Fingerprints

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. What is the name given to the study of fingerprints? dactyloscopy palynology entomology 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? loops spirals arches whorls

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

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

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

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 Edward Henry Dr Henry Faulds Sir William Herschel

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? Australia Germany Argentina China

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

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? murder bootlegging kidnapping forgery

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