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Distinguish between a bullet and a cartridge.

A "bullet" is merely the projectile that exits the barrel. Cartridges consist of the case, primer, propellant and projectile. In the case of rifles and handguns, the bullet is seated in the cartridge case. Cartridge is also an accurate term for any shot shell.

Discuss the role of ballistics recovery and examination at the crime scene.

Firearms Examination: The purpose of the examination is to determine if a person has recently handled or fired a weapon. Since it doesn't determine which firearm was fired or when, this testing has limited value, and many laboratories have stopped performing these examinations.

Rifling

The spiral pattern of lands and grooves in the barrel of a firearm

pistol

a handheld firearm

refractive index

a measure of how greatly a substance slows the velocity of light

normal line

imaginary line drawn perpendicular to the surface of a mirror or any surface

Density

mass/volume

caliber

nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether or not the finished bore matches that specification. It is measured in inches or in millimeters.

Discuss rifling on a gun barrel and how it affects the flight of the projectile.

rifling which is the spiral pattern of lands and grooves in the barrel of the firearm creates aerodynamic

barrel

the long, metal tube that guides a projectile out of a firearm

trajectory

the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces.

Becke line

a bright halo observed near the border of a particle immersed in a liquid of a different refractive index

cartridge

a case that holds a bullet, primer powder, and gunpowder

shell

a casing. A round for a shotgun is also frequently called a shell.

fully automatic

a firearm with a clip-fed mechanism that fires repeatedly as long as the trigger is pressed

casing

a piece of ammunition that is made of metal.

semiautomatic

a pistol with a clip-fed mechanism that fires one shot per pull of the trigger; the empty cartridge ejects and the next cartridge advances automatically

firearm

a weapon capable of firing a projectile using a confined explosive as a propellant

Revolvers

feed ammunition through a revolving cylinder

Identify all the critical parts of ammunition for different types of guns (handgun vs shotgun).

handgun: case, primer, powder, projectile Shotgun: hull (case), primer, powder, wad, and projectile(s).

Explain how bullets are test-fired and matched.

test fire into a water tank or gel block, capturing the bullet without damaging it, then comparisons between know and suspect bullets can be made

breech

the end of the barrel attached to the firing mechanism of a firearm where the cartridge is loaded and unloaded

muzzle

the end of the barrel from which the projectile exits a firearm

bullet

the projectile that is released when a firearm is discharged

lands and grooves

the ridges (lands) and depressions (grooves) found on the inside of a firearm's barrel that are created when the firearm is manufactured

Ballistics

the study of the dynamics or flight characteristics of projectiles

gunshot residue

the tiny particles expelled from a firearm when it is fired

Explain the relationship between barrel size and caliber.

Bullets (Cartridges) are named by caliber and length Caliber- diameter of cartridge measurement of the barrel's diameter, a gun requires the right size bullet

Discuss the differences between a handgun, a rifle, and a shotgun.

The main differences between rifles, shotguns, and handguns are their barrels, their intended targets, and the type of ammunition used. The rifle has a long barrel with rifling and thick walls to withstand high pressures. Rifling puts a spiral spin on a bullet fired from a rifle, increasing accuracy and distance.