Download 4.2 Botany SPMS - Northwest ISD Moodle

Forensic Science Unit 2.2: Forensic Botany
My learning objectives:
(7) The student recognizes the methods to process and analyze trace evidence commonly found in a crime scene. The
student is expected to:
(A) perform continuous and light emissions laboratory procedures to identify trace evidence;
(B) process trace evidence such as soil, grass, glass, blood, fibers, and hair collected in a simulated crime scene;
(3) The student uses critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving to make informed decisions within and
outside the classroom. The student is expected to:
(F) research and describe the history of science and contributions of scientists.
(4) The student explores the history, legal responsibilities, and career options for forensic science. The student is
expected to:
(E) recognize the major contributors to the development of forensic science; and
(F) illustrate the history of forensic science.
Objectives for the Unit
Conceptual
Define forensic botany. List examples of botanical evidence found on land
and in water.
Compile a list of different types of botanical evidence that can be
transferred to an automobile. Include in your answer:
a. The type of botanical evidence
b. Where in or on the car the evidence can be recovered
Provide arguments to support the claim that botanical evidence is often overlooked by both suspects and crime scene investigators and therefore provides
a valuable source of evidence.
Explain why a forensic botanist needs to
be able to a. Identify specific plants.
b. Identify different parts of a plant.
c. Understand how and when plants grow and develop.
d. Describe how plant ecology and the relationship of plants
to their environment and to other plants are important to
forensic investigations.
Create a list of environmental factors affecting plant growth and their ability to
inhabit different environments and relate this information to forensic botany.
Define with examples a plant assemblage.
Describe how forensic botanists use plant assemblages to identify a particular
ecosystem to help locate a crime scene.
Cite evidence describing how botanical evidence can provide clues regarding:
a. Where a
crime was
committed
b. Who was
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at the crime
scene
c. When the crime was committed
d. Establishing a postmortem interval (time since death)
e. Determining if a body had been
moved from a crime scene f. How long
a body has been buried
g. Refuting or verifying a suspect's alibi
Describe how crime-scene investigators refer to botanical evidence to
provide clues as to the time when suspects were present at a crime scene.
Describe how investigators are able to locate both a recent and
older gravesite based on botanical evidence.
Relate the idea of ecological succession to the changes that occur when the
ground is disturbed after a grave has been dug
Describe the effect of temperature and humidity on the rate of
decomposition of botanical evidence and relate this to estimations
of postmortem intervals.
Elaborate on why an autopsy procedure includes the analysis of the gastric
contents of the body. Include in your answer:
a. Structure of plant cell walls
b. The ability of plant cells walls to withstand chemical
and physical digestion c. Where in the digestive tract
plant evidence can be recovered
d. How the "last meal" of the victim can be used to provide
additional information about a crime
Justify why a habitat sampling should be taken at a crime scene.
Outline the procedure for setting up the collection limits around a crime scene
for the purpose of collecting, documenting, and mapping evidence.
List the different types of botanical evidence that should be collected at
a crime scene.
Summarize how to collect each of the following types of botanical
evidence:
a. Samples of trees, bushes or shrubs
b. Long vines or ground cover
c. Leaves
d. Flowers
e. Fruits
f. Fungi
g. Broken branches and stems
Summarize why diatoms can be useful evidence in cases involving drowning
victims. Include in your answer:
a. Structure of diatoms
b. Habitat of diatoms
c. Where diatom evidence is obtained in a victim
Apply the use of annual rings to solving a crime citing a specific
example of how annual rings provided evidence.
Discuss two different types of wood evidence used that lead to the
conviction of Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping case.
Define forensic palynology.
Provide an example and explanation of how pollen
can help:
a. Determine what season a
crime was committed. b.
Determine where a crime was
committed.
c. Determine if the body was moved
d. Determine who was at the crime scene
Describe another group of plants that produces pollen other than angiosperms.
Explain why flowers are considered to be reproductive organs.
Compare and contrast reproduction in angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Describe the structure and variations of pollen grains.
Relate the thick-walled structure of a pollen grain to its function and how
this thick wall is a benefit for forensic botany.
Describe the function of pollen.
Draw a simple flower that shows all the major reproductive parts listed
below. Label the reproductive parts of the flower. Describe the functions of
each.
Distinguish between the processes of pollination and fertilization.
Arrange the following terms in the correct order:
a. Seed development
d. Fertilization
b. Pollination
e. Pollen tube formation
c. Fruit development
Discuss the formation of endospores in
bacteria.
a. When are they formed?
b. Why are they formed?
c. How do these differ from fungal spores?