensic work are used to enlist public aid.
• A CT scan would be superior to an X-ray in an examination of skeletal remains because:
• True or False: Public display of skull-related images can help solve crimes by enlisting public input.
• When comparing two fingerprints, which details are especially useful for evaluating whether they may share a source?
• Which statement about illegal substances is true?
• Which statement about FBI fingerprint records is true?
• A _____ is a medical examiner or elected official who may, in some jurisdictions, lead a death investigation.
• What process documents the chain of custody for evidence, including who handled it and when?
• Which characteristic does not change throughout a person’s life?
• Two tires have the same tread pattern. Which additional observation could help distinguish one tire from the other?
• The disintegration of body tissues after death is known as what?
• Your blood type is determined by:
• A footwear impression is collected without noting whether it was made in wet sand or dry soil. What is the main concern?
• Why should a crime-scene sketch include an orientation indicator and a legend?
• What should a close-up photograph of evidence primarily document?
• When communicating a forensic conclusion, what does describing its strength help an audience understand?
• True or False: All statements about 3D skull scans in the material are accurate.
• Which collection practice best addresses the contamination risk associated with trace evidence?
• True or False: A 3D skull scan is beneficial.
• Which statement about blood typing is described in the material?
• What may a comparison of glass fragments help investigators evaluate?
• What effect can antibiotics have on a deceased person's body?
• How does maintaining a chain of custody help support evidence in an investigation?
• What can forensic entomology contribute to an investigation involving human remains?
• Which official routinely conducts autopsies to determine the cause of death?
• A metabolite is:
• True or False: The process of 3D scanning a skull is beneficial.
• Which combination of attributes is determinable from bone according to the material?
• Blood type is inherited from biological parents and does not change over time.
• Which technique is used to separate DNA fragments?
• Which circumstance could affect the timing of insect colonization on remains?
• A shoe sole has left a depression molded into soft soil. What kind of footwear impression is this?
• What is meant by the point of origin of a bloodstain?
• When examining a hair shaft found at a crime scene, which factor is the least important to consider from the list below?
• The 13-marker DNA test is used to compare suspect DNA to evidence from a crime scene.
• A forensic result does not clearly favor one explanation over another. What should the investigator do?
• Why should investigators generally package different evidence items separately?
• Which approach provides a more informative paint comparison than color alone?
• Which branch of medical science studies the cause, nature, and effect of diseases?
• Which term describes the formal process documenting who handled evidence, when, and for what purpose?
• An expert is asked whether a forensic result proves a particular person committed a crime. The result has some uncertainty. Which response is most appropriate?
• If a patient's blood carries Rh factor, it is considered:
• A forensic anthropologist analyzes the femur and learns important characteristics. Which statement about what she learned is completely true?
• The following are characteristics used to determine information about the origin of a bone being examined, except:
• Choose the statement below that is not completely true.
• Jodi's identical twin sister uses biometric scanning for secure entry. Will Jodi be able to enter using her own fingerprint in the scanner?
• Which description best distinguishes impact spatter from a transfer bloodstain?
• True or False: The material states that culture influences forensic artwork.
• Which of the following statements best describes environmental factors affecting entomology-based timing estimates?
• What is the main purpose of comparing alternative explanations for a forensic observation?
• What is the term for the measurement of physical characteristics used to verify a person's identity?
• Which option is not a real blood type?
• After developing a fingerprint at a scene, what should an investigator do before lifting it?
• Which statement about hair evidence is best supported by forensic practice?
• True or False: A 3D skull scan has benefits in forensic investigations.
• Why is bloodstain pattern analysis alone insufficient to prove a specific sequence of events?
• Why can insect development provide an uncertain estimate of time since death?
• Why is matching the color of two paint samples generally insufficient to establish that they came from the same source?
• The stiffening of the body after death due to a chemical reaction occurring in the muscles is called what?
• Which term classifies the circumstances surrounding a death, such as accident or homicide?
• Which statement best distinguishes a projectile’s trajectory from the direction a firearm’s barrel points when fired?
