Fingerprints

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. What is the name given to the study of fingerprints? entomology dactyloscopy palynology trichology

2. What is the function of the ridges on our fingers which create fingerprints? They provide protection for our touch receptors. They help us to identify individual human beings. They enable us to grasp objects. They provide insulation for the tissues under the skin.

3. What causes fingerprints to be left behind when we touch things? the smoothness of the surfaces we touch the dust on the things we touch the moisture in the atmosphere the natural oils in the skin

4. Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic types of fingerprint patterns? whorls loops spirals arches

5. At what age do human beings acquire fingerprints? at six month's gestation at birth at three month's gestation at two weeks of age

6. Which of the following statements about fingerprints is NOT true? Fingerprints are unique for every human being. Fingerprint patterns do not change with growth or age. Even identical twins do not have identical fingerprints. Fingerprints are no more similar between two family members than between two strangers.

7. Which animal is said to have fingerprints virtually indistinguishable from those of human beings? raccoon panda lemur koala

8. Why is it usually impossible to obtain fingerprints from textiles such as fabric, clothing and carpet? because textiles are very absorbent because textile fibres are resistant to the powders used to dust for prints because textiles almost always contain synthetic materials because most modern fibres are treated with fluorocarbons to repel moisture

9. Who is generally recognised as being the first person to use fingerprints as a means of identification? Alphonse Bertillon Sir William Herschel Dr Henry Faulds Sir Edward Henry

10. What is the minimum number of matching points required to identify an unknown latent print? 12 there is no minimum 16 32

11. In which country was the first case of a conviction based on fingerprint evidence? Germany Argentina China Australia

12. In 1902, Henry (Harry) Jackson became the first person in the United Kingdom to be convicted on fingerprint evidence. What was his crime? burglary blackmail embezzlement kidnapping

13. In 1910, Thomas Jennings became the first person in the United States of America to be convicted on fingerprint evidence. What was his crime? kidnapping forgery bootlegging murder

14. Who was responsible for starting the first national fingerprint register in America in the 1920s? Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover August Vollmer J Edgar Hoover

15. Which famous author was the first to utilise fingerprint evidence to solve a fictional crime? Mark Twain Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Rudyard Kipling Agatha Christie