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Case Studies
Case Scenario + Careers in Forensics
History and Composition of Soil
Soil Profile, Chemicals, Collection, and Examination
Rounding and Mineral Composition
100
Enrique Camarena was an undercover agent for what agency?
U.S Drug Enforcement Agency
100
Name at least two things that a forensic geologist might do.
-authenticate a work of art -hired to test the soil and rocks in an area being sold as a mine -soil on a body matches the soil at the location where the body is found
100
________ is produced by a complicated process that is influenced by factors such as temperature, rainfall, and the chemicals and minerals present in the material from which it forms.
Soil
100
What is the special scale that is used to determine how acidic or basic a substance is?
The pH scale
100
How does the process of weathering work?
Wind and water make rocks collide and break the rocks into grains of sand.
200
Where did Janice Dodson go after her husband was shot? What did she do there?
Janice went back to their campsite and removed her muddy overalls.
200
What organizations might hire forensic geologists? Name two.
FBI Laboratory in the United States, La Polizia Scientifica in Italy, the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, and the National Institute of Police Science in Japan
200
The _____ of soil can help determine if a plant will grow and survive.
pH
200
What is humus?
Decaying organic matter in the uppermost soil horizon
200
How can you tell if sand is considered a crystal or a fragment?
If it has only one mineral, it is a crystal, if it has two or more, it is a fragment.
300
What was the name of the victim murdered in the Andreas Schlicher case? Where was her body found?
Margaethe Filbert Bavaria, Germany
300
Why would forensic geologists want to compare two soil samples?
A person may claim to have never been to a particular location, but soil and rock evidence from that area is found at the person’s home. This evidence would link the person to a specific geographic location.
300
Who is one of the first forensic scientists to apply science and physical evidence to crime investigation and what is the title of his book?
An Austrian, Dr. Hans Gross, is believed to be one of the first forensic scientists to apply science and physical to crime investigation. His book Criminal Investigation, written in 1893, contained groundbreaking material in this new science. Dr. Gross firmly believed in the value of physical evidence, including soils found at crime scenes.
300
What three aspects of soil are compared microscopically?
Size, shape and color
300
What are oolites?
They are small, round structures formed in the particles of precipitate sand.
400
What was found in the soil samples taken from the bodies of Enrique Camarena and Alfredo Zavala? What did this prove?
Minerals and volcanic particles.This proved that the bodies had originally been buried in the mountains, faraway from the shootout.
400
How is art authenticated?
By identifying the amount of mineral or organic material used to make the paints. This information can be used to tell when the painting was painted and possibly by whom.
400
What are the three subcategories of soil?
The three subcategories of soil are loam, peat, and chalk.
400
What is the effect of calcium deficiency in plants?
The stems and leaves droop, unable to support an upright position.
400
What is the composition of precipitate sand?
Calcium carbonate
500
What evidence helped investigators prove that Janice Dodson shot her husband?
In the pond next to where Janice's ex-husband had camped, investigators found bentonite (mineral used to filter larger particles from the water.) They used a sample of the mud next to the pond which also contained bentonite, to compare with the mud found on Janice's overalls. The two samples matched.
500
Who was the forensic geologist who was able to identify the region where Bin Laden had been sighted in Afghanistan in 2001?
John Shroder
500
One effect of nutrient deficiency is that the leaves at the bottom of the plant die from the lack of chlorophyll-meaning that they are no longer green. Which deficiency is this?
Potassium
500
What are the six soil horizons?
O, A, E, B, C, and R
500
Name the four basic sources of sand
Continental sand, volcanic sand, skeletal (biogenic) sand, and precipitate sand