BALLISTICS AND BULLET MATCHING THREE COMPONENTS OF BALLISTICS

BALLISTICS AND BULLET MATCHING

THREE COMPONENTS OF BALLISTICS: 1. Casing- Shell casing of the bullet when the gun is fired 2. Fragment- a piece of a bullet. 3. Residue- Bullet holes or GSR (the gunshot residue)

HOW CAN THE PATTERN THAT FORMS ON A FIRED BULLET BE IDENTIFIED? Bullets can be identified by the unique pattern the barrel made. Each gun has a different barrel.

HOW CAN THIS PATTERN IDENTIFY THE WEAPON THE BULLET CAME FROM? each barrel has different lands and grooves. The "lands" are the raised parts inside the barrel, and the "grooves" are the recessed portion. The number of lands and grooves, their size and shape, may assist in determining the make and the type of weapon that was used.

HOW CAN THE BALLISTIC SCIENCE DETERMINE IF A PERSON WAS PRESENT IN A CRIME? No to barrels are the same. The bullet that is shot from the gun has the same markings from the barrel. This can determine if a person was present in a crime because, only one gun can have the bullet that was used within the crime. The scientist match the bullet with that barrel.

HOW CAN THE TRAJECTORY OF THE BULLET BE DETERMINED? There is a complex formula to find the trajectory of a bullet.

WHAT DOES THE TRAJECTORY OF THE BULLET TELL YOU? Where the bullet was fired from.

TOXICOLOGY

WHAT IS TOXICOLOGY? The study of the nature, effects, and detection drugs and poisons

WHAT ASPECTS OF TOXICOLOGY IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL IN FORENSIC SCIENCE? • Analyzing biological fluids and tissues • Interpreting the pharmacological effects of a drug • Analyzing known substances.

WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF DRUG IS FOUND IN THE VICTIM AT THE TIME OF DEATH? At the time of death it is difficult to determine the type of drug because, you don’t know if that was the only drug be used or in the victims system. If there is a drug that is stronger than another being used, then in some cases you can only see that there is one drug being used even if there is more than one.