02A Lesson Proper for Week 1

Defining Mathematics
Mathematics plays a vital role in technological, scientific, medical, educational and economic
accomplishments in our global society. However, just as important is the fact that Mathematics indirectly
interweaves every aspect of our daily lives; it is the most powerful interdisciplinary language in almost all
fields of engineering, every aspect of health sciences, education, social and physical sciences,
economics, finance, environmental sciences, Global Warming, and of course music and art, among many
other disciplines (Tsokos& Wooten, 2016).
But What is Mathematics?
Definition: If we ask a dozen persons, “What Math is”, we would probably get more than a dozen
answers. According to Blay (2020), “Math is the language of mind, body and soul – mind and body
because it deals with every aspect of our daily life, and soul because of its power to create abstractions.”
Definition of Mathematics According to Some Mathematicians
1.       Albert Einstein (1879–1955): "Do not worry too much about your difficulties in Math, I can assure
you that mine are still greater."
2.       Aristotle (384–322 BC): “The science of quantity and the Mathematical sciences particularly exhibit
order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”
3.       Benjamin Franklin: (1706-1790): "No employment can be managed without Arithmetic, no
mechanical invention without Geometry."
4.       Galileo Galilei (1564–1642): “The laws of nature are written in the language of Mathematics” and
“Mathematics is a language with which God has written the universe.”
5.       Pythagoras (570 BC – 495 BC): “There is Geometry in the humming of the strings. There is music
in the spacing of the spheres.” and “Geometry is knowledge of the eternally existent.”
Some of these definitions or statements emphasize science, some highlight its abstractness like an art,
others specifically said it is a language, while another expressed what he feels about Mathematics.
Today, no single definition of Mathematics exists, even among modern Mathematicians. There is no
consensus on whether Mathematics is an art, language, or science. Many professionals and educators
take no interest in the definition of Mathematics. Some just say, “Mathematics is what Mathematicians
do,” but this writer says, “Mathematics is what everybody does!”
Investigating Patterns in Life
Many patterns and occurrences exist in the world. In the movie “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray realized that
he was living the same day over and over again. Then, he came up with ways to fix the things that went
wrong before. If you have time to watch this movie, watch the movie of Bill Murray “Groundhog Day” –
1993.
From the movie “Groundhog Day,” these patterns can be anything, like:
v  procrastination on doing something;
v  always “too busy” or having “no time” at all;
v  always giving up before finishing something;
v  constant struggles with friendships or relationships;
v  addictions to smoking, drinking, drugs, mad partying, etc.;
v  constant issues with teachers, classmates, groupmates, etc.;
v  making the sign of a cross every time you pass by a church; and
v  always putting on a shirt with the right arm first.
Number Patterns
This section discusses number patterns and relationships. Let us examine some patterns in numbers.
Look for any video about number patterns and discover how they form sets of numbers and symmetry.
 Illustration 1

1×8+1=9 1×1=1 
12 ×8+2= 98 11×11= 121
123 ×8+3= 987 111 × 111= 12321
1234 ×8+4= 9876 1111 × 1111= 1234321
12345 ×8+5= 98765 11111 × 11111= 123454321
× +
123456 8 6= 987654 111111 × 1111111 = 12345654321
× +
1234567 8 7= 9876543 11111111 × 11111111 =1234567654321
× + 111111111 ×
12345678 8 8= 98765432 111111111 =123456787654321
× += 1111111111 ×
123456789 8 9987654321 1111111111 =12345678987654321
 
Maybe you will agree that Mathematics is the science of patterns. Patterns are all around us. A challenge
to all is to come up with their own pattern that is somewhat like the ones seen in this page or in the video.
Let us see some coincidences in numbers and letters of the alphabet.
Illustration 2
Here is a little mathematical wonder. Simply assign numbers 1, 2, 3… to the alphabet A, B, C, … and Z.

                             
A B C                             X Y Z  
                                         
1 2 3                             24 25 26 
                                         

Take a look at the example in the next table. Add the numbers corresponding to each letter.

H A R D   W O R K %
                   
 8 1 184   23 15 18 11 98
                   
This means hard work alone will not get one there!
 

What about the following items? Please investigate.

K N O WL E D G E     %   
                           
                           
A T T I T U D E       %   
                           
                           
L O V E     O F     G O D %
                           
                           
B A D     H A B I T S % 
                           
                           

Write a reflection on the result of your investigation. Where will hard work, knowledge, attitude, and love
of God bring you? What about bad habits?

