Question

Placing a suspect at the scene of a crime is an important element in criminal investigation. This can be achieved through the location of textile fibers similar to those from the victim's clothing or the crime scene on the clothing of the suspect, or through the discovery of fibers like those in the suspect's clothing at the crime scene. A fiber is the smallest unit of a textile material that has a length many times greater than its diameter. Fibers can occur naturally as plant and animal fibers, but they can also be man-made. A crime scene victim is wearing running shorts. There are some fibers on the victim's legs below the shorts. The fibers on the victim's legs dissolved in hydrochloric acid and so did the fibers that made up her running shorts. The fibers are A) cotton. B) nylon. C) silk. D) wool.

Answer 1

Answer:A) cotton

A fiber if available in trace or appropriate amount can link a suspect to a crime.Solubility is a preliminary test performed for identification of the type of fiber. In this method small amount of fiber evidence is dissolved in the suitable solvent to identify it's type. Some fibers completely get solublize in the solvent, some get partially soluble and other can only change their color or do not dissolve at all.

According to the given situation, the fiber dissolved in hydrochloric acid can be cotton. As the fibers of cotton are soft and slender and will get easily solubilize in hydrochloric acid.