Forensic Physics: Foundations
Published:
Questions
30
Duration
30 min
Faculty-reviewed
30
Updated
30 Apr 2026
About this mock
This mock covers the foundations of Forensic Physics as it appears in the FACT exam syllabus (Section B, Elective I, sub-section i). Thirty questions spread across all eight syllabus sub-topics — physical evidence collection from the scene, the analytical instruments used in the lab (microscopy, UV-Vis, SEM-EDX), pattern evidence (tool marks, glass fractures, paint, fibre, soil), the mathematics and statistics used to interpret results, forensic voice authentication, video analysis, criminalistics and forensic engineering (cement adulteration, nano-tech, arson investigation), and collision investigation and reconstruction.
It is pitched at BSc and first-year MSc forensic science students at NFSU, LNJN-NICFS, and other Indian universities, FACT and FACT Plus aspirants, and UGC-NET candidates who need the Forensic Physics fundamentals locked in before tackling specialised papers. Forensic Physics is the broadest section of the FACT syllabus and the one where most candidates lose marks; this mock sits at the foundational level — vocabulary, definitions, and the most-asked concepts that anchor every later question.
Topics covered:
- Crime-scene first-responder priorities and the panchnama
- Packaging biological vs physical evidence — paper vs plastic
- Chain of custody as a documented audit trail
- Compound, comparison and SEM-EDX microscopy — what each is for
- Beer-Lambert law in UV-Vis spectrophotometry
- Tool marks: impression vs striated; the comparison microscope
- Glass fracture analysis and the 3R rule for direction-of-impact
- Paint chip layer-structure analysis (PDQ)
- Natural vs synthetic fibre identification
- Mean / median / mode / SD; Bayes theorem and the likelihood ratio
- Vocal formants, spectrograms, and forensic speaker identification
- CCTV imaging best practice; de-interlacing; watermarking
- Soil, cement (IS 269), nanotechnology and arson investigation
- Skid marks, drag factor, the v = √(2gμd) speed-from-skid formula
- Hit-and-run vehicle examination and tyre-mark analysis
Each question carries a detailed 220+ word explanation citing standard references (Saferstein, Sharma, NFPA 921, ENFSI guidelines, NIJ Crime Scene Investigation Guide, IS 269 / IS 4031 series, Daily & Strickland on collision reconstruction). Allow 30 minutes; the explanations are long enough to use as study notes by themselves. If you can pass this mock comfortably, you have the FACT Forensic Physics vocabulary that the application-level (Mock #7) and mastery-level (Mocks #8–#10) papers build on.
Sources & references
Questions in this mock are written and verified against the following sources. Citations are recorded per question and shown in the explanation after submission.
- cited in 8 questions
Saferstein, Richard — Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science
12th Edition, Chapter on Microscopy (compound vs stereo)
- cited in 3 questions
Sharma, B.R. — Forensic Science in Criminal Investigation and Trials
5th Edition, Chapter on Road Accident Investigation
- cited in 2 questions
Daily, John & Strickland, Roy — Fundamentals of Traffic Crash Reconstruction
Chapter on Speed Estimation from Tyre Marks
- cited in 2 questions
SWGDE — Best Practices for Digital Video Forensics
Section on Authenticity and Watermarking Techniques
- cited in 2 questions
Standard Statistics for Forensic Science
Foundational chapter on measures of central tendency
- cited in 2 questions
Hollien, Harry — Forensic Voice Identification
Chapter on Acoustic Phonetics (formants and the vocal-tract source-filter model)
- cited in 1 question
Aitken, C.G.G. & Taroni, F. — Statistics and the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists
3rd Edition, Chapter on Bayes' theorem and the likelihood ratio framework
- cited in 1 question
ACPO — Good Practice Guide for Digital Evidence
Section on CCTV / DVR evidence retrieval
- cited in 1 question
ACPO — Good Practice Guide for Digital Evidence (analogous to physical chain-of-custody)
Principle 3: An audit trail or other record of all processes applied
- cited in 1 question
Choi et al. — Nanotechnology Applications in Forensic Science
Review of nanoparticle methods for fingerprint development and trace-evidence detection
- cited in 1 question
Bodziak, William J. — Tire Tread and Tire Track Evidence
Chapter on Tyre Mark Analysis and Tread Pattern Identification
- cited in 1 question
Bureau of Indian Standards — IS 269: Specification for Ordinary Portland Cement
Limits on insoluble residue, MgO, and the standard test methods (IS 4031 series)
- cited in 1 question
ASTM E1588 — Standard Guide for Gunshot Residue Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy
Section on particle morphology and EDX criteria for GSR identification
- cited in 1 question
NFPA 921 — Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
Chapter on Electrical Causes of Fire (arc beads and fire melting distinction)
- cited in 1 question
NIJ — Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders
Section 4: Documenting and Evaluating the Scene
Open source - cited in 1 question
ENFSI — Methodological Guidelines for Best Practice in Forensic Speaker Recognition
Section on Combined Auditory and Acoustic-Phonetic Analysis
- cited in 1 question
Skoog, West, Holler, Crouch — Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry
9th Edition, Chapter on Spectrochemical Methods (Beer-Lambert law)
How our mocks are built
Questions are written and edited by the ForensicSpot team and cited from peer-reviewed forensic textbooks, official syllabi and primary case law. Each one is verified before publishing. Detailed explanations show after you submit, so the test stays a real test. See a mistake? Tell us.
Common questions
What does the Forensic Physics: Foundations mock cover?+
This mock covers the foundations of Forensic Physics as it appears in the FACT exam syllabus (Section B, Elective I, sub-section i). Thirty questions spread across all eight syllabus sub-topics — physical evidence collection from the scene, the analytical instruments used in the lab (microscopy, UV-Vis, SEM-EDX), pattern evidence (tool marks, glass fractures, paint, fibre, soil), the mathematics and statistics used to interpret results, forensic voice authentication, video analysis, criminalisti
How many questions and how long is the test?+
30 multiple-choice questions, 30 minutes total. Difficulty: easy. Tier: Free.
Who is this mock for?+
Forensic science students and aspirants who want timed, exam-style practice with explanations and verified source citations on Forensic Physics, FACT. Useful for postgraduate entrance preparation and for BSc / MSc forensic students testing their recall under time.
Are the questions reviewed?+
Yes — 30 of 30 questions are faculty-reviewed. Each question carries a verified source citation.
Do I need an account to take this mock?+
Yes, a free ForensicSpot account is required to start a timed attempt — this lets you save progress, see per-question explanations after submission, and track your topic-level performance over time.