02A Lesson Proper for Week 2

Pascal’s Triangle
Pascal’s triangle is also known as Chinese Triangle discovered by Blaise Pascal (French
mathematician). Number patterns found in sets such as 2, 5, 8, 11 is familiar to us since they are among
the patterns we first learned in school. As we advance, we experience number patterns through the huge
concepts of Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, etc. Mathematics is especially useful because it helps us
predict, and number patterns are all about prediction. Recognizing number patterns is also an important
problem-solving skill. We begin with the patterns in one geometric design called the Pascal’s Triangle.
Let’s try for power 4, 5, and 6!
Note: Check your answers at the end of the assignment.
Example 1: 3, 7, 11, 15, … is an arithmetic sequence because it is formed by adding 4 to each term in
the sequence which is called the common difference.
Example 2: 3, 6, 12, 24, … is a geometric sequence because it is formed by multiplying each term by 2
to get the succeeding terms which is called the common ratio. Incidentally, geometric sequence is the
consecutive horizontal sums in the Pascal’s triangle.
        Let’s try!
Give the next three numbers in the pattern. Identify which is arithmetic and geometric sequence.

02A Lesson Proper for Week 3

Fibonacci Sequence
Trace the paths and add the digits of the next three shallow diagonals as they are done.
The sequence has the following elements: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, _____, _____, _____.
The pattern is known as a Fibonacci sequence, and according to some, it is nature’s numbering system.
Observe how the series is formed and how it continues.
The sequence which you just generated by tracing and adding the numbers in the shallow diagonals of
the Pascal’s triangle is called a Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, ...). It is termed
after the man named Leonardo Fibonacci as a solution to the now famous rabbit-breeding problem. The
problem goes like this.
“A man put a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded on all sides by a wall. How many pairs of rabbits can
be produced from that pair in a year if it is supposed that every month each pair begets a new pair which
from the second month on becomes productive? (Tannenbaum, 2004).”
Let us see the solution of Leonardo Fibonacci. The pattern he discovered this way.

Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=diagram+of+rabbit+fibonacci+sequence
Fibonacci numbers appear everywhere—from the leaf and flower arrangement in plants, to animal skin, to
the scales of pineapples, and many others. Fibonacci numbers can be found in the growth of living things
and in human beings. Let us look at a few examples. Anthurium is a locally grown plant which has flowers
with only one petal while some variety of gumamela has five petals. There are many other native plants or
trees with leaves, flowers, branches, roots, fruits, and other parts that show Fibonacci numbers.
Here are a few examples of Fibonacci numbers in flowers.
 Anthurium

Gumamela

Sunflower 
The sunflower seeds are arranged clockwise in  34 spirals and 21 spirals counter-clockwise. It varies
according to the size of flowers, but the number of spirals is always close to Fibonacci numbers.
Do you see how the squares fit neatly together? Observe that 1 and 1 makes 2, 1 and 2 makes 3, 2
and 3 makes 5, and so on. When you make squares with those widths, you get a nice spiral. The
sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on.
Notice how the squares fit neatly in the snail shell which implies that Fibonacci numbers are very much
present in any spiral.
The Golden Ratio [Phi = φ]
The value approached by dividing two consecutive Fibonacci numbers, that is (Bigger F_n)/(Smaller F_n )
is called the Golden Ratio. It is symbolized by the Greek letter Phi “φ" and is approximately equal to
1.6180339887. It appears many times in geometry, art, architecture, and other areas. Below is the
geometric explanation of the Golden ratio.

The Golden ratio is seen all over the human body, from the face to the length of the arms and legs
compared to the torso, and it seems to define how a proportionate body looks best. In fact, the human
face abounds with examples of the Golden ratio. The head forms a golden rectangle with the eyes at its
midpoint. The mouth and nose are each placed at golden sections of the distance between the eyes and
the bottom of the chin.
Finding the nth term in a Fibonacci Sequence using Binet’s Formula
By now, we have learned in this module that Fibonacci numbers grow very quickly and very large in a
short span of time. Just like its origin, the Rabbit Problem. How can we find any Fibonacci number without
enumerating the previous numbers?
For example, how can we find F_30 without knowing F_29 and F_28? Finding this (F_30 = 832,205) is
quite easy and can be done using repeated addition with a little help of the calculator. Fortunately, there is
a more convenient way to get the answer. It is called Binet's formula.
Binet’s formula, F_n=(φ^n-(1-φ)^n)/(√5) where φ is the Golden Ratio, looks like it is complicated but it is
obviously a lot more convenient to use. In the formula, let us use the value φ=(φ^n  1+√5)/2 =
1.6180339887 …for the Golden Ratio. Since (1-φ) is less than 1, therefore (1-φ)^n decreases rapidly as n
increases.

