Police investigating the scene of a sexual assault recover a large blanket that they believe may contain useful physical evidence. They take it to the laboratory of forensic serologist Scott Alden, asking him to test it for the presence of semen. Noticing faint pink stains on the blanket, Scott asks the investigating detective if he is aware of anything that might recently have been spilled on the blanket. The detective reports that an overturned bowl of grapes and watermelon was found at the scene, as well as a broken glass that had contained wine. After the detective departs, Scott chooses and administers what he considers the best test for analysing the piece of evidence in his possession. Three minutes after completion of the test, the blanket shows a positive reaction. What test did Scott choose, and what was his conclusion? Explain your answer.

Acid Phosphatase (AP) Test

Explanation:

Acid phosphate is an enzyme that is found in the body. It is secreted majorly by the prostrate gland into the seminal fluid. The acid phosphatase test is used to test for the presence of semen in items.

Scott chose the acid phosphatase test because it is very useful in testing for semen on large items such as blankets. The reaction time for an acid phosphatase test for semen is less than 30 seconds. Seeing that the test was completed in three minutes, Scott concluded that the positive reaction was as a result of some other fluid.

The detectives reported that an overturned bowl of grapes and watermelon was found at the scene as well as a broken glass that had contained wine. Scott knew that some fruit juices like that of watermelon give a positive reaction to the acid phosphatase test but with  more time that of the semen fluid because the reaction is a very slow one.

Scott concluded that there was no presence of semen on the blanket and therefore there was no sexual assault.

in the given question, the partial pressure is calculated by using the ideal gas equation, that is, pv = nrt

here, p is pressure, v is volume = 25 l, n is number of moles = 0.0104 moles, r is gas constant = -0.0821 l.atm / mol.k

t is temperature = 273 k

p = nrt / v

p = (0.0104 mol × 0.0821 l.atm / mol.k × 273 k) / 25 l

= 0.0093 atm

most historians agree that gabriel mouton, the vicar of st. paul’s church in lyons, france, is the “founding father” of the metric system. he proposed a decimal system of measurement in 1670. mouton based it on the length of one minute of arc of a great circle of the earth (now called a nautical mile, 1852 meters). he also proposed the swing-length of a pendulum with a frequency of one beat per second as the unit of length (about 25 cm). a pendulum beating with this length would have been fairly easy to produce, thus facilitating the widespread distribution of uniform standards. over the years, his work was revised, improved, and extended by a number of french scientists.

the political sponsor of weights and measures reform in the french revolutionary national assembly was the bishop of autun, better known as talleyrand. under his auspices, the french academy appointed several committees to carry out the work of developing a usable system of weights and measures for france. one of the committees recommended a decimalized measurement system based upon a length equal to one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant of the earth’s meridian (i.e., one ten-millionth of the distance between the equator and the north pole).