Glass Evidence, Cast and Impressions
Forensic Science
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Literacy / Driving Question Board Connections
Nonfiction Science Literacy Resources
Graphic Organizers / Thinking Maps
Driving Question Boards
Multilingual Learner Language Expectations
Chapter 15 Scenario - If You Break It …
A woman quickly slipped the crystal vase under her coat. She thought she could easily hide it and leave the store without getting caught. However, the vase slipped and fell to the floor, shattering into many small pieces. The woman quickly ran from the store. A store clerk remembered seeing a young woman near the vase before the incident occurred. The clerk gave a detailed description to the police, who found the woman in a nearby jewelry store. In this chapter, we will explore the formation, characteristics, and types of glass and various methods of glass analysis used in forensic investigations.
Chapter 15 Introduction
Glass is found almost everywhere. Glass is in the windows of buildings, cars, trains, and airplanes and in everyday products such as bottles, glassware, baking dishes, mirrors, lab equipment, and light bulbs. Because glass is inexpensive to make, is clear and nonreactive, does not deteriorate over time, and is easily recycled and very strong, it is not surprising to find glass evidence at crime scenes. In this chapter, we will explore how glass is formed and how forensic analysts use the many characteristics of glass to link a suspect or an object to a crime scene.
Chapter 16 Scenario - Aaron Hernandez: Murderer or Victim of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
Odin Lloyd’s body was found in an industrial park with gunshot wounds to his back and chest in 2013. Lloyd was a semiprofessional football player visiting the Boston area during the off-season. Car tread prints found at the murder scene were photographed and led to a search for a unique tread pattern.
Lloyd’s body was found about a mile away from the North Attleboro, Massachusetts, residence of Aaron Hernandez, a football player for the New England Patriots. On June 18, 2013, as part of the Lloyd murder investigation, the police searched the home of Aaron Hernandez, who had a history of violence and problems working with his teammates. On the day Odin Lloyd’s body was found, investigators determined that Hernandez destroyed his home security system and cell phone and employed a full staff of cleaners to thoroughly clean his residence. By June 26, Hernandez was arrested for the murder. Ninety minutes after his arrest, the Patriots released Hernandez as a player.
Chapter 16 Introduction
Responding to an anonymous 9-1-1 call, the police arrive at a burglarized home. Who had been there? How many people were involved? Did they walk or drive away from the crime scene? Without security cameras or eyewitnesses, crime-scene investigators (CSIs) must rely on other mark and print evidence, some of which is not visible without additional treatment. The investigators find, photograph, and document those “silent witnesses” in the form of fingerprints (Chapter 6) and foot, shoe, teeth, and tire impressions. In this chapter, you will explore how impression evidence, unknowingly left behind by the perpetrator(s), or their cars, provides telltale evidence as to who or what was at the crime scene. For example, the sole pattern impression of a sneaker can link a suspect to a crime scene. You may have seen police close a road after an accident to photograph, measure, and document tire and skid marks that provide scientific evidence as to how the accident occurred.
Unit Standards
What is the NGSS & 3 Dimensional Science Learning and Why is it Important?
Science Practices - Disciplinary Core Ideas - Crosscutting Concepts
HS-LS1-1: Genes, Proteins, and Tissues
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
Clarification Statement: none
Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include identification of specific cell or tissue types, whole body systems, specific protein structures and functions, or the biochemistry of protein synthesis.
HS-LS3-1: Chromosomal Inheritance
Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring. (Cause and Effect)
Clarification Statement: none
Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include the phases of meiosis or the biochemical mechanism of specific steps in the process.
HS-PS4-5: Waves and Information Technology
Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy. (Cause and Effect)
Clarification Statement: Examples could include solar cells capturing light and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.
Boundary Statement: Assessments are limited to qualitative information. Assessments do not include band theory.
Learning Objectives / Career Connections
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
Chapter 15
15.1 Explain the importance of glass evidence in a forensic investigation.
15.2 Discuss the historical development of glass production.
15.3 Describe the composition of different types of glass.
15.4 Describe the various physical characteristics of glass and how a comparison of glass evidence to
crime-scene glass can assist forensic experts in an investigation.
15.5 Discuss how to properly document, collect, and package glass evidence and answer questions
about a crime scene.
15.6 Explain the different techniques forensic experts use to analyze glass evidence.
15.7 Discuss how new technologies have improved glass analysis.
15.8 Analyze fracture patterns in glass to reconstruct the events of a crime scene.
15.9 Calculate the density of various samples of glass.
15.10 Estimate refractive index of glass fragments using various methods.
15.11 Maintain a proper chain of custody when collecting and examining glass evidence.
15.12 Analyze glass evidence to determine whether glass evidence is consistent with the glass found at a
crime scene.
Chapter 16
16.1 Discuss the value of impressions as class evidence and their ability to provide evidence of possible
suspect(s) and crime-scene events.
16.2 Outline the history of forensic impressions and how they are used in investigations today.
16.3 Distinguish among latent, patent, and plastic impressions.
16.4 Explain how shoe and foot impressions can provide information about a crime scene and how
experts collect and analyze this type of evidence during an investigation.
16.5 Explain how tire and tread impressions can provide information about a crime scene or accident
and how experts collect and analyze this type of evidence during an investigation.
16.6 Discuss three ways dental impressions provide information during a forensic investigation and its
reliability as evidence in criminal proceedings.
16.7 Identify advances in technology that have improved the ability of experts to record evidence, factor
in variables of an accident, and reconstruct events leading up to an accident.
16.8 Prepare different forms of impression evidence including foot or shoe impressions, tire
impressions, and dental impressions.
16.9 Compare the relationship between shoe and foot size and height to determine its reliability as
evidence.
16.10 Analyze impression evidence from a crime scene to determine whether it is consistent with
evidence collected from a suspect vehicle or individual.
Using ChatGPT to find local Colorado Phenomena
Use the following prompt, adjust accordingly. "I am a high school science teacher looking for a local Colorado phenomena to address NGSS standard (enter standard you are looking for... example HS-LS1-6)"
Career Connections
Connecting what students are learning to careers not only deepens their engagement in school but also helps them make more informed choices about their future. Browse the following related career profiles to discover what scientists really do on the job and what it takes to prepare for these careers. For additional profiles visit your Year at a Glance Page.
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