You are a forensic scientist in a police crime lab. A crime scene investigator brings you two
Question:
You are a forensic scientist in a police crime lab. A crime scene investigator brings you two soil samples: Sample A, a sample of soil taken at the place where a body was dumped, and Sample B, a sample of soil taken from the work boots of a suspect in the murder. You are asked to give your expert opinion as to whether the samples have similar characteristics, and there fore could have come from the same place, or have different characteristics, and there fore can be excluded as coming from a common source. Describe the tests you would use on the samples to see whether they could have a common origin (that is, could have come from the same place), or can be excluded as having a common origin. Your lab has a full complement of tests available, so describe all the tests that you would use for soil samples. Specifically, describe how you would perform the following tests, and what each test could tell you.