An Interdisciplinary Guided Inquiry Laboratory for First Year Undergraduate Forensic Science Students
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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Cresswell, Sarah L
Loughlin, Wendy A
Year published
2015
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An effective guided inquiry forensic case study (a pharmacy break-in) is described for first-year students. Four robust introductory forensic chemistry and biology experiments are used to analyze potential drug samples and determine the identity of a possible suspect. Students perform presumptive tests for blood on a “point of entry stain” sample; perform chemical presumptive tests on the “suspected drug” alongside known standards of codeine, morphine, and amphetamine; and carry out thin-layer chromatography analysis of the drug samples. They examine the specificity of the Kastle–Meyer and tetramethylbenzidine tests, prepare ...
View more >An effective guided inquiry forensic case study (a pharmacy break-in) is described for first-year students. Four robust introductory forensic chemistry and biology experiments are used to analyze potential drug samples and determine the identity of a possible suspect. Students perform presumptive tests for blood on a “point of entry stain” sample; perform chemical presumptive tests on the “suspected drug” alongside known standards of codeine, morphine, and amphetamine; and carry out thin-layer chromatography analysis of the drug samples. They examine the specificity of the Kastle–Meyer and tetramethylbenzidine tests, prepare polymerase chain reaction samples from the suspects’ DNA samples, and perform gel electrophoresis to analyze the results. Students are required to analyze and integrate the results and to apply their acquired knowledge within the context of an engaging forensic case study. This first-year laboratory is part of a forensic case study vertically integrated into the curriculum.
View less >
View more >An effective guided inquiry forensic case study (a pharmacy break-in) is described for first-year students. Four robust introductory forensic chemistry and biology experiments are used to analyze potential drug samples and determine the identity of a possible suspect. Students perform presumptive tests for blood on a “point of entry stain” sample; perform chemical presumptive tests on the “suspected drug” alongside known standards of codeine, morphine, and amphetamine; and carry out thin-layer chromatography analysis of the drug samples. They examine the specificity of the Kastle–Meyer and tetramethylbenzidine tests, prepare polymerase chain reaction samples from the suspects’ DNA samples, and perform gel electrophoresis to analyze the results. Students are required to analyze and integrate the results and to apply their acquired knowledge within the context of an engaging forensic case study. This first-year laboratory is part of a forensic case study vertically integrated into the curriculum.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Chemical Education
Volume
92
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in the Journal of Chemical Education, copyright 2015 American Chemical Society and the Division of Chemical Education, Inc., after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00183
Subject
Chemical sciences
Other chemical sciences not elsewhere classified
Education
Other education not elsewhere classified