Friday, March 21, 2003

Landmark sees geometry at work

Landmark Christian School geometry student Scott Chartier said that a recent class trip to the Georgia Pacific Design and Technology Center was a well-planned success. What Scott, and his classmates, feared would be a day of lectures and presentations, turned out quite different and very interesting.

The staff at Ga. Pacific demonstrated how they used mathematics in the design and manufacture of corrugated boxes. The students found it interesting to see algebraic formulas used to determine box strength and saw how graphs were used to illustrate those findings.

The students were also shown a computer program where one could enter formulas and the program would draw lines in 2-D. It would then generate a 3-D drawing of the box. The computer then relayed the image to a large cutting table, where a box was precisely cut to fit the description. To make boxes of different shapes and sizes, they had to use complex formulas involving the Pythagorean Theorem.

The geometry students were pleased to see that the math principles that they are learning now are used every day in industry.

"I would have never thought so much went into making a simple box," said Lindsey Lantz.

"It is very fascinating to see all the different ways that geometry is used on a daily basis to run a business," added Ashlyn Bozeman.

To learn more about Landmark Christian School call 770-306-0647 or go to www.landmarkchristianschool.org.