Respond to one of the following:
Option 1: List and briefly define the physical properties radial fractures, concentric fractures, and how the stress marks appear for glass.
Option 2. Examine the left diagram on page 248. Indicate the order in which the bullet holes in the glass depicted were made. Explain your answer. Examine the right diagram on page 248. The diagram is a picture of an edge of a glass fracture caused by the application of force. If this is a radial fracture, on which side of the glass (left or right) was the force applied? If this is a concentric fracture, on which side of the glass (left or right) was the force applied?
Option 3. A criminalist studying a dyed sample hair notices that the dyed color ends about 1.5 centimeters from the tip of the hair. Approximately how many weeks before the examination was the hair dyed? Explain your answer.
Option 4. Criminalist Pete Evett is collecting fiber evidence from a murder scene. He notices fibers on the victims shirt and trousers, so he places both of these items of clothing in a plastic bag. He also sees fibers on a sheet near the victim, so he balls up the sheet and places it in as separate plastic bag. Noticing fibers adhering to the windowsill from which the attacker gained entrance, Pete carefully removes it with his fingers and places it in a regular envelope. What mistakes, if any, did Pete make while collecting this evidence?
Option 5: List and give the characteristics of seven of the major generic fibers not addressed by another student.
Option 6 The identification and comparison of manufactured fibers consists of at least three examinations and comparisons. List and describe them.
Option 7: From each of the following descriptions of bullet holes, use general guidelines to estimate the distance from the shooter to the target (muzzle-to-target distance).
- A few widely scattered gunpowder particles with no soot around the entrance hole.
- A dark ring around the bullet hole, but no soot or gunpowder particles.
- A halo of soot surrounding the entrance hole along with scattered specks of powder grains.
- Scorch marks and melted fibers surrounding the entrance hole.
Option 8: You are investigating a shooting involving a 12-gauge shotgun with a moderately high choke. The spread of the pattern made by the pellets measures 12 inches. In your opinion, which of the following is probably closest to the distance from the target to the shooter? Explain your answer and explain why the other answers are likely to be incorrect.
Option 9: Criminalist Ben Baldanza is collecting evidence from the scene of a shooting. After locating the revolver suspected of firing the shots, Ben picks the gun up by the grip, unloads it, and places the ammunition in an envelope. He then attaches an identification tag to the grip. Searching the scene, Ben finds a bullet lodged in the wall. He then uses pliers to grab the bullet and pull it from the wall, then inscribes the bullet with his initials, and places it in a envelope. What mistakes, if any, did Ben make in collecting this evidence?
Option 10: How would you go about collecting impressions in each of the following situations?
- You discover a shoe print in dry dirt.
- You disco discover a tool mark on a windowsill.
- You discover tire marks in soft earth.
- You discover a shoe print on a loose piece of tile.
- You discover a very faint shoe print in dust on a colored linoleum floor.
Option 11. Following are descriptions of several hairs. Based on these descriptions, indicate the likely race of the person from whom the hair originated.
a. Evenly distributed, fine pigmentation.
b. Continuous medullation.
c. Dense, uneven pigmentation.
d. Wavy with a round cross-section.
