Forensic Science Mod 12 Review Essay

1. What is a comparison microscope? What are the advantages of this microscope? A comparison Microscope is 2 microscopes in one it allows you to view 2 slides at once. This is a huge advantage because it allows you to compare evidence with known sample. 2. What are the three substances that generally make up paint? Describe each part. The three substances that generally make up paint are Pigments, Binders and Solvent. Pigments are what produce a particular color of paint. Binders are what provide support for the paint and the solvent is what makes the paint into a liquid. 3. What are polymers? Polymers are substances that are made up of many atoms that form in repeating patterns. 4. What is a scanning electron microscope? What are its advantages? The scanning electron microscope is a microscope that works by shooting beams of electrons at the slide and recording the emissions of the electrons. One advantage is that it has much better magnification than other microscopes! 5. What is the PDQ? What is it used for? The PDQ also known as the Paint Data Quarry is a database that allows some forensic labs to compare automobile paint to narrow down the paint color to the make and model of a car. Critical Thinking Questions 1. What are some of the challenges for forensic scientists in dealing with fiber evidence? Some challenges for Forensic Scientists dealing with fibers are that they have to find these tiny pieces of evidence. 2. What does it mean if a paint sample â€Å"matches† a known sample from a vehicle? Does this indicate the same source? Why or why not? 3. Why are microscopes important to forensic scientists? Microscopes are important to forensic science because it allows us to compare and analyze evidence such as trace evidence. 4. What elements of paint can help forensic scientists compare samples to each other? Paint samples can be compared to each other by comparing the three core products the! Which are pigments which are added to make a certain color? Another is the  Binder which provides support to the paint and Solvents which are there to disperse these substances.