Unit 5: Development of Impressions - Practice Quiz

1 Which of the following is a common method used to collect a visible footwear impression left in dust on a hard floor?

2 A three-dimensional shoe impression found in soft soil is BEST collected by which method?

3 Before lifting or casting any impression, the FIRST step that should always be performed is:

4 Which material is most commonly used for casting outdoor footwear and tire impressions in soil?

5 Why is a fixative or hardener sometimes sprayed on an impression in loose sand or dust before casting?

6 When casting an impression in snow, which specialized product is commonly used to enhance and preserve the detail?

7 Approximately how long should a dental stone cast be allowed to set undisturbed before it is lifted from soil?

8 Electrostatic lifting works best on which type of impression?

9 What principle does an electrostatic dust lifter rely on to collect an impression?

10 After an electrostatic lift is made, the recovered impression is usually examined against a:

11 Shining a light at a low angle across a surface to reveal impressions is known as:

12 Why is oblique lighting effective for visualizing shallow impressions?

13 A forensic light source that emits ultraviolet (UV) light is useful for impressions because it can:

14 An 'Alternate Light Source' (ALS) used in impression examination provides light in:

15 A control standard in impression analysis refers to:

16 When making a known footwear standard from a suspect's shoe, the examiner should record impressions that:

17 In impression comparison, the term questioned impression refers to the impression that is:

18 Which of the following is considered an individual characteristic when comparing footwear impressions?

19 Features like the general tread pattern and shoe size are best described as:

20 At a crime scene, impression evidence should be documented and collected relative to other evidence in what general order of priority?

21 An investigator finds a three-dimensional shoe impression in soft mud at an outdoor scene. Before any casting is attempted, which action is the most appropriate first step?

22 Dental stone is generally preferred over plaster of Paris for casting footwear impressions primarily because it:

23 A forensic examiner must cast an impression left in dry, loose sand that would collapse if liquid stone were poured in. The best technique is to:

24 When casting a snow impression, Snow Print Wax is applied before dental stone mainly to:

25 An electrostatic dust print lifter is most effective for recovering:

26 During electrostatic lifting, the black lifting film is placed with its:

27 After an electrostatic lift is completed, the recovered print on the film should be:

28 Directing a light source at a low, grazing angle across a smooth surface is used primarily to:

29 A forensic light source (FLS) set near 450 nm with an orange barrier filter is typically used to:

30 Why is a barrier (viewing) filter necessary when using an alternate light source to visualize fluorescent impressions?

31 To create a reliable known footwear standard from a suspect's shoe for comparison, the examiner should:

32 When preparing known tire tread standards, multiple test impressions of the full circumference are taken because:

33 A key requirement of any control standard used in impression comparison is that it must be:

34 In footwear comparison, class characteristics differ from individual characteristics in that class characteristics:

35 An examiner concludes an "identification" (the questioned shoe made the mark) only when:

36 During overlay comparison of a questioned and control impression, the images must first be:

37 A single unexplained difference between the questioned and control impression that cannot be attributed to distortion or wear should lead the examiner to:

38 At a crime scene with several impressions, the correct sequence of handling is:

39 To protect a delicate three-dimensional impression at an outdoor scene from rain before recovery, an investigator should:

40 Maintaining a documented chain of custody for a recovered impression cast is essential because it:

41 A tool mark impression in soft brass at a burglary scene must be cast for laboratory comparison. Which casting material and rationale represents the optimal choice for capturing fine microscopic striations without damaging the substrate?

42 When casting a footwear impression in wet, waterlogged soil, the standard dental stone technique fails because the water alters the mix ratio. Which modification best preserves impression fidelity?

43 An electrostatic dust print lifter (EDPL) fails to lift a dry dust footwear impression from a carpeted surface, though it worked on an adjacent tile floor. What is the most likely underlying reason?

44 During electrostatic lifting, an examiner must decide the sequence of evidence collection when a dust impression overlaps a latent residue that could yield DNA. What is the correct order and reasoning?

45 A faint impression on a multicolored patterned surface is invisible under white light. An examiner uses a tunable forensic light source at 450 nm with an orange barrier filter. What principle explains why this reveals the impression?

46 Oblique (grazing) lighting is chosen over coaxial lighting to visualize a three-dimensional impression in dust. Which statement best explains the optical advantage of oblique illumination here?

47 To create a control standard from a suspect's shoe for comparison with a crime-scene impression, an examiner must reproduce the questioned deposit conditions. Which approach yields the most valid known standard?

48 When preparing multiple known test impressions from the same footwear, why is it methodologically essential to produce several exemplars rather than a single one?

49 During footwear comparison, an examiner finds strong class-characteristic agreement (identical tread pattern, size) but a randomly acquired cut on the questioned impression is absent on the suspect's shoe. What is the correct interpretive conclusion?

50 In the ACE-V methodology applied to impression comparison, at which stage does an independent second examiner ideally repeat the full analysis without knowing the first examiner's conclusion, and why?

51 Two footwear impressions share the same size and tread but the questioned impression appears about 3% smaller overall. Before concluding a size discrepancy, what must the examiner rule out first?

52 A latent dust impression, a 3D soil impression, and a bloody shoe print coexist at one scene on different surfaces. What is the correct overall collection strategy?

53 A two-dimensional residue impression is found on a smooth, dark, non-porous tile. Which collection sequence maximizes recovery and evidential value?

54 An examiner debates whether to lift or cast a footwear impression in fine, dry dust on a hard floor. Which factor most strongly favors electrostatic lifting over casting?

55 At a scene, first responders have walked through an area containing footwear impressions before the impression examiner arrives. What is the most important immediate procedural step to preserve evidentiary integrity?

56 Rain is imminent and several 3D soil impressions remain uncast at an outdoor scene. Which action best balances preservation against proper procedure?

57 Why must a scale placed beside a footwear impression for photography be positioned on the same plane as the impression and the camera aligned perpendicular to it?

58 An examiner reinforcing a large dental-stone footwear cast debates when to embed reinforcement material. What is the correct technique to avoid compromising detail?

59 An examiner selects UV (approximately 254 nm) reflected-light photography to visualize an untreated impression on a non-porous surface. What is the primary mechanism being exploited?

60 An examiner must decide whether a wear-pattern feature on a suspect's outsole is suitable to include in a control standard for comparison. What is the key criterion for its evidential use?