ABFM Technology & Digital Tools 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In forensic toxicology, which mass spectrometry technique is most commonly paired with gas chromatography (GC-MS) for confirming drug identifications?
- Electrospray ionization
- Electron ionization (Correct answer)
- Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization
- Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization
Correct answer: Electron ionization
Electron ionization (EI) is the standard ionization method paired with GC-MS, producing reproducible fragmentation patterns that can be matched against library databases.
Question 2: Which digital forensics principle ensures that the forensic examination does not alter the original evidence stored on a digital device?
- Chain of custody
- Write blocking (Correct answer)
- Hash verification
- Metadata preservation
Correct answer: Write blocking
Write blocking prevents any data from being written to the original storage device during forensic examination, preserving the integrity of the original evidence.
Question 3: A forensic pathologist uses virtual autopsy (virtopsy) CT imaging. What is a primary advantage over traditional autopsy in certain cases?
- It replaces the need for toxicological analysis
- It allows non-destructive examination before physical dissection (Correct answer)
- It is faster and less expensive in all cases
- It eliminates the need for a death certificate
Correct answer: It allows non-destructive examination before physical dissection
Virtopsy CT allows comprehensive non-destructive visualization of internal structures before any physical dissection, which is particularly valuable for religious or cultural reasons and complex trauma cases.
Question 4: In forensic document examination, which technology is used to reveal hidden or altered text by detecting differences in ink reflectance across the electromagnetic spectrum?
- Electron microscopy
- Video spectral comparator (VSC) (Correct answer)
- Raman spectroscopy
- X-ray fluorescence
Correct answer: Video spectral comparator (VSC)
A Video Spectral Comparator (VSC) uses multiple light sources and wavelengths to reveal alterations, obliterations, and ink differences invisible to the naked eye.
Question 5: Which type of biometric technology is most commonly used in forensic identification from surveillance footage of individuals wearing masks?
- Fingerprint recognition
- Iris recognition
- Gait analysis (Correct answer)
- Facial recognition
Correct answer: Gait analysis
Gait analysis can identify individuals from surveillance footage even when facial features are obscured, as walking patterns are individualistic and difficult to disguise.
Question 6: In forensic computing, what does the term 'slack space' refer to?
- Unused storage on a cloud server
- The area between the end of a file and the end of its allocated disk cluster (Correct answer)
- Deleted files that have not been overwritten
- Encrypted partitions on a hard drive
Correct answer: The area between the end of a file and the end of its allocated disk cluster
Slack space is the area between the logical end of a file and the end of the last disk cluster allocated to it, which may contain remnants of previously stored data.
Question 7: Which technology allows forensic analysts to reconstruct 3D models of crime scenes or injuries from multiple photographs without specialized scanning equipment?
- LiDAR scanning
- Photogrammetry (Correct answer)
- Structured light scanning
- Interferometry
Correct answer: Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry uses overlapping photographs taken from multiple angles to compute precise 3D measurements and models using software algorithms.
ABFM Technology & Digital Tools 2
In forensic toxicology, which mass spectrometry technique is most commonly paired with gas chromatography (GC-MS) for confirming drug identifications?