FAQs on Review and Critical Thinking

Review Questions
1. What is liver mortis? How might this reveal information about the time of death?
Liver mortis is a change that occurs when the blood settles in the lowest part of the body. This usually occurs between 8 to 12 hours after death. If the body was found and this hadn't occurred yet, then the scientists know the time of death was before the 8-12 hour period.
2. What three aspects does a forensic autopsy seek information about? Describe each of these aspects.
Cause of death- the medical problem that leads to death
Mechanism of death- weapon or instrument used in a death
Manner of death- suicide or homicide
3. How can digestion rates give information to forensic scientists about the time of death?
When someone dies, digestion in the body stops. The forensic pathologists can see how far the food has traveled in the digestion system to get a time of death.
4. What is mummification?
Mummification is a drying of the body and its tissues.
5. How can human bones give forensic scientists can indication of age? Describe some of the aspects that would give this information.
The conditions of the bones might give scientists an indication of the age. For example, if there's anything indicating that there might be arthritis or wear in the joints, then it might be an older person.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Imagine that you are at a crime scene. You find skeletal remains, but the skeleton is not complete as some of the smaller bones are missing. The bones are within a twenty feet radius. Based on this information, what would you be able to ascertain about the time of death and the individual who was killed?
If this happened while I was at a crime scene, I'd assume the person had been dead for a while because the Earth might have naturally scattered the bones.
2. Out of the different methods to help determine the time of death, which one do you think is most effective? Why?
Out of the different methods to determine the time of death, I think algor mortis might be the most effective. I think this because it happens after a few hours of death rather than 36 hours.
3. Do you think you would like to participate in an autopsy? Why or why not?
I probably wouldn't enjoy participating in an autopsy. I'm not really good with bad smells or dead bodies, so it wouldn't be the best for me to partake in.
4. If you were a forensic anthropologist and were studying human remains, what information would you look for in the bones? Why would this information be helpful?
If I was a forensic anthropologist, I think I would look for signs of deterioration in the bones. I might also examine the size of the bones, color, individual characteristics, etc.
5. What can the distribution of bones tell a forensic scientist? What do you think would be the most challenging aspect of collecting skeletal remains at a crime scene?
I think the most challenging aspect of collecting skeletal remains at a crime scene would be making sure everything was collected and then trying to rearrange the bones just as they were at the crime scene.