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Murder In The Science Lab

Background Information The word forensic means "pertaining to the courts of law," and thus forensic science means science applied to legal matters. Forensic science not only covers criminal and civil courts, but also quasi-judicial processes such as Veterans' Affairs appeals and insurance claims. The sciences involved in forensic science include chemistry, physics, botany, zoology, biology, and especially medicine. Forensic medical science, which is especially concerned with pathology, is a very old branch of forensic science, going back thousands of years to the Greek courts. In 1910, Frenchman Edmund Locard founded a small police laboratory dedicated to forensic science. Locard was the first to put forward the theory that a criminal almost always leaves behind a physical clue at the scene of a crime­a fiber, a fingerprint, a bullet­­all of which are vital pointers to the criminal's identity. From Locard's research springs the modern study of forensic science. As crimes themselves have grown more complex, so has the technology used to solve them. The popular image of the forensic scientist who can unravel anything from a shootout to a poison case is a myth, largely perpetuated by crime fiction and thriller movies. In fact, forensic science is multidisciplined, calling on the very specialized skills of the pathologist, the forensic toxicologist, the ballistics expert, the forensic biologist, and the chemist. Hypothesis From the information you know so far about the events in the science lab, what do you think happened? What evidence do you have to support your hypothesis?

Forensic Investigation In your group, examine each piece of evidence using the compound microscope. Follow the appropriate procedures for mounting slides (most will need to be dry mounts) and focusing the microscope. As you observe the evidence in the bag, be sure to draw and label each piece (in Table 1) and note your group's observations. Be sure to draw detailed pictures of what you observe, use color, and label the magnification (10x, 25x, 40x). Needed: Compound microscope Slides Coverslips Bag of evidence (thread, hair, fibers, onion cells, prepared blood smears, pieces of the incriminating note, and so on) Conclusions Based on your analysis of the evidence, what conclusions are you able to reach about the events leading to the crime? Write a forensic team report describing what your group thinks happened and why. Be sure to include actual data and evidence to support your conclusions. Microscope Follow-up Describe at least two practical uses for the microscope outside of the classroom. Further Reading Brownlee, S. 1992. Courtroom genetics. U.S. News and World Report, 27 Jan, p.76. Tesar, J. 1991. Scientific Crime Investigation. Franklin Watts, New York. The Trial of O. J. Simpson. 1994. People Magazine, 10 Oct, pp. 42-64. Wygoda, L. J., and A. V. Cain. 1994. Motivational mysteries. The Science Teacher 61:30-33

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