Course title

Science

Pre-requisite

Introductory Science Principles, Biology

Course description

Forensics
Spring; 2010
Textbook: "Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations"; by Bertino & Bertino

Jan. 4 ? Policies & procedures; intro to class.
Jan. 5 ? Observational skills (Ch. 1)(Lab requiring observation & identification of a suspect)
Jan. 6 ? Procedures quiz; ?"The Art of Crime Detection" (virtual lab on suspect sketching software)
Jan. 7 ? Seven S?s of crime scene investigation; Locard's exchange principle; trace evidence (Ch. 2) (Lab involving producing a scaled sketch of a crime scene)
Jan. 8 ? Evaluating a crime scene & handling of evidence; finish computer activities
Jan. 11 ? Mini-Test on Ch. 1 & Ch. 2. Intro to hair; Animal hair lab (Microscopic comparison of human hair and a variety of animal hair)
Jan. 12 - Hair lab (Activity 3-1)((Microscopic comparison and matching of a variety of human hair)
Jan. 13 - Hair lab (Activity 3-2 modified)(Lab - Microscopic calculation of hair width). Case studies if time.
Jan. 14 - Hair testimony essay (Activity 3-3).
Jan. 15 - Hair quiz. Case studies & careers
Jan. 18 - No School ? Martin Luther King; Jr.
Jan. 19 - Intro to fibers; and intro fiber lab. (Microscopic identification of properties of a variety of natural and synthetic fibers)(Ch. 4)
Jan. 20 ? Wayne Williams case study
Jan. 21 - Microscopic fiber & weave pattern analysis lab (Lab - Microscopic comparison of properties of various textiles) (Activities 4-1 & 4-3)
Jan. 22 - Burn analysis of fibers lab (Destructive identification tests of fibers including flammability and solubility in various solvents).(Activity 4-5) DRESS
Jan. 25 - Textile identification lab (Microscopic identification of weave pattern)(Activity 4-3/4-4 modified).
Jan. 26 - Fiber quiz. Intro to pollen & spores; introductory pollen lab (Microscopic examination of collected pollen and spores)(Ch. 5)?
Jan. 27 - Case studies & careers - Otzi
Jan. 28 - Pollen Examination (Microscopic comparison and matching of pollen samples)(Activity 5-1).
Jan. 29 - Intro to soil (Ch. 12); begin Soil Profile Examination (Lab determining various properties of soil including density; permeability; particle size; and chemical composition)
Feb. 1 - Finish Soil Profile. Chemical & Physical Analysis of Sand (Activity 12-3) DRESS (Lab determining various properties of sand including percent composition of various minerals and particle size)
Feb. 2 - Catchup/review
Feb. 3 -? Unit Test; case studies & careers
Feb. 4 - Guest speaker from FBI.
Feb. 5 - Intro to fingerprints (Ch. 6); print ten-cards (Activity 6-4)(Lab producing fingerprint ten-cards and analyzing them)
Feb. 8 - Fingerprint lab (Activities 6-5 & 6-6; and additional as time permits). (Lab using a variety of modern techniques to detect; collect; and analyze latent prints)
Feb. 9 - Complete fingerprint lab; case studies & careers. (Activity 6-3 modified)
Feb. 10 - Fingerprint quiz. (very short day - district PLC)
Feb. 11 - Intro to DNA fingerprinting (Ch. 7).
Feb. 12 - Virtual PCR lab; virtual gel electrophoresis lab; web-based activities
Feb. 15 - No School ? President?s Day
Feb. 16 - Gel electrophoresis lab; DNA practice activities (Activities 7-4; 7-5; 7-6) DRESS
Feb. 17 - ?The Killer's Trail?
Feb. 18 - DNA quiz. Intro to blood composition and types (Lab - blood typing using simulated blood)(Ch. 8)
Feb. 19 - Presumptive test for blood (Activity 8-1) (Lab using Kastle-Meyer test to detect presence of blood
Feb. 22 - Begin Blood Spatter Analysis (Activity 8-3) and Blood-Spatter Impact Angle (Activity 8-4) (Inquiry lab using trigonometry to determine height from which blood fell; and angle of impact)
Feb. 23 - AIMS Writing. Analyze blood spatter results.
Feb. 24 - AIMS Reading. Analyze blood spatter results; case studies & careers
Feb. 25 - Area of Convergence (Activity 8-5) (lab using multiple spatter patterns to determine point of origin of blood spatter); case studies
Feb. 26 - Point of Origin (Activity 8-6) and Crime Scene Investigation (Activity 8-7)?
Mar. 1 - Blood spatter analysis case (comprehensive lab applying all previously learned blood analysis techniques)
Mar. 2 - Discuss case findings. ? Forensic animation.
Mar. 3 - Catchup/review
Mar. 4 - Unit test; discuss test
