Forensic Science Essay

1. How are fire scenes different than regular crime scenes for investigators? Fire scenes are different than regular crime scenes because the evidence that was at the scene of the crime is most likely burned and destroyed, also the individual who committed the crime is not at the crime scene usually. This makes it hard to piece together who did it or why. You will also at the same time have to use a different type of evidence to piece together the crime, instead of the evidence at the scene of the crime. 2. What is the blast effect? The blast effect is the outward rush of gasses from the point of origin of the bomb, it can be over 7000 miles per hour or 3129.28 meters/s. It is related to Newton’s second law because the second law states that the acceleration of an object depends on the net force acting on it. 3. What are the two types of high explosives? The two types of high explosives are primary and secondary. The difference is very slight, primary explosives are easily detonated and are very sensitive to heat and friction, secondary explosives, like tnt or dynamite, are less sensitive to heat and friction. Primary explosives are usually not used in homemade bombs, because of their volatile nature. 4. What is a substrate control? Why is it done? Substrate control is an uncontaminated sample of a flammable liquid. It allows Forensic scientists to compare two samples to see whether a flammable liquid was present at the time. 5. How is the evidence from a fire scene collected? What should be avoided? Evidence from a fire scene is collected by being placed in an air-tight container to prevent the evaporation of flammable liquids. Glass cases as well as clean paint cans with airtight lids. Plastic bags should be avoided because they can produce dangerous gases when they are mixed with flammable liquids. Crit thinking q’s 1. What do you think would be the most challenging part of investigating a  fire or explosion crime scene? Why? The most challenging part of investigating a fire or explosion crime scene is probably collecting evidence, this is because there really isn’t any evidence left. Also the evidence left usually degrades quickly so forensic scientists usually have to be quick to collect the samples. 2. Do you think search warrants should be required for fire scenes? Why or why not? I do not believe warrants should be required for fire scenes because honestly what’s there really left to search, it’s not like I’m going through your house, I’m going through a scene of a fire. Although I understand why some may think you should require a warrant because of the fact that no one likes to be accused of a crime. 3. Do you think more countries should adopt the practice of putting color coded chips in explosive materials? Why or why not? I do believe that color coded chips should be used because using color coded chips can help catch criminals, also it makes it a lot easier to track where the materials go to and if they are used to make a bomb. 4. Why do you think crime scenes involving homemade bombs have increased? I think crime scenes involving homemade bombs have increased because the materials needed to make homemade bombs have been easier to get your hands on, 5. Why do you think the procedures are different from normal crime scenes to those involving fire and explosions? What benefits or challenges are there because of these different procedures? I think the procedures are different from a normal case to one involving fire and explosions, because of the amount of evidence that is left and the how dangerous the sites are even after a fire or explosive has gone off. Some of the benefits are that evidence can be collected faster because of the quicker response time.