Practice Test Geeks(CSI) Crime Scene Investigator Practice Test
← All CSI Flashcard Decks

Impression and Pattern Evidence Flashcards

7 cards from real CSI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Impression and Pattern Evidence flashcards as text

  1. What does 'class characteristics' mean in the context of shoe print evidence?

    Answer: General features shared by all shoes of the same make, model, and size

    Class characteristics identify a shoe as belonging to a particular design group but do not distinguish one specific shoe from another of the same type.

  2. A CSI finds a patterned tool mark on a door frame where a screwdriver was used to pry it open. What type of mark is this?

    Answer: Striated mark

    A striated (or striations) mark is produced when a tool slides across a surface, leaving parallel scratch marks unique to that tool's edge.

  3. In blood spatter analysis, what does a 'satellite spatter' indicate?

    Answer: Small secondary droplets that break away when a primary drop strikes a surface

    Satellite spatters are tiny droplets that radiate outward from the primary bloodstain upon impact, caused by the energy of the falling drop.

  4. When collecting a casting from a shoe impression in snow, which method helps prevent the cast from melting the impression?

    Answer: Using Snow Print Wax spray as a protective layer before casting

    Snow Print Wax is sprayed into the impression to create a barrier that prevents the exothermic reaction of dental stone from melting the snow detail.

  5. What is the significance of a 'void pattern' in blood spatter evidence?

    Answer: It indicates an area where blood was absent because an object blocked the spatter

    A void pattern is a blank area within a blood spatter distribution, indicating that an object or person was present and blocked blood from reaching that area.

  6. In tool mark analysis, what process is used to create a comparison standard from a suspected tool?

    Answer: Making test marks on the same type of material found at the crime scene

    Examiners create test marks using the suspected tool on similar material to compare the unique striations against the crime scene mark.

  7. What does 'directionality' indicate in the study of blood spatter?

    Answer: The direction from which a blood droplet traveled before it struck a surface

    Directionality is determined by the shape of the bloodstain — an elliptical stain points toward the direction of travel, with the tail or satellite droplets on the downrange side.