Mar. 5 - Personal choice project (Activity to produce a webpage on a Forensics-related topic of choice that is not addressed in detail in the course)
Mar. 8 - Personal choice project
Mar. 9 - Projects shared
Mar. 10 - Review for finals.
Mar. 11 - Final exams.
Mar. 12 - Final exams.
Mar. 22 - What is death? Autopsies. (Ch.11) (Lab activity using an actual coroner report to plot injuries and determine whether a person was a passenger or driver in a vehicle)
Mar. 23 - Time of death (Activities 11-1 & 11-2). (Calculation-based lab activities using livor mortis; rigor mortis; and algor mortis data to determine time of death.)
Mar. 24 - Forensic entomology; estimate time of death from insect evidence (Addtl. Activity 11-1) (Calculation-based lab activities using insect life cycles and accumulated degree hours to determine time of death)
Mar. 25 - Conclude remaining activities
Mar. 26 - Forensic Entomology Research
Mar. 29 - Entomology Murder Lesson (Applying learned material to actual lab data collected by the University of Tennessee.
Mar. 30 - Stomach Content lab (Lab analyzing mock stomach contents for composition using basic testing for presence of organic molecules and microscopic examination of larger particles)
Mar. 31 - AIMS Math (No class)
Apr. 1 - AIMS Science. Write up stomach lab.
Apr. 2 ?- Holiday - No School
Apr. 5 - Intro to forensic anthropology (Ch. 13); determining gender & body size (Activities 13-1; 13-2 & 13-4) (Lab using Foam Bones and other printed data to determine gender and height from bones)
Apr. 6 - ?No Bones About It? & ?What the Bones Tell Us? (Activity 13-6 & ?No Bones?)
Apr. 7 - ?The Romanovs? & (Activities 13-3); & facial reconstruction
Apr. 8 - Review/Catchup
Apr. 9 - Unit Test
Apr. 12 - Intro to glass (Ch. 14); calculate density (Activity 14-2 modified) (Lab)
Apr. 13 - The refractive index (Activity 14-4 modified)? (Lab - Using Snell's Law and solvents to determine the refractive index of known and unknown samples of glass)
Apr. 14 - Glass fracture patterns (Activity 14-1)
Apr. 15 - Glass quiz; Shoe prints (Ch. 15); cast shoeprints (lab)
Apr. 16 - Examine casts; Tire prints; (Activity 15-4; part B); demo drag sled
Apr. 19 - Edheads Accident Reconstruction (virtual lab); ?Examining Lamps for On/Off?; begin ?Reconstructing a Murder by Automobile?
Apr. 20 - ?Reconstructing a Murder by Automobile? (Paper-based lab using actual accident report data and Physics equations to reconstruct an accident)
Apr. 21 - Finish automobile collision; Case studies & careers.
Apr. 22 - Dental impressions (Activity 15-5)(Lab creating and comparing dental impressions)
Apr. 23 - Catchup/review
Apr. 26 - Unit test; begin CSI webquest or Nova (bombing/plane crash investigations)
Apr. 27 - CSI webquest (Virtual lab combining a variety of previously discussed techniques)
Apr. 28 ? Finish CSI webquest; Helle Crafts case
Apr. 29 - Tool marks (Ch. 16); identifying tool marks (Activities 16-1 & 16-2)(Lab producing; comparing; and analyzing tool marks using Mikrosil)
Apr. 30 - Finish tool marks
May 3 - Intro to ballistics; firing pin match (Activity 17-2) (lab based on photos)
May 4 - FirearmsID.com activities (virtual labs using comparison microscopes to match casings and firing pin marks)
May 5 - Bullet trajectory case studies (Lab using fake holes in wall and trajectory rods to determine point of origin)
May 6 - Bullet trajectory; cont. (Activity 17-1). Catchup/review
May 7 - Unit Test
May 10 - Crime Scene Project; initial investigation. (Lab - summative project - students visit a mock crime scene & use all previously learned techniques to collect evidence & request testing)
May 11 - Crime Scene Project; lab analysis (Lab - students make decisions about what lab tests to perform based on evidence collected; and then run and analyze the results of these tests)
May 12 - Discuss test; Case studies & careers if time.
May 13 - Crime Scene Project; computer lab for write up
May 14 - Crime Scene Project Presentations
May 17 - Review for final exams
May 18 ? Senior final exams (review for final exams)
May 19 - Final Exams
May 20 - Final Exams

School Country

United States

School state

Arizona

School city

Buckeye

School Address

13033 S. Estrella Parkway

School zip code

85338

Requested competency code

Lab Science

Date submitted

Approved

Yes

Approved competency code

  • LINT
  • Integrated science

Approved date

Online / Virtual

No