FORT RUCKER, ALA -- Army accident investigators from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center at Fort Rucker had a point to make to 50-60 members of the science club Feb. 1 at Dauphin Junior High School in Enterprise, Ala.
"If you wonder if you'll ever use some of the science and math classes you take, we're here to show you how important it is when we investigate aircraft accidents," Chief Warrant Officer 4 Greg Ganz, accident investigator, USACR/Safety Center, told the group.
Ganz and two other accident investigators visited the school as a community relations activity for an after-school science club gathering.
"When accident investigators are calculating g-loads on an aircraft at the time of impact, they use a combination of algebra, trigonometry and geometry," said Larry Kulsrud, chief of accident investigations, USACR/Safety Center. "That data is applied to various formulas to determine g-loading."
He explained how data collected from accident investigations is used when designing new aircraft seats, new aircraft and crash worthiness designs.
"The science used in our investigations includes, among others, metallurgy, composite material analysis, and even the animation that's spawned from the data. So, the science and math used during investigations spans the spectrum," Kulsrud said.
The investigators took the class outside for a hands-on project in kinematics, an extensive process involving trigonometry and calculus to determine impact angles. Students received hands-on experience using laser range finders and an inclinometer to measure the angle from the highest point of any nearby object the aircraft may have struck prior to impacting the ground. An old-fashioned tape measure also was involved to determine the length of a portion of an object that may have been sheared off during the aircraft descent, then adding it back to the calculated height of the obstacle struck to determine its full height.
In this case, they used the flagpole in front of the school as a target while the Army investigators explained how to use the devices. Armed with field data in hand, and their curiosity, students went to work determining angles.
"They had a lot of good questions," said Accident Investigator Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy Edgette, USACR/Safety Center. "Our visit today demonstrated to them how they can use science and math knowledge in the real-world."
While science club students are interested in a variety of science and math skills, an exercise like this one is their favorite way to learn, said Kate Schindelar, a ninth- grade science teacher and club so-sponsor.
"If they can have hands-on activities, they better understand the material being presented to them," she explained. "This is the best way for them to learn."
Using hands-on activities such as Army accident investigating tools are popular, but some members prefer science that peers into things they cannot see with the naked eye.
"For me, chemistry is my favorite subject because imagining things too small to see is just fascinating," said Joan Haas, a ninth-grader and club vice-president. "I'm never good at physics, but I am at chemistry because I'm fine at imagining things."
If the students ever wondered how their interest in things both large and small would be helpful later in life, the visit demonstrated the benefits.
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