6.5.1 Determining Time of Death

• What is forensic biology defined as?

  Biological evidence for solving crimes
• Forensic biology is the application of biological principles and techniques to analyze biological evidence for solving crimes
• Forensic biologists play a crucial role in linking suspects to crime scenes.
• What is the primary role of forensic biology in determining time of death?

  Analyzing post-mortem changes
• Match the method with its description:

  Rigor Mortis ↔️ Stiffening of muscles

  Livor Mortis ↔️ Settling of blood due to gravity

  Algor Mortis ↔️ Cooling of the body

  Stomach Content Analysis ↔️ Examination of food digestion
• Newton's Law of Cooling is used in algor mortis to calculate the change in body temperature
• What are the three early post-mortem changes used to estimate time of death?

  Rigor Mortis, Livor Mortis, Algor Mortis
• Arrange the following early post-mortem changes in chronological order:

  1️⃣ Rigor Mortis

  2️⃣ Livor Mortis

  3️⃣ Algor Mortis
• Rigor Mortis is affected by factors such as temperature and body size.
• What causes Rigor Mortis?

  Chemical changes in muscles
• What does Livor Mortis result from?

  Settling of blood due to gravity
• What process does Algor Mortis describe?

  Cooling of the body
• Decomposition is a late post-mortem change that involves the breakdown of body tissues.
• Putrefaction is the bacterial decomposition of the body, which produces foul odors
• What is autolysis in the context of decomposition?

  Self-digestion by enzymes
• Arrange the following late post-mortem changes in the order they typically occur:

  1️⃣ Decomposition

  2️⃣ Autolysis

  3️⃣ Putrefaction

  4️⃣ Skeletonization
• What does autolysis refer to in forensic biology?

  Self-digestion by enzymes
• Putrefaction is caused by bacterial decomposition
• Skeletonization results in the complete breakdown of soft tissues, leaving only bones.
• How does temperature affect the rate of decomposition?

  Higher temperatures accelerate it
• Moist conditions enhance microbial activity
• What are late post-mortem changes used for in forensic biology?

  Estimating time since death
• Match the late post-mortem change with its description:

  Decomposition ↔️ Breakdown of the body's tissues

  Autolysis ↔️ Self-digestion by enzymes

  Putrefaction ↔️ Bacterial decomposition

  Skeletonization ↔️ Complete breakdown of soft tissues
• Putrefaction produces foul odors and discoloration in the body.
• What role does oxygen availability play in decomposition?

  Both aerobic and anaerobic processes
• Insect activity accelerates the dispersal of bodily fluids
• What are three areas of focus in forensic biology?

  DNA analysis, blood spatter, time of death
• Rigor mortis is the stiffening of muscles due to chemical changes.
• Match the method for determining time of death with its description:

  Rigor mortis ↔️ Stiffening of muscles

  Livor mortis ↔️ Settling of blood

  Algor mortis ↔️ Cooling of the body

  Stomach content analysis ↔️ Examination of digestion stages

  Insect activity ↔️ Observation of insect development
• What is livor mortis caused by?

  Settling of blood
• Algor mortis describes the cooling of the body towards ambient temperature
• What causes autolysis during late post-mortem changes?

  Self-digestion by enzymes
• Skeletonization results in the complete breakdown of soft tissues by microbial activity and insect predation.
• How does temperature affect the decomposition rate according to the formula provided?

  Higher temperature speeds it up
• The decomposition rate is proportional to the exponential term involving temperature, as shown in the formula
• What is the primary focus of forensic entomology?

  Estimating time of death
• Blow flies are early colonizers of corpses and their maggot development indicates the post-mortem interval.
• What does Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) measure in forensic entomology?

  Insect age
• In rigor mortis, ATP depletion leads to muscle stiffening
• Insect activity is a key process in the late post-mortem change of decomposition.