Forensic Science

Vocabulary Unit 5

1. Bore - A gun barrel.

2. Caliber - The diameter of the gun barrel.

3. Distance determination - The process of estimating the distance between where a shot is fired and its target.

4. Grooves - The low areas cut into the barrel.

5. Firearm identification - Includes the identification of bullets, knowledge of weapons, the detection of gunpowder on garments and hands, and estimations of bullet trajectory and distance. 6. Greiss Test - Uses chemicals to develop gunpowder residue patterns, particularly around bullet holes.

7. The Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) - A database of digital images showing the identifying features of bullets and casings.

8. Lands - Raised areas between the grooves in a gun barrel

9. National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (NIBIN) - Created by the FBI and the ATF using the IBIS

10. Rifling - Spiral grooves cut into the barrel of a gun in order to make a bullet spin as it is fired.

11. Serial number - Numbers impressed on a good for identification purposes

12. Tool mark - When a tool comes into contact with another surface, like a door, and creates a scratch or impression

13. Precipitin test - Used to distinguish between animal and human blood.

14. Kastle-Meyer color test - Preliminary test to determine if a stain is blood or not. This test mixes a sample of the dried substance with the chemical phenolphthalein and hydrogen peroxide. 15. Reflected Ultraviolet Imaging System (RUVIS) Aims UV light at areas where fingerprints may be to identify them.

13. Visible fingerprints - Created when a surface is touched after the finger has been in contact with another substance, such as blood, ink, or paint.

14. Whorl fingerprints - Have ridge patterns that are circular in shape with two deltas.