The first round of HOSA forensics is important since that is what qualifies you for conferences and for round 2 at internationals. The studying for round one - a multiple-choice test - is very different from the studying for round 2. It is important to note, that when round one is conducted prior to a state conference, this is often done online. When it is online, you must take it at the same time as your partner but separately. Your 2 scores will then be averaged and possibly used as a tiebreaker in round 2. At internationals, the round one test is on paper and is taken at a designated time in a massive room with many other test takers. Again, you will take it separately and your scores will be averaged.
During round 1, if it is online, you will have a visual countdown, but at internationals, you will have a large clock that you will use to keep track of your own time.
For the multiple choice test, you need to focus on forensics history, influential people in forensics, and specific forensics fundamentals. The example questions on the HOSA website are below.
These example questions are very basic in comparison to ones on the real exam but give a general idea of how the question will be formatted. The questions are said to be distributed on the following topics.
From personal experience, this generally seems to be accurate, but of course, it will vary. For forensic history and careers, there are a few individuals that they tend to ask questions about. They include, but aren’t limited to, Victor Balthazard, Sir Francis Galton, Alphonse Bertillon, Mathieu Orfila, Galvin Goddard, Hans Gross, and Edmond Locard. They also like to throw in some names that trick you, like Sherlock Holmes. They also like to ask questions about various subdivisions in forensics, as well as specific advancements throughout forensic history.
The rest of the questions can include any specific information from the ‘forensics fundamentals’ portion of this website. There are so many different questions that they can pull from, asking anything from how many bones an individual would have at the age of 16, to what search pattern would be best for a crime scene in a large city park. While some of the questions can be inferred or answered using an educated guess, it is important to understand the basics of all of these concepts.
For the round one test, HOSA recommends a few textbooks, but unfortunately, they are all pretty expensive and not accessible. This is one of the main purposes of this website though, so hopefully a thorough review of our ‘forensics fundamentals’ and going through a couple of Quizlets will help you succeed!
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