Subject Area Science Senior High Course Name Forensics Date June 2010 Timeline Content Standards Addressed Skills/Benchmarks Essential Questions Assessments 1-2 Introduction History and Development of Forensic Science Organization of a Crime Lab Responsibilities of a Forensic Scientist Other services Crime Scene Processing the Crime Scene Legal Considerations at the Crime Scene Science is a way of knowing about the natural world and is characterized by empirical criteria, logical argument and skeptical review. Understand that scientists conduct investigations for a variety of reasons, including: to discover new aspects of the natural world, to explain observed phenomena, to test the conclusions of prior investigations, or to test the predictions of current theories Explain how the traditions and norms of science define the bounds of professional scientific practice and reveal instances of scientific error or misconduct. Explain how societal and scientific ethics impact research practices. Identify sources of bias and explain how bias might influence the direction of research and the interpretation of data. Describe how changes in scientific knowledge generally occur in incremental steps that include and build on earlier knowledge. How is the knowledge of other areas of science used to successfully solve crimes? What is forensic science of criminalistics? What are the major contributors to the development of forensic science? What are some examples of typical crime laboratories, as they exist on the national, state, and local levels of government? What are the services of a typical comprehensive crime laboratory in the criminal justice system? What is the role and responsibilities of the expert witness? What is the proper collection and packaging of common types of physical evidence? What is the importance of the Frye and Daubert decisions with regard to admissibility of scientific evidence in the courtroom? What is physical evidence? What is the responsibility of the first police officer that arrives at a crime
3 Physical Evidence Types of Physical Evidence Importance of Physical Evidence scene? How is scientific inquiry used to evaluate physical evidence from a crime scene? What are the common types of physical evidence encountered at crime scene? What is the difference between the identification and comparison of physical evidence? What is the difference between individual and class characteristics and give example of physical evidence that has these characteristics? What is the value of class evidence to a criminal investigation? 4 Fingerprinting History Principle of Fingerprints Classification of fingerprints Automated fingerprint Identification systems What role does physical evidence play in reconstructing the events surrounding the commission of a crime? How has the evolution of fingerprinting as a diagnostic procedure been used in the solving of crimes? What is a brief history of the development of fingerprint technology? What are ridge characteristics? Why is a fingerprint a permanent feature of the human anatomy?
Methods of Detecting fingerprints Preservation of Developed Prints Digital Imaging for Fingerprints enhancement What are the three major fingerprint patterns and their respective subclasses? How is the primary classification of the Henry system used to classify a set of fingerprints? What is meant by visible, plastic, and latent fingerprints? What are the techniques for developing latent fingerprints on nonporous objects? What are the techniques for developing prints on porous objects? What are the proper procedures for preserving a developed latent fingerprint? 5 Forensic Serology Blood Bloodstains Stain patterns of blood Inheritance of blood type Semen Collection of Rape Evidence How can digital imaging be used to enhance latent fingerprint images? How is the knowledge of serology used with scientific inquiry to solve a crime? What antigens, and antibodies are found in the blood of the four blood types? Why does agglutination occur? What are the tests used to characterize a stain as blood? What is the significance of the precipitin test to forensic serology?
What is the absorption-elution technique? How do the existence of polymorphic enzymes and proteins contribute to blood individualization? What is the relationship between a chromosome and gene? How is the Punnet square used to determine the genotypes and phenotypes of offspring? What are the laboratory tests necessary to characterized seminal stains? How are suspect stains properly preserved for laboratory examination? 6 DNA Structure of DNA Function of DNA Replication of DNA Recombinant DNA DNA Typing Mitochondrial DNA The Combined DNA Index System How is physical evidence related to a rape investigation collected? How is the knowledge about DNA and its structure used with scientific inquiry to solve crimes? How would you describe the structure of DNA? How does the sequence of bases along a DNA strand ultimately determine the structure of proteins that are synthesized within the body? How does DNA replicate itself? What are the implications of this process for forensic science?
Collection and Preservation of Biological evidence for DNA evidence What are some commercial applications of recombinant DNA technology? What is the difference between DNA strands that code for the production of proteins and those strands that contain repeating sequences of bases? What is meant by RFLP? What is the process of typing DNA by RFLP technique and explain how DNA band patterns are interpreted? What is the technology of PCR and how is this applied to forensic science? What is the difference between RFLP and PCR? How would you describe the STR DNA typing technique? What is the difference between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA? How does the DNA computerized database help criminal investigations? 7 Organic Analysis What are the necessary procedures to be taken for the proper preservation of bloodstained evidence for laboratory DNA analysis? How is the chemical process of organic analysis used in scientific
Analytical Techniques Chromatography Spectrophotometry Mass Spectrometry inquiry to solve crimes? What is the difference between a qualitative and quantitative analysis? How does a liquid reach equilibrium with its gaseous phase as defined by Henry s Law? What is the process of chromatography? What are the types of chromatography and what are the differences between them? What is electrophoresis? What is Beer s Law? What is the structure of the spectrophotometer? How are organic compounds identified using spectrometry? What is mass spectrometry? What is the significance of a mass spectrum? 8-9 Other topics Glass and soil Hair, Fibers, and How are the above processes used in criminal investigations to solve crimes? What is the value of class and individual evidence to a criminal investigation?
Paint Drugs Toxicology Arson Firearms, tool marks Document and voice examination Content -- big ideas, broad topics, major subcategories and underlying concepts Standards Addressed -- state and/or local standards Skills/Benchmarks -- tells what the student will be able to do as a result of instruction Essential Questions -- what overarching questions will guide instruction and produce higher levels of thinking? Assessments -- evidence that the student understands the concepts, demonstration of skills