Section 1: The Nature of Mathematics

Lesson 1.3: Patterns and Numbers in Nature and the World

(Symmetry)

Introduction
In our previous lesson, we discussed the concepts of fractals and its application to
the real life situation. This time, you will explore the beauty of symmetry. This lesson will
provide you the knowledge about the development of fractals, characteristics of fractals
and its applications. Fractals help you study and understand important scientific concepts.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, you must have:
1. Explained the concepts of symmetry.
2. Understand some of the applications of symmetry.
3. Identified the different types of geometric transformations.
4. Discussed the geometric transformations that can be found in different patterns.
Lesson Proper
Symmetry
Symmetry is a fundamental part of geometry, nature, and shapes. It creates
patterns that help us organize our world conceptually. We see symmetry every day but
often don’t realize it. People use concepts of symmetry, including translations, rotations,
reflections, and tessellations as part of their careers. Symmetry is a universal concept in
nature, science, and art. In the physical world, geometric symmetries and structural
regularity occur at all scales, from crystal lattices and carbon nano-structures to the
human body, architectural artifacts, and the formation of galaxies. Many biochemical
processes are governed by symmetry and as a result we experience a wealth of biological
structures that exhibit strong regularity patterns. This abundance of symmetry in the
natural world has inspired mankind from its origins to incorporate symmetry in the design
of tools, buildings, artwork, or even music. Besides aesthetic considerations, physical
optimality principles and manufacturing efficiency often lead to symmetric designs in
engineering and architecture.

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Let’s say, for starters, that symmetry is a property of an object that looks the same
to an observer standing at different vantage points. This is still pretty vague but a start
nonetheless. Now instead of talking about an observer moving around to different vantage
points, think of the object itself moving–forget the observer. Thus, we might think of
symmetry as having to do with ways to move an object so that when all the moving is
done, the object looks exactly as it did before.
Here are the examples of symmetry in nature, engineering, architecture, and art.

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Symmetry of Finite Shapes

Let’s look at the symmetries of some finite shapes — shapes that do not extend
forever in any direction, but are confined to a bounded region of the plane.
Example 1:

This shape has 1 line or axis of

reflectional symmetry. It has
symmetry of type D1.

Example 2:

This shape has 3 axes of It has a 120 degree angle of

reflectional symmetry. rotational symmetry. (Rotate
counterclockwise for positive
angles.)

If we perform the basic 120 degree rotation 3 times, we bring the shape back to
its starting position. We say that this shape has 3-fold rotational symmetry. With 3
reflections and 3-fold rotational symmetry, this shape has symmetry type D3.

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Example 3:

This shape has 2 axes of It has a 180 degree angle of

reflectional symmetry. rotational symmetry.

If we perform the basic 180 degree rotation 2 times, we bring the shape back to
its starting position. We say that this shape has 2-fold rotational symmetry. With 2
reflections and 2-fold rotational symmetry, this shape has symmetry type D2.

Example 4:

This shape has no axes of It has a 72 degree angle of

reflectional symmetry. rotational symmetry.

If we perform the basic 72 degree rotation 5 times, we bring the shape back to its
starting position. We say that this shape has 5-fold rotational symmetry. With 0
reflections and 5-fold rotational symmetry, this shape has symmetry type Z5.

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Other Examples:

This type of symmetry is Z2.

This type of symmetry is D9.

This type of symmetry is D4.

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What is the symmetry type of this image of the sun?

Because it has infinitely many axes of reflectional symmetry and infinitely many

angles of rotational symmetry, this symmetry type is D∞.

What is the symmetry type of this shape?

Because this has no symmetry other than the one trivial one (don’t move it at all,
or rotate it by an angle of 0 degrees), it has symmetry type Z1.

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Symmetries of Border Patterns

Now let’s look at symmetries of border patterns — these are patterns in which a
basic motif repeats itself indefinitely (forever) in a single direction (say, horizontally), as
in an architectural frieze, a ribbon, or the border design of a ceramic pot.

You can slide, or translate, this

pattern by the basic translation.
This translation is the smallest
translation possible; all others
are multiples of this one, to the
right and to the left. So this
border pattern only has
translational symmetry.

You can translate this pattern by

the basic translation. This
translation is the smallest
translation possible; all others are
multiples of this one, forward and
backward.

You can also match the pattern up

with itself by a combination of a
reflection followed by a translation
parallel to the reflection. This is called
a glide reflection. So this border
pattern has both translational
symmetry and glide reflectional
symmetry.

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You can slide, or translate, this

pattern by the basic translation
shown above. This translation is
the smallest translation possible;
all others are multiples of this one,
to the right and to the left.

There are infinitely many centers of

180 degree rotational symmetry.
Here is one type of location of a
rotocenter. But this pattern has no
reflectional symmetry or glide
reflectional symmetry. So this
border pattern only has
translational symmetry and 2-
fold (or half-turn) rotational
symmetry.

You can translate this pattern by

the basic translation shown above.
This translation is the smallest
translation possible; all others are
multiples of this one, to the right
and to the left.

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This pattern has one horizontal

axis of reflectional symmetry but
infinitely many vertical axes of
reflectional symmetry that have
two types of locations.

Because there are translations

and horizontal reflections, we
can combine them to get glide
reflections. Here is one type of
glide reflection. Others use the
same reflection axis but
multiples of this translation, to
the right and to the left.

There are infinitely many centers of 180

degree rotational symmetry. Here the two
types of locations of rotocenters.

So this border pattern has translational,

horizontal reflectional, vertical
reflectional, and 2-fold rotational
symmetry. Even though glide reflections also
work, our text states that we don’t say this
pattern has “glide reflectional symmetry”
because the glide reflections are in this case
just a consequence of translational and the
horizontal reflectional symmetry.

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So we have the following geometric transformations:

1. Reflection - A reflection is a motion that moves an object to a mirror image of
itself. The “mirror” is called the axis of reflection, and is given by a line in
the plane.
2. Rotation – A rotation is a motion that swings an object around a fixed point.
The fixed center point of the rotation is called the rotocenter. The amount of
swing is given by the angle of rotation.
3. Translation – A translation is a motion which drags an object in a specified
direction for a specified length.
4. Glide Reflection – A glide reflection is a combination of a translation and a
reflection.

Symmetry is perhaps most familiar as an artistic or aesthetic concept. Designs

are said to be symmetric if they exhibit specific kinds of balance, repetition, and/or
harmony. In mathematics, symmetry is more akin to something like “constancy,” or how
something can be manipulated without changing its form. In other words, the
mathematical notion of symmetry relates to “objects” that appear unchanged when
certain transformations are applied.

In the early 1900s, it was shown mathematically that there are only 17 possible
symmetry types for wallpaper patterns. This is quite a surprising fact–it means that the
hundreds and thousands of wallpaper patterns one can find at a decorating store all fall
into just 17 different symmetry families.

This is just some of the concepts involving symmetry. You can study this further if
you took geometry and abstract algebra courses.

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Assessment

Pagewhich
Look around you, find 5 images 19 possess the properties of a
symmetry. Use a separate page for your answer.

Part 1
Search images that represents the following:
A. D5, D6, and D8

B. Z3 and Z4

Part 2.
Discuss the geometric transformations that can be found in each
image.

Your Experiences: Write your experiences in understanding the concepts and activity.
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Your Reflections: What difficulty, if there is, did you encounter in performing the
activity? How did you overcome them?
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References:
Henderson, H. (2007). Mathematics: Powerful patterns in nature and society. New York,
NY: Chelsea House.

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