6.5.1 Determining Time of Death

    Cards (92)

    • What is forensic biology defined as?
      Analyzing biological evidence for crimes
    • Forensic biology plays a critical role in determining the time of death
    • Early post-mortem changes include rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis.
    • How is entomology used in forensic biology to determine time of death?
      Analyzing insect development stages
    • Forensic botany involves analyzing plant evidence to determine the time of death
    • Forensic anthropology focuses on analyzing skeletal remains to determine time of death.
    • What are some limitations and uncertainties in determining time of death?
      Environmental factors, individual variations
    • Forensic biologists link suspects to crime scenes by analyzing biological evidence
    • Which areas are encompassed by forensic biology?
      DNA analysis, blood spatter, time of death
    • Match the forensic method with its description:
      Rigor Mortis ↔️ Stiffening of muscles due to chemical changes
      Livor Mortis ↔️ Settling of blood due to gravity
      Algor Mortis ↔️ Cooling of the body
      Stomach Content Analysis ↔️ Examination of food digestion stage
    • Newton's Law of Cooling is used in algor mortis to calculate the body temperature
    • What are the three main early post-mortem changes used to estimate time of death?
      Rigor Mortis, Livor Mortis, Algor Mortis
    • Match the early post-mortem change with its description:
      Rigor Mortis ↔️ Stiffening of muscles
      Livor Mortis ↔️ Settling of blood
      Algor Mortis ↔️ Cooling of the body
    • Early post-mortem changes occur shortly after death
    • Late post-mortem changes include decomposition, autolysis, putrefaction, and skeletonization.
    • What is autolysis in late post-mortem changes?
      Self-digestion by enzymes
    • Higher temperatures accelerate the rate of decomposition
    • What are the three main factors affecting the rate of decomposition?
      Temperature, humidity, oxygen
    • Moist conditions enhance microbial activity
    • Match the late post-mortem change with its description:
      Decomposition ↔️ Breakdown of body tissues
      Autolysis ↔️ Self-digestion by enzymes
      Putrefaction ↔️ Bacterial decomposition
      Skeletonization ↔️ Complete breakdown of soft tissues
    • Order the key processes involved in decomposition:
      1️⃣ Autolysis
      2️⃣ Putrefaction
      3️⃣ Insect activity
    • Autolysis involves the release of enzymes from cells.
    • What are the primary byproducts of putrefaction?
      Gas, foul odors, discoloration
    • Skeletonization leaves only bones
    • Higher oxygen availability accelerates aerobic decomposition.
    • What do late post-mortem changes help forensic biologists estimate?
      Time since death
    • What are the three main areas encompassed by forensic biology?
      DNA analysis, blood spatter, time of death
    • Newton's Law of Cooling is used in algor mortis to estimate time of death.
    • In Newton's Law of Cooling, T0T_{0} represents the initial body temperature
    • Match the method with its description in determining time of death:
      Rigor mortis ↔️ Stiffening of muscles
      Livor mortis ↔️ Settling of blood
      Algor mortis ↔️ Cooling of the body
      Insect activity ↔️ Observation of insect development
    • What are two factors that influence insect development rates?
      Temperature and toxins
    • What does stomach content analysis help estimate?
      Time since last meal
    • Rigor mortis is caused by ATP depletion in muscles.
    • What process causes livor mortis?
      Blood pooling due to gravity
    • Algor mortis involves the loss of heat
    • What is the relationship between temperature and decomposition rate according to the formula?
      Decomposition rate \propto e^{\frac{ - E_{a}}{RT}}</latex>
    • Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) are calculated using the formula: \sum (Daily temperature - Developmental threshold).</latex>
    • According to the decomposition formula, a higher temperature speeds up decomposition
    • Insect development rates can help estimate how long insects have been feeding on a body.
    • Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) are used to calculate insect age in forensic entomology.
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