• Which is the least likely setting for forensic analyses to take place?
• After cocaine use, the body produces byproducts called:
• When reconstructing a face from a skull, what is the most important initial reference material for the sculptors?
• A urinalysis can determine:
• You must have been convicted of a crime for the FBI to have your fingerprints on file. true or false?
• How does a confirmatory test differ from a presumptive test?
• What does metabolize mean?
• Why should investigators secure a crime scene before collecting evidence?
• Which statement best reflects responsible communication of forensic conclusions?
• Why should an investigator consider multiple bloodstains rather than relying on one stain?
• How can forensic anthropology assist in examining unidentified remains?
• True or False: Images created by the artists, sculptors, and forensic experts are shown to the public to enlist their help in solving a crime.
• Which set of characteristics may a questioned-document examiner compare when assessing handwriting?
• When might mitochondrial DNA be especially useful in forensic analysis?
• In checking DNA, how many markers are typically examined?
• Why is the presence of metabolites important in toxicology?
• An expert reports a finding but omits a known limitation that affects its interpretation. What is the principal concern?
• Which record best documents the handling and movement of collected evidence?
• True or False: The outcome of a forensic artist's work is heavily influenced by the home culture of the artist.
• The main responsibility of a forensic anthropologist is to collect fingerprints on a crime scene.
• What is the main data used by forensic entomologists to estimate time of death?
• Which statement about forensic entomology is accurate?
• Blood at a crime scene must be collected carefully because contamination can hinder the investigation.
• In an emergency, which donor blood type can be safely given to every patient?
• When a forensic artist recreates a face from the skull, he or she must first determine the look of the:
• Which information should an expert witness include when explaining forensic findings?
• A body found in a basement has larvae from an outdoor forest insect. How can this information be helpful to investigators?
• A crime lab analyst's job includes examining and comparing DNA from a crime scene with the DNA of known criminals and prisoners.
• Which information is important when interpreting whether a detected substance could have caused death?
• Which statement correctly compares nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA in forensic analysis?
• A visible fingerprint left in blood on a smooth surface is what type of print?
• The amount of soft tissue covering facial bones is relatively the same in adults, both men and women, and children.
• Why should evidence be photographed in place before it is moved?
• True or False: Public sharing of forensic images can be used to enlist public assistance in solving crimes.
• Why might investigators collect elimination DNA samples from people who legitimately accessed a scene?
• A blood-bearing object touches a clean surface and leaves a mark. What type of bloodstain is most consistent with this event?
• What is the primary purpose of an overall crime-scene photograph?
• Are fingerprints unique to individuals?
• A dusty shoe mark lies on a hard floor without being molded into the surface. How should it be classified?
• What is a central purpose of an autopsy in a death investigation?
• A bullet is too damaged for useful comparison. Why might its fired cartridge case still provide evidence?
• Which statement is true about fingerprints?
• Why do adult fingerprints last longer on a surface than a child's fingerprints?
• True or False: It is easy to tell the blood type from a 3D skull scan.
• In a criminal case, forensic scientists are primarily responsible for what?
• Why does detecting a toxic substance in a sample not, by itself, prove that it caused a person’s death?
• Which method separates DNA fragments by size using an electric current?
• True or False: A 3D skull scan has no benefits.
• Which fingerprint pattern is described by a circular arrangement of ridges?
• What is one difficulty in interpreting a mixed DNA profile?
• Why are fixed reference points useful when measuring an evidence item’s location?
• How does comparison microscopy assist in firearm examinations?
• Why should an expert witness explain limitations of forensic findings?
• Which factor can speed up rigor mortis?
• The internal medical examination of a body used to determine the cause and circumstances of death is called what?
• For a close-up photograph of a fingerprint, why should a measurement scale be placed in the same plane as the print?
• What can an elimination sample help investigators evaluate when DNA from an authorized scene visitor is detected?
• Which evidence-handling practice best reduces the risk of DNA cross-contamination?
• A match on all 13 DNA markers between two samples indicates a very high probability that they originate from the same source.
