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Biomechanics in STEM Education

By Milton Bertrand

STEM Proponent and Fellow Geazler

It is evident there is a major push for STEM education; it requires us to understand and see real STEM applications. Many of us like to play sports; dexterity is an important aspect in sports; therefore, math skills can go a long way in playing sports. Playing sports is all biomechanics. In a nutshell, biomechanics is an interdisciplinary field; it encompasses Zoology, Botany, Orthopedics, Bioengineering, Physical Anthropology, and Human Performance.  A critical, and a major part of biomechanics is mathematics.

The equations in kinematics, kinetics, and the mechanics of materials show the relationships among different factors that describe and explain motion and how materials react when loaded. In football, the calculated time a punted ball takes to reach a specific point on the field, calculating the friction force provided by a new shoe design on a tennis court, to calculating the loading of bone during strength conditioning exercise, using mathematics provides a tool for working in biomechanics. To get everyone involved is to show real STEM applications.

If we parents, students, us can have a sense of these skills, STEM disciplines will be more receptive. It is one of the reasons that we must have a different approach to STEM education. The basic mathematics skills include algebra, geometry, and to some extent a little bit of trigonometry. These basic math skills provide the tools for solving problems in biomechanics, including, working with the vector quantities in kinematics and kinetics.

About Milton Bertrand:
Milton is a STEM advocate and a fellow Geazler. His passion for STEM fields extends way back to his early childhood when his curiosity led him to reverse engineer his toys and tinker with many types of experiments. Currently, Milton is working on the stimulation of STEM to raise awareness regarding the importance of these disciplines.

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