Fall Semester Exam:

Introduction to Forensics & Criminal Investigation

1. Locard’s Exchange principle implies all of the following except:

a. Fibers can be transferred from one person to another.

b. Blood spatter is used to identify blood type.
c. Cat hair can be transferred to your pants.
d. Soil samples can be carried from the yard into your home.

2. Direct evidence can include all of the following except:

a. A toxicology report
b. A signed ransom note
c. A surveillance film
d. A sample of hair

3. The reason that it is important to separate witnesses at a crime scene is to__.

a. Prevent contamination of the evidence

b. Prevent fighting among witnesses
c. Prevent the witnesses from talking to one another
d. Protect them from the perpetrator.

4. Correct collection of evidence requires which of the following?

a. Documenting the location where the evidence was found.

b. Correct packaging of the evidence.
c. Maintaining proper Chain of Custody.
d. All of the above
5. A crime-scene sketch should include all of the following except ___.

a. A scale of distance
b. A North direction
c. Date and location of crime scene
d. The type of search pattern that was used.

6. Which of the following best describes the difference between circumstantial evidence and direct
evidence?

a. Direct evidence can lead to the conviction of a suspect, while circumstantial evidence
cannot.
b. Direct evidence is not admissible in court; however, circumstantial evidence is admissible
with the approval of a judge.
c. Direct evidence is used to imply a fact, while circumstantial evidence proves an alleged
fact.
d. Direct evidence proves and alleged fact, while circumstantial evidence is used to imply a
fact.

7. The documented and unbroken transfer of evidence is known as ____.

a. Locard’s Exchange Principle

b. Chain of Custody
c. Frye Standard
d. Daubert Ruling

8. The prosecution of a criminal case wants to bring in an expert witness to testify and give their
expert opinion about the decomposition of human remains. Which of the following is necessary
before the witness can testify?
a. According to the Daubert ruling, the judge will need to rule the expert witness as
“admissible.”
b. According to Locard’s Principle of Exchange, the judge will need to rule the expert
witness as “admissible.”
c. According to the Frye Standard, the judge will need to rule the expert witness as
“admissible.”
d. According to the Innocence Project, the judge will need to rule the expert witness as
“admissible.”
9. An important part of handling evidence is shown below. The “X” represents the location of a
small piece of evidence. What does this picture represent?

a. Casing
b. Chain of Custody
c. Bindle
d. Diagram

10. Which of the following evidence is considered to be direct evidence?

a. A fingerprint left on a door knob
b. A fiber from a suspect’s couch found on the victim’s shirt
c. Blood from a victim found under the fingernails of a suspect
d. A confession in a police report

11. Which of the following evidence is considered to be biological?

a. Impressions
b. Fingerprints
c. Shell casings
d. Hair

Read the scenario below and answer questions 12-15.

The Bank of Eastman was robbed last Friday. The first responder secured the scene and
immediately began looking and collecting evidence without gloves. When the crime scene
investigators arrived, the first responder and C.S.I members immediately opened the packs from
the top, breaking the signed seal. Several pieces of evidence were analyzed such as a
surveillance film from the bank, a ransom letter that requested $10,000.00, and a set of car keys
left by the robber and a hair sample found near the ransom letter. After analyzing the evidence,
customers and bank personnel were interviewed by detectives. The bank robber was never found.
12. Which of the following did the first responder do correctly during the investigation?

a. He initially secured the crime scene.

b. He collected evidence before the C.S.I contaminated the scene
c. He collected evidence without gloves
d. He opened evidence packs from the top of the package

13. How would the set of keys be classified?

a. Biological evidence
b. Direct evidence
c. Class evidence
d. Individual evidence

14. Which of the following pieces of evidence would most likely be considered individual evidence?

a. The car keys

b. The hair sample if it had a follicle
c. The ransom letter
d. Eye witnesses

15. According to the Steps of Crime Scene Investigation, which of the following steps should follow
the first responders “securing the scene?”

a. Sketching the scene

b. Seeing the scene
c. Scanning the scene
d. Separating the witnesses

16. When packaging evidence, which of the following is NOT a procedure that should be followed?

a. The evidence should be approved by a judge

b. The evidence must be dried if it’s wet
c. The evidence must be placed in a bindle if it’s really small
d. The evidence must include a signature from the person who recovered it

17. According to the Chain of Custody, which of the following must be done when working with
evidence?
a. Sealed evidence must be opened at a location other than the sealed/signed edge.
b. Sealed evidence must remain in its container for 7 days
c. Sealed evidence must never be opened by more than one person.
d. Sealed evidence must be carefully opened at the sealed/signed edge.
18. Which of the following is NOT a member of the Crime Scene Investigation team?
a. Police officer
b. Judge
c. Detective
d. Medical examiner

19. Which of the following is completed during “seeing the scene?”

a. Evidence is marked
b. Evidence is collected
c. Evidence is analyzed
d. Evidence is photographed

20. Which of the following is responsible for declaring the cause of death when a homicide occurs?
a. Detective
b. Crime scene investigator
c. Medical examiner
d. First responder

21. What is the smallest number of photographs that an investigator will take of ONE piece of
evidence at a crime scene?
a. 24
b. 12
c. 9
d. 3

22. A forensic scientist is called to a court of law to provide ____.

a. Fact
b. Opinion
c. Judgment
d. Reflection

23. Our state of mind affects how we observe our surroundings. What mental state is best for
observing?
a. Distressed
b. Relaxed
c. Nervous
d. Excited
 24. The Innocence Project found that mostly faulty convictions were based on ______.
a. Out of date investigating equipment
b. Untrained C.S.I.
c. Inaccurate eyewitness accounts
d. Officers not following the 7 S’s of C.S.I.

25. All of the following are ways to improve our observational skills except ____.
a. Be sure to look at the entire area of a crime scene
b. Observe everything, no matter how big or small
c. When collecting evidence, record only those things that you are sure are important.
d. Write down and photograph everything you find

True or False:

F 26. A hand lens provides more magnification than a microscope. Therefore, it would be better when
viewing fibers and hairs found at a crime scene.

T 27. The word forensics refers to the application of science to solve crimes.

F 28. Good observation skills come naturally to investigators, they do not need to be trained.
F 29. If a witness remembers seeing something happen, we can trust that it happened just as they
remembered.

F 30. A thermometer is a tool used in science to measure the mass of a substance.

T 31. The Innocence Project is an organization, established in 1992, that seeks to exonerate wrongfully
convicted people.

T 32. First responding officers must identify the extent of a crime, secure the scene, and dictate/record
who enters and leaves the scene.

T 33. Forensic scientists find, examine and evaluate evidence from a crime scene and provide expert
testimony in court.

F 34. Eyewitness accounts are always accurate.

T 35. The Jon Benet Ramsey case is an example of why there is a need for Forensics steps and
procedures when it comes to “working a crime scene.”