• In bloodstain pattern analysis, what does the point of impact identify?
• Which of the following uses discoloration of the body as a way to estimate time of death?
• Which information belongs in a crime-scene entry and exit log?
• When a bone sample is identified as ulna, which characteristics can be determined?
• An expert’s results are consistent with a proposed explanation but do not rule out alternatives. How should the expert describe them?
• Why must investigators take special care to keep trace evidence samples separated during collection and packaging?
• A useful crime-scene sketch should include measurements and evidence locations. What else should it provide?
• If fingertip prints are unavailable, which option is not used for identification?
• Why does gunshot residue not conclusively prove that a person fired a weapon?
• Which professional analyzes bones to learn about the deceased's characteristics?
• What does the mechanism of death describe?
• Why should an expert avoid overstating what forensic evidence shows?
• Which statement about handling evidence is true?
• What is confirmation bias in the evaluation of forensic evidence?
• Why should investigators record the surface and surrounding conditions at a footwear impression?
• From bone analysis, which set of attributes can be determined?
• A forensic entomologist:
• A fingerprint impression pressed into soft wax is classified as which type?
• What is a reasonable use of forensic soil analysis?
• Why should damp biological evidence usually be air-dried before packaging?
• The ABO blood group system is the only blood group system for humans.
• Why should an investigator consider explanations other than the initial theory when interpreting forensic evidence?
• It is incredibly likely that two separate DNA samples would match on all 13 markers.
• Which conclusion is most appropriate when hair from a crime scene resembles a known person’s hair under microscopic examination?
• Which trait could not be determined by examining a bone?
• Why is forensic entomology valuable in forensic investigations?
• Who is the government official responsible for performing autopsies to determine the cause of death?
• Which person can receive any of the ABO blood types in a transfusion?
• A stain has an elongated shape, but the surface may have altered its appearance. What is the most appropriate interpretation?
• About half of Americans have type O blood. This means that this blood type:
• What is the most appropriate conclusion when insect development is used to estimate time since death?
• What does a positive gunshot residue test most appropriately indicate?
• In bone data, which statement is true?
• What does a presumptive test indicate about a substance?
• What may an examination for indented writing reveal?
• Which approach is least likely to lead to confirmation bias during evidence evaluation?
• Why is careful blood collection at a crime scene important?
• What word means something that distinguishes a person or thing?
• A forensic finding appears consistent with a suspect’s involvement. What is the most appropriate next step in evaluating that finding?
• Which imaging technique shows soft tissue as well as bone?
• What can firearm caliber and class characteristics generally establish?
• Which statement best describes algor mortis?
• What information may fracture patterns in glass provide?
• In a death investigation, what does the term cause of death refer to?
• Which type of crime-scene photograph shows an evidence item in relation to nearby features?
• A cyber crime is a crime committed using which of the following?
• To carefully gather and maintain fingerprints from a crime scene, a forensic scientist must:
• What is the key difference between a skeletal biological profile and a positive personal identification?
• DNA markers are used in forensic science to compare evidence DNA to reference samples.
• Which statement is most accurate? A CT scan is able to capture images of:
• What is the primary purpose of preserving fingerprints exactly as found at a crime scene?
• A circular shape formed by an enclosed set of lines in a fingerprint is called which pattern?
• Which process refers to the disintegration of body tissues after death?
• When presenting forensic findings, what should an expert witness communicate about the methods used?
• When forensic sculptors reconstruct a face, the most important thing for them to have available is:
• Bone is made of
• True or False: Blood type information can be determined from 3D skull scans.
• What field studies the cause, nature, and effect of diseases within the body?
• Why does locating a person's DNA at a crime scene not, by itself, establish that the person committed the crime?
• True or False: Forensic images are never shown to the public.
• Which description best fits a latent fingerprint?
• Which statement about Rh factor is true?
• True or False: 3D skull scans eliminate the need for expert interpretation.
• What feature makes fingerprints unique?
• Which finding is best described as individual evidence rather than class evidence?