RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

WEEK 2

MODULE 1:
Section I. The Nature of Mathematics
Chapter 1. Mathematics in our World

A. Patterns and Numbers in Nature and in the World

B. The Fibonacci Sequence
C. Patterns and Regularities in the World as Organized by Mathematics
D. Phenomena in the World as Predicted by Mathematics
E. Nature and Occurrences in the World as Controlled by Mathematics for Human
Ends
F. Applications of Mathematics in the World

Overview

What is Mathematics? Mathematics is the study of the relationships among

numbers, quantities, and shapes. Mathematics nurtures human characteristics like
power of creativity, reasoning, critical thinking, spatial thinking and others. It
provides the opportunity to solve both simple and complex problems in many real-
world contexts using a variety of strategies. Mathematics is a universal way to make
sense of the world and to communicate understanding of concepts and rules using
mathematical signs, symbols, proofs, language and conventions.
Mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world. Most
patterns found in nature were later on associated with numerals. Mathematics helps
predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in the world. It is instrumental to
control natural phenomena for the betterment of the human race. Mathematics is
regarded as a science of patterns and it helps students to utilize, recognize and
generalize patterns that exist in numbers, in shapes and in the world around them.
Being a 21st century learner, students who are equipped with such skills will have a
better understanding of nature and the world around them.
Hence, because of the many applications of mathematics it becomes a vital
aspect of one’s life.
But where is mathematics?

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Study Guide

1. What is Mathematics?
2. Where is Mathematics
3. What role does mathematics play in your world?
4. How mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world?
5. How mathematics helps predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in the
world?
6. How mathematics helps control nature and occurrences in the world for the good
of mankind?

Learning Outcomes

LO1: Identify patterns in nature and regularities in the world.

LO2: Articulate the importance of mathematics in one’s life.
LO3: Argue about the nature of mathematics, what is it, how it is expressed,
represented, and used.
LO4: Express appreciation of mathematics as a human endeavor.

Where is Mathematics?

A. Patterns and Numbers in Nature and the World

• Patterns in nature are visible regularities found in the natural world

• Natural Patterns such as spirals, symmetries, mosaic, stripes and spots
• Plato, Pythagoras, Empedocles and other early Greek philosophers studied
patterns to explain order in nature.

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Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Examples
th
(19 Century)

• Joseph Plateau – examined soap films, concept of minimal surface.

• Ernst Haeckel – painted hundreds of marine organisms to emphasize
their symmetry
• D’ Arcy Thompson pioneered the study of growth patterns, showing that
simple equations could explain spiral growth.
th
(20 Century)
• Alan Turing predicted mechanisms of morphogenesis which gives rise to
patterns of spots and stripes
• Aristid Lindenmayer and Benoît Mandelbrot showed how mathematics of
fractals could create plant growth patterns.
• W. Gary Smith adopt 8 patterns in his landscape work: scattered, fractured,
mosaic, naturalistic drift, serpentine, spiral, radial and dendritic.

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

B. The Fibonacci Sequence

Leonardo Pisano Bigollo lived between 1170 and 1250 in Italy. His nickname,
“Fibonacci” means “son of Bonacci”. He is famous for the Fibonacci Sequence.
November 23 is named as Fibonacci Day.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181…
The terms of the Fibonacci sequence are obtained by simply adding two consecutive
numbers such as
1+1=2
1+2=3
2+3=5
3+5=8
5+8=13…

The Golden Ratio

The ratio of any two successive Fibonacci Numbers is very close to what is referred
to as the Golden Ratio and represented by phi (ϕ) and is approximately equal to
1.618034… such as
21/13 = 1.615…
34/21 = 1.619…

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

55/34 = 1.617…
89/55 = 1.618…
144/89 = 1.617…
233/144 = 1.618…

The Golden Spiral

The golden spiral is a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is phi, the
golden ratio. The golden spiral gets wider (or further from its origin) by a factor of
phi for every quarter turn it makes.

C. Patterns and Regularities in the World as organized by Mathematics

Patterns, relationships and functions constitute a unifying theme of

mathematics. Many beautiful phenomena observed in nature can be described in
mathematical terms. The world is made up of orders (such as the regular cycles of
day and night, recurrence of seasons and alternate sunrise and sunset) and
symmetry such as the fractal patterns from which similarity, predictability and
regularity in nature and the world consequently exist.

Examples of Spectacular Patterns

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Symmetries

Romanesco Broccoli Nautilus Shell

Where is Mathematics?

Sample case: Water Droplets

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Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Raindrops start to form in a roughly spherical structure due to the surface tension
of water.

This surface tension is the "skin" of a body of water that makes the molecules stick
together. The cause is the weak hydrogen bonds that occur between water
molecules.
Surface tension comes into action at liquid air interface. Raindrops naturally attain
a spherical form to decrease surface area.
Mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world.

The great secret uncovered by mathematics: Nature’s patterns are not just there
to be admired; they are vital clues to the rules that govern natural processes.

What is it for?

D. Phenomena in the World as Predicted by Mathematics

• To describe symmetry-breaking processes.

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Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

• To help us unravel the puzzles of nature, a useful way to think about nature.
• To exercise the human mind in abstracting the results of observation to find
similarities and differences between phenomena. To summarize, formalize,
interpolate and extrapolate from recorded observations.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

A woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai, published
sometime between 1829 and 1833. The image depicts an enormous wave
threatening three boats off the coast in the Sagami Bay (Kanagawa Prefecture) with
Mount Fuji in the background.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa

Physically different but mathematically similar patterns

Mathematics helps predicts the behavior of nature and phenomena in the world.

E. Nature and Occurrences in the World as Controlled by Mathematics

Logic and creativity are essential aspects of Mathematics. For a particular
people, the essence of mathematics lies on its beauty and intellectual challenge.
Many scientists and engineers apply Mathematics to their own work. To medicine,

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Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

applied mathematics plays an important role especially in the unprecedented area

of research. Political scientists likewise use mathematics and statistics to make
predictions on the behavior of a group of people.

Mathematics helps control nature and occurrences in the world for our own ends.

F. Applications of Mathematics in the World

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

The pictures show how mathematics is utilized in various field of expertise.

Mathematics has numerous applications in the world making it indispensable.

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Assessments

A. Answer the following questions in five sentences only (5 points).

1. What new ideas about mathematics did you learn?
2. What it is about mathematics that might have changed your thoughts about
it?
3. How useful is mathematics to humankind?

B. Prepare a two-page synthesis paper focusing on one of the following

aspects of mathematics (20 points)

1. Mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world.

2. Mathematics helps predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in the
world.

References

Mathematics in the Modern World by J. L. Reyes et al. PANDAY-LAHI Publishing

House, Inc. Muntinlupa City. 2018

Mathematical Excursions Third Edition by R. N. Aufman, J. S. Lockwood, R. D. Nation

& D. K. Clegg. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont, CA USA. 2013

E. M. Adina & R. T. Earnhart. Mathematics in the Modern World Second Generation

Training. Mapua Institute of Technology. 2017
Some photos are screen grabbed from Google
Credits to the owners of the photos

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