Forensic Chemistry > The Job of The Forensic Chemist is to Identify Materials And Trace Their Origins
The job of the forensic chemist is to identify materials and trace their origins
Students learn to:
- outline precautions that may be necessary to ensure accuracy and prevent contamination of samples for analysis
- distinguish between organic and inorganic compounds
- explain that there are different classes of carbon compounds including:– hydrocarbons– alkanols– alkanoic acidswhich can be identified by distinguishing tests
- explain that the inorganic chemical properties of soils and other materials may be useful evidence
- discuss, using a recent example, how progress in analytical chemistry and changes in technology can alter the outcome of a forensic investigation
Students:
- solve problems and use available evidence to discuss the importance of accuracy in forensic chemistry
- solve problems and use available evidence to discuss ethical issues that may need to be addressed during an analytical investigation
- identify data, plan and perform first-hand investigations to determine a sequence of tests to distinguish between organic and inorganic compounds
- gather and process information from secondary sources to present information summarising a series of distinguishing tests to separate:
– the groups of hydrocarbons
– acids, bases and neutral salts
in the school laboratory and in the forensic chemist’s laboratory
Extract from Chemistry Stage 6 Syllabus (Amended October 2002). © 2009, Board of Studies NSW.