Illustrative Examples
Instruction. Use your calculator to check the 11th and the 20th Fibonacci numbers.
Use φ=1.6180339887.

02A Lesson Proper for Week 4

The Language of Mathematics
As Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) said, "The universe cannot be read until we have learned the
language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in
mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, which
means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word. Without these, one is wandering
about in a dark labyrinth." Like other languages, Mathematics has its grammar, syntax,
semantics, vocabulary, word order, synonyms, negations, conventions, idioms, abbreviations,
sentence construction, and paragraph structure.
Mathematics has language features unparalleled in other languages, like representation, for
example, "x, y, or z" for any real number or any numerical expression. In addition, the language
of Mathematics is packed with terms and symbols, which are typically not used in everyday
conversations. These reasons may make understanding Mathematics difficult. 
However, in contrast to everyday language, Mathematical language presents symbols that have
straightforward meanings. Additionally, the language of Mathematics is a practice in
simplification that more elegant equations are shorter ones. We practice simplification by solving
long equations. The Mathematical language is straightforward because it is transparent about its
truth value.
Mathematical Expressions
According to Leshem and Markovits (2013), "Numbers and figures represent nouns, while
operational signs are verbs." Do you agree? Let's discuss further.
In language, nouns are names of persons, places, animals, things, and events. Pronouns function
the same way, too, that pronouns signify someone or something. In Mathematics, numbers,
variables, and expressions can be likened to nouns and pronouns.
Conjunctions and verbs in language describe what nouns are. The corresponding Mathematical
symbols would be +, -, *, and / (division sign).
Take the example of the following noun phrase "snacks of a bag of chips and two bottles of
soda." Mathematically, we can express the phrase as "snacks of 1 bag of chips + 2 bottles of
soda." Simplifying it further, the resulting expression would be "1+2."
Sometimes Mathematical expressions show unknown values. These are typically symbolized by
variables such as x, y, or z. If we express "11 less than my age" into a Mathematical expression,
it would be x-11, where x is "my age," which is unknown.
The table below shows us how symbols can tell a story:
A noun or Verb Phrases Mathematical Expressions
"one apple combined with one orange and three 1+1=3
pears"
"three hundred days less the total days in a year" 365 - 300

"five groups of ten flowers" 5 * 10

"100 persons grouped into twenty teams" 100 / 20

"90 pigs with some sheep" , where  is the number of sheep

"sixty-eight marbles less than the marbles of , where  is the number of Luis' marbles
Luis"
"a box of buns grouped into 12 bags" , where  is the number of buns in every bag
"divide 200 seeds into a few bags" , where  is a few unknown number of bags

Mathematical Equations
We use language to communicate complete thoughts or ideas. Complete thoughts are
communicated through sentences, which have a doer (noun) and what the doer is, was, or will do
(verb) or how the doer is described (adjective). Thus, "The Philippines" is not a complete
thought, but "The Philippines is a dirty place" is a complete thought.
A group of Mathematical symbols that express a complete thought is called an equation.
Typically, equations are a comparison of two or more Mathematical expressions. The example
"The Philippines is a dirty place" can be Mathematically expressed as "The Philippines=dirty
place," as the Philippines is equated to being dirty.
We further expand our table above to show how equations work: 

Truth Values
As mentioned earlier, Mathematics uses straightforward language. Unlike linguistic language, it
is easy to judge if a Mathematical equation is true or not. To evaluate an equation's truth value,
we look at the assumptions and givens within the particular equation. In Mathematics, it is best
to think about an equation as one whole story and not assume what is not given. This lesson will
only discuss three types of truth values: true, false, or open.
Without additional information, the sentence "The Philippines=dirty place" can only be judged
as having an open truth value. We cannot simply judge the Philippines as dirty because the story
does not tell us how dirty is "dirty."
Suppose you lived in a dormitory. One day, you stored a box of 20 cookies and explicitly told
your dorm mates not to take them from your cookie box. The next day, you left the dorm without
eating your cookies (you still have 20). When you came home hours later, you opened your box
of cookies to take a snack. Surprisingly, it only had eight cookies left. 
To investigate, you checked the CCTV footage to look at who took your cookies. The footage
clearly shows that only your dorm mate Zee took your cookies, but you cannot see how many he
took. When asked how many he took, he said, "I only took 5." Is what he said true or false? You
do math in your head by subtracting 20-8 and concluded that Zee is lying or that his statement is
false. 
If he had said, "I took 12 cookies," he would've been telling the truth. If Zee is particularly
scared of you and said, "I took some cookies," you would never know if that statement is true or
false because "some" would be any number. An unknown truth value of a statement is
considered as having an "open" truth value.
True equations are verifiable as logical, while false equations are not. Open truth values cannot
be logically judged as true or false. Let's expand the previous table to illustrate how truth values
may be made:

02A Lesson Proper for Week 5

Translation from English to Mathematical Expressions and Sentences
Reading and writing are the basic skills that should be enhanced to get the facility of using a language; it
is the same in learning Mathematics. In a language course, you are encouraged to speak in complete
sentences, while in a Math class, labelling and explaining the answers are the rules that no one should
forget. It should be noted, however, that Mathematics is a much easier language than English because it
has few verbs, though it has an infinite number of nouns (Leshem and Markovits, 2013).
In our preliminary activity, we practiced on the two common attributes of English and Mathematics as a
language, which are having synonyms and abbreviations. As Tsokos and Wooten (2016) said, “Math is
the language of thought. We think faster than we speak and we speak faster than we write, therefore to
convey our thoughts quickly, Mathematicians abbreviate everything.”
Once you have learned the basic keywords for translating word problems from English into mathematical
expressions and equations, you will be presented with various English expressions, and be told to
perform the translation.
 
Illustration 1

English Mathematica  
Expression l Expressions
Explanation
and and
Sentences Sentences
1. the sum 8+y The keyword "sum" tells you that they want you to add the two
of 8 and y listed quantities. The order of the quantities doesn't matter here,
since they're being added. But it's still a good idea to get in the habit
of writing things in the specified order, because it'll matter in some
contexts. While "y + 8" is technically okay, it's better to use the
order "8 + y", because that's the order that they used in English.
2. 4 less x–4 This is the "less than" construction, which is backwards in the math
than x from the English. They've given me some unknown quantity, x, and
they're telling you that they want the expression which stands for the
quantity that is four units smaller than x. To find this quantity, you’ll
need to subtract the four from the unknown.
3. x 13x The keyword here is very obvious; "multiplied by" means that I'll
multiplied be multiplying (the unknown) by the given value. The order of the
by 13 terms here is (the unknown), followed by the value that is being
multiplied onto (the unknown). However, in algebra, we put the
constant (in this case, the 13) in front of (the unknown). Since order
doesn't matter for multiplication, (x)(13) = (13)(x).
4. the The keyword here is "quotient", which tells you that one of the
quotient of x items is divided by the other. The order of the items is important
and 3 here, because order matters in division. Since (the unknown) comes
first in the English expression, this tells you that it is on top in the
fraction.
5. the 5–y The keyword here is "difference", telling you that one of the items
difference of is subtracted from the other. Since order matters in subtraction,
5 and y you’ll need to be careful with the order of the items. Since the
number comes first in the English expression, it will need to come
first in the Math expression.
English expressions can be more complicated than a simple relation between two items. When
faced with these more-complex expressions, take your time and work carefully. Let the
keywords and logic help you find the proper corresponding Math expressions.
6. the ratio "the ratio of (this) to (that)" means "(this) divided by (that)", so
of 9 more you know I will be ending up with a division. But the items being
than x to x divided aren't simple. In particular, the (this) part is "9 more than x",
which translates as "x + 9" (being "the variable, plus another nine
more"). So, this expression will be what goes on the top of the
fraction which will be my ratio expression. The (that) part is just x,
so this variable will be the bottom of my ratio expression.
7. nine less (n + 2) – 9 a. "The total of" indicates that things are being added. The things,
than the in this case, are (a number) and 2. You’ll need to pick a variable for
total of a (a number); you’ll pick: a number: n
number and
 
two
b. (By explicitly saying what the variable is and what it stands for,
you’ll be much less likely to forget what it means; it also puts you in
the good habit of naming things clearly, which always makes you
happy, and may get you partial credit if your math goes wrong at
some point). The sum is of (a number) and the number 2. This sum
is written as:
n+2
 
c. Then you have to translate "nine less than" this sum into math.
The "less than" construction is backwards in the English from the
Math. In this case, that means that the "nine less than", which is
first in the English, actually needs to be last in the math.
(n + 2) – 9
 
