Forensic Science Quiz

A component of the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network is called:

Which of the following is a national fingerprint and criminal history system maintained by the FBI and launched in 1999?

Juries often accord scientific evidence lesser weight than other evidence.

Evidence with individual characteristics can lead to a determination of common origin (single source). Which type of evidence CANNOT yield such results?

When measured or examined with extreme precision, no two items—even those originating from the same source—are exactly alike.

Which source of CODIS contains DNA profiles from unsolved crime scene evidence?

A comparison analysis subjects a suspect specimen and a control specimen to the same tests and examinations for the ultimate purpose of determining:

To permit a positive identification, testing procedures must be sufficient to exclude all other substances.

The 'jigsaw fit' of known and questioned fragments is important for court presentation primarily because:

The 'jigsaw fit' of known and questioned fragments demonstrates common origin when a match is made.

Most items of physical evidence retrieved at crime scenes can be linked definitively to a single person or object.

The greatest weakness of class evidence is that examiners cannot assign exact or even approximate probability values to the comparison of most class evidence.

The likelihood of finding class physical evidence is ________ the likelihood of finding physical evidence with individual characteristics.

Physical evidence can be used to exonerate or exclude a person from suspicion if:

The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) became fully operational in what year?

Multiplying together the frequencies of independently occurring factors is called:

Eyewitness testimony and confessions are not as susceptible to dispute, human error, or bias as class evidence.

Paint chips, random glass fragments, and synthetic fibers all exhibit:

The database that includes more than 300 manufacturers of shoes with more than 8,000 different sole patterns is the:

Identification requires that the number and type of tests needed to identify a substance be sufficient to exclude all other substances.

A computerized archive of information relating to a specific type of physical evidence is a(n):

The jury ultimately determines the significance of physical evidence in a trial.

When a forensic analyst determines the chemical composition of preparations that may contain illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or barbiturates, this is an example of:

Determining that an explosive mixture contains dynamite is an example of the process of comparison.

Bloodstains only have class characteristics.

Identification is the process of determining a substance's physical or chemical identity.

CODIS is maintained by the FBI and thus does not enable local crime laboratories to electronically exchange and compare DNA profiles.

Class evidence is not unique and therefore not useful to forensic scientists.

The computerized database used to store DNA information is:

Forensic databases are maintained for all of the following EXCEPT:

The database that contains chemical and color information pertaining to original automotive paints is the:

Class characteristics are properties of evidence that can be attributed to a common source with an extremely high degree of certainty.

The corroborative use of physical evidence means that it can be used to:

The value of class physical evidence lies in its ability to:

The examination of a paint chip found on a hit-and-run victim's garment side-by-side with paint removed from a vehicle suspected of being involved in the incident is an example of:

Shoeprints cannot be used to aid in a crime scene reconstruction.

Who ultimately determines the significance of physical evidence in a trial?

It is a duty of the forensic scientist to draw a conclusion about the origins of the specimens.

Evidence having class characteristics can exonerate an innocent suspect.

Determining that an explosive mixture contains dynamite is an example of the process of:

Evidence having class characteristics can:

Physical evidence is considered to have ________ that of eyewitness (testimonial) evidence.

The PDQ is maintained by the:

The value of class physical evidence lies in its ability to corroborate events with data in a manner that is, as nearly as possible, free of human error and bias.

As the number of objects linking an individual to a crime scene increases, so does the likelihood of that individual's involvement with the crime.

To calculate the overall frequency of occurrence of a blood type in a population, the ________ can be applied by using a series of blood factors that occur independently of each other.

If the laboratory can piece broken glass from a window or headlight together, then the evidence has ________ characteristics.

Paint and fibers are examples of class characteristics.