CHEM-113 Syllabus

CHEMISTRY 113

CHEMISTRY AND CRIME
FROM SHERLOCK HOLMES TO MODERN FORENSIC SCIENCESyllabus

(This is an older version of the syllabus to provide an idea of the scope of the course)

Instructor

Professor Lawrence J. Kaplan

Department of Chemistry

Williams College

Williamstown, Massachusetts, 01267

Office: 210 Thompson Chemistry Laboratory

Phone: 413-597-3303

Syllabus Sections

 

Syllabus Sections 1-3 1. Forensic Science 2. The Crime Scene 3. Physical Evidence	Syllabus Sections 4-6 4. Evidence and Testimony 5. Chemistry: A Science for All Seasons 6. Inorganic Analysis
Syllabus Sections 7-9 7. Atomic Structure 8. Firearms, Toolmarks and Other Impressions 9. Chemical Bonds	Syllabus Sections 10-12 10. Chemical Nomenclature 11. Physical Properties: Identification and Comparison of Small Objects and Particles 12. Organic Chemistry
Syllabus Sections 13-15 13. Organic Analysis 14. Alcohol Intoxication 15. Biochemistry	Syllabus Sections 16-19 16. Neurochemistry and Drugs 17. Toxicology 18. Serology 19. DNA Profiling

The Evidence Never Lies

You can lead a jury to the truth but you can’t make them believe it. Physical evidence cannot be intimidated. It does not forget. It doesn’t get excited at the moment something is happening – like people do. It sits there and waits to be detected, preserved, evaluated, and explained. This is what physical evidence is all about. In the course of the trial, defense and prosecuting attorneys may lie, witnesses may lie, the defendant certainly may lie. Even the judge may lie. Only the evidence never lies.

– Herbert Leon MacDonell (from Lewis, A. A. and MacDonell, H. L., (1984) The Evidence Never Lies: The Casebook of a Modern Sherlock Holmes, Dell Publishing, New York.)

Course Description

For more information, see the description of this course in the Course Documents section of Blackboard/Glow.