Mathematical Terms in Pilipino
Composing an English-Filipino vocabulary for the natural sciences and Mathematics can be controversial.
It implies a shift from English to Filipino as a medium of communication. Worse – to some, anyway – it
raises the spectre of abandoning our position as one of the few English-speaking countries and the only
one in the Far East. While others are striving hard and hurriedly to learn the de facto universal language,
we would deliberately drop it, wail many Filipinos, perhaps in honest confusion, or exclaim in rising
aggression. The shift would be a giant step backward, a stupid throwback, and all that. Important as these
observations are, however, this piece is hardly the occasion to discuss them. (Miranda, 2015)
This translation work started out as an academic undertaking, a basic inquiry into the capabilities of
Filipino for scientific communication. It was inspired by a strong conviction that the beauty and force of
Philippine languages, principally Tagalog, are adequate to identify things, explain concepts, and describe
phenomena, processes, and procedures in the natural sciences and mathematics. There was a reason,
too, namely to make possible the implementation of a directive to teach in Filipino freshman chemistry
and introductory physical science at the University of the Philippines. The wisdom of teaching science in
this language was not at issue; the implications of replacing English in schools (Miranda, 2015).
That is why the purpose of this topic is to present the problem with its partial solution and thereby
generate awareness and interest. As the examples presented, a reminder that no one will regard the work
finished. The search for terms must go on and on, and others will have to join in the effort. No one never
knows, as you read this, you will be the next to discover some not searched translations of Mathematical
terms in Pilipino.
 
Illustration 2

Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms

in English in Pilipino in English in Pilipino
Acute angle Sihangmakitid Inverse Proportion Bagayangsaliwa
Inverse Square
Altitude Tayog Dinalawangsaliwaan
Relation

Mathematical Mathematical Terms Mathematical Mathematical Terms in

Terms in English in Pilipino Terms in English Pilipino
Least Common Isa-hulingpangilalim/ Isa-
Arc Balantok
Denominator lagingpangilalim
Mantissa
Area Awak Mantisa
(logarithm)
Average Palas Mapping Tapatan
Migat (from pamimigat,
Axiom Sinaad Mass
symbol ‘m’
Axis Agwatan Mathematically Samatematika
Bar Graph Subara (sukat + bara) Multiplicand Pinararami
Base (of exponential
Batay Multiplier Pamaparami
number)
Negatibongnumerongpabawa
Base (of triangle) Takad Negative Number
s
Brace (grouping
Kulikop (kulotnalikop) Obtuse Angle Sihanglapad
symbol)
Bracket (grouping
Saklong Odd (number) Gansal
symbol)
Cancellation Hati-uli (hati + uli) One Hundredth Hatdaan
Concentric Isalunduy One Tenth Hatipu
Coordinates Hitagwat (higa + tayo Ordinate Tayuwat (tayo + agwat)
(Cartesian) + agwat)
Sihagwat (siha +
Coordinates (Polar) Oval Ovalado
agwat)
Cross-sectional Awaknapahalang/awak Parigapay (from pareho +
Parallelogram
Area -halang agapay)
Bahagdan (from bahagi +
Curve Kilo Percent
daan)
Decimal Sampuan Place Value System Halaga-lugaran
Decimal Part Sinampungbahagi Plot Guhit
Tuldok/Tuldok-
Decimal Point Power of Ten Pa-ulitnasampu
sampuan
Product (of Nagin-dami (result of
Derivative Hango/pahango
multiplication) multiplying)
Digit (number) Taliri Proportion Bagayan
Division Hatian Pyramid Tagilo
Divisor Panghati Quantity, Scalar Gaano
Daksukat (Dako + sukat;
Even Number Tukolnanumero Quantity, Vector
dako = direction)
Exponent Paulit Quotient (division) Naginghati
Karami (from Lihaba (liha + haba; liha =
Factor Radius
kasamangnagpaparami) sector of circle)
Tandi (from panagtandi =
Geometry Aral-tuglibo/Munsukat Ratio
comparison, Ilongo language)
Sularaw/Suklaraw Parisiha (paris and siha =
Graph Rectangle
(sukat + larawan) same angles)

Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms Mathematical Terms

in English in Pilipino in English in Pilipino
Sala-guhit (from sala-
Grid Right Angle Ayos – siha
sala)
Group Theory Teoria-pulutong Ring Sinsing
Horizontal Axis Higangagwatan Rotation Paginog
Hypotenuse Gilis (gilidnapahilis) Slope Hilig
Identity Kaisahan Solve Lutasin
Imaginary Number Numerosaisip Squared Dinalawa
Improper Fraction Tiwalangbahagian Sum Kabuuan/Dagup
Index (of radical) Panliit Surface Lipaw
Induction (from part to Table (vertical and
Pa-lawig Talatala
whole) horizontal listing)
Intersection Bagtas Tabulate Italata
Source: DiksyunaryoTesauro Pilipino-Ingles (1972)