Online Forensic Science Classes for High School Students

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Take high school Forensic Science and earn .5 science credit toward your high school diploma. It's free for Wisconsin students!

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Forensic Science

Description:

Forensic science encompasses many science disciplines as they are used to support the legal system. In this class, students will apply concepts of biology, organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, genetics, and anthropology as they explore:

• forensic disciplines of crime scene documentation
• drug analysis
• toxicology
• microscopy
• serology
• DNA analysis
• fiber analysis
• fingerprinting
• document analysis

Students will learn to observe, collect, analyze, and evaluate evidence associated with criminal cases. Through scientific reasoning and critical thinking, students will evaluate the use of scientific principles as they apply to criminalistics and other life situations.

Students will virtually explore instrumentation commonly used in laboratories to solve crimes, replicate and compare DNA, and identify unknown chemical compounds. Throughout the course, students will assess how scientific methods have evolved and interpret their impact on the reliability of forensic evidence. Students will encounter the material through print, online audio and video sources, discussion board exchanges, lab exercises, and real-time instruction.

Achievement in this class is assessed through objective and short answer quizzes, discussion board posts, lab reports, and research projects.

Learning Targets:

Target 1: Obtain and evaluate information through accepted science and engineering practices.

Target 2: Know, use, and interpret scientific concepts correctly and appropriately. (NGSS)

Target 3: Recognize and apply crosscutting concepts as they appear in core scientific ideas as well as through time.

Target 4: Employ appropriate literacy skills through writing, reading, and discourse in scientific and engineering contexts.

Prerequisites:

None

Length:

1 Semester

Grade Level:

10th Grade  11th Grade  12th Grade