1. Soils, Minerals, Wood, & Other Vegetative Matter bsapp.com

2. Soils, Minerals, Wood, and Other Vegetative Matter.  Location  Link suspect  Trace Evidence bsapp.com

3. Soil  Any material, both natural and artificial, that lies on or near the Earth's surface  Most of this evidence is only useful as support or lead generating bsapp.com

4. Examination of Soil Throughout the examination of soil an observer must:  Look for trace evidence  Compare the physical and chemical properties of each sample to a control sample bsapp.com

5. Matching Soil Samples Two samples are considered to be the same if and only if they match on each and every level of the following tests bsapp.com

6. Dry Samples & Pulverize  Dirt changes shade and color at different moisture levels  Dried dirt may clot bsapp.com

7. Gross Examination  Color  Texture  Shapes  Foreign Objects bsapp.com

8. UV-Observations  Note the shape, size, number, and identity (if possible) of any material that fluoresces  Compare Samples bsapp.com

12. The clothes of this female look normal. Any chemicals? bsapp.com

19. A UV-Light may also be used to find trace evidence on a body bsapp.com

21. Microscopic Observation  Color  Texture  Shapes  Foreign Objects bsapp.com

22. Place a thin layer of dirt on a slide bsapp.com

23. Place only a small amount of sample on the slide at a time. Be sure the dirt is placed only in the center of the slide so as not to allow it to fall in the microscope. WARNING bsapp.com

24. Place a second slide on top of the sample bsapp.com

25. Naked Eye bsapp.com

26. Microscopic x10 bsapp.com

27. Microscopic x40 (Cotton Fiber) bsapp.com

28. Final Comparison  Any and all foreign objects found should be investigated separately  If all previous comparisons are similar between two samples they likely originate from the same area  As final comparison density gradient columns may be utilized bsapp.com

29. Naked Eye bsapp.com

30. Microscopic x40 (Minerals) bsapp.com

31. Naked Eye bsapp.com

32. Microscopic x40 (Organic Material) bsapp.com

33. Density Gradient Tubes  Assemble two identical density columns with varying levels of liquids in them  Drop equal amounts of soil samples (a control and unknown) in the columns  Allow the samples to disperse throughout the columns for comparison  If the two samples are of the same origin, then they will produce nearly identical gradient tubes bsapp.com