Shame on you Jim,
I have a hard enough time explaining to my grand-kids.
Bullet: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about firearms projectiles. For other uses, see Bullet (disambiguation).
A modern cartridge consists of the following:
1. the bullet, as the projectile;
2. the case, which holds all parts together;
3. the propellant, for example gunpowder or cordite;
4. the rim, which provides the extractor on the firearm a place to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber once fired;
5. the primer, which ignites the propellant.
The word bullet is a firearm term. A bullet is a projectile expelled from the barrel of a firearm. The term is from Middle French and originated as the diminutive of the word boulle (boullet) which means "small ball." [1] Bullets are made of a variety of materials. They are available singly as they would be used in muzzle loading and cap and ball firearms,[2] as part of a paper cartridge,[3] and much more commonly as a component of metallic cartridges.[4] Bullets are made in a large numbers of styles and constructions depending on how they will be used. Many bullets have specialized functions, such as hunting, target shooting, training, defense, and warfare.
A bullet is not a cartridge. In paper and metallic cartridges a bullet is one component of the cartridge.[5] Bullet sizes are expressed by their weight and diameter in both English [6] and Metric measurement systems. For example: .22 caliber 55 grain bullets or 5.56mm 55 grain bullets are the same caliber and weight bullet. The word "bullet" is often used colloquially to refer to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, paper or metallic case/shell, powder, and primer. This use of 'bullet', when 'cartridge' is intended, leads to confusion when the components of a cartridge are discussed or intended.