Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (12th Edition)

Book Preface

Chemistry in Our Lives

Sarah works as a forensic scientist where she applies scientific procedures to evidence from law enforcement agencies. Such evidence may include blood, hair, or fiber from clothing found at a crime scene. At work, she analyzes blood for the presence of drugs, poisons, and alcohol. She prepares tissues for typing factors and for DNA analysis. Her lab partner Mark is working on matching characteristics of a bullet to a firearm found at a crime scene. He is also using fingerprinting techniques to identify the victim of a crime.

A female victim is found dead in her home. The police suspect that she was murdered, so samples of her blood and stomach contents are sent to Sarah. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative tests, Sarah finds traces of ethylene glycol. The qualitative tests show that ethylene glycol is present, while the quantitative tests indicate the amount of ethylene glycol the victim has in her system. Sarah determines that the victim was poisoned when she ingested ethylene glycol that had been added to an alcoholic beverage. Since the initial symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning are similar to being intoxicated, the victim was unaware of the poisoning.

CAREER Forensic Scientist most forensic scientists work in crime laboratories that are part of city or county legal systems where they analyze bodily fluids and tissue samples collected by crime scene investigators. In analyzing these samples, a forensic scientist identifies the presence or absence of specific chemicals within the body to help solve the criminal case. some of the chemicals they look for include alcohol, illegal or prescription drugs, poisons, arson debris, metals, and various gases such as carbon monoxide. In order to identify these substances, a variety of chemical instruments and highly specific methodologies are used. Forensic scientists also analyze samples from criminal suspects, athletes, and potential employees. they also work on cases involving environmental contamination and animal samples for wildlife crimes. A forensic scientist usually has a bachelor’s degree that includes courses in math, chemistry, and biology.