"MATHEMATICS IN MODERN WORLD"

MODULE 2 MATH IN NATURE

Before starting the module, please set aside other task/s that will disturb you while you go
through the lessons and activities. Take down notes as you go along and let your instructor
know immediately any questions. Check Speaker Notes for more information regarding the
slide.
Patterns are regular, repeated or re-occurring forms or designs. Patterns are commonly
observed in natural objects, such as six-fold symmetry of snowflakes, the tiger’s stripes and
hyena’s dots, the number of seeds in a sunflower, the spiral of snail’s shell, and the number of
petals of flowers. In this module, we as humans will recognize patterns by studying them and
discover the underlying mathematical principles behind nature’s designs.
In this module, you will learn:
Symmetry
Geometrical Shapes
Parallel lines
Fibonacci spiral
The golden ratio
Fractals
-Mathematics is the science of patterns and relationships.
There is beauty in mathematics, and nowhere is this more evident than in the patterns of
nature we see all around us. Nature is a harmony of mathematics, as demonstrated in acorns,
honeycombs, starfish, and spirals in seashells, the arcs of ocean waves, and the patterns of our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Have you also ever thought about how nature likes to arrange itself in patterns in order to act
efficiently? Nothing in nature happens without a reason, all of these patterns have an important
reason to exist and they also happen to be beautiful to watch.
Mathematics is everywhere in this universe. We seldom note it. We enjoy nature and are not
interested, in going deep about what mathematical idea is in it. Here are a very few properties
of mathematics that are depicted in nature:
  Symmetry
 Geometrical Shapes
 Parallel lines
 Fibonacci spiral
 The golden ratio
 Fractals
Symmetry is everywhere you look in Nature. Symmetry is when a figure has two sides that are
mirror images of one another. It would then be possible to draw a line through a picture of the
object and along either side the image would look exactly the same. This line would be called a
line of symmetry.
There are two kinds of symmetry: Bilateral and Radial.
Bilateral Symmetry
In which an object has two sides that are mirror images of each other. The human body would
be an excellent example of a living being that has Bilateral Symmetry.
Radial Symmetry
This is where there is a center point and numerous lines of symmetry could be drawn. Radial
symmetry is rotational symmetry around a fixed point known as the center. Radial symmetry
can be classified as either cyclic or dihedral.
-A snowflake is an ice crystal that falls from the sky. But what about the mathematics? Well, it’s
all about the symmetry. Each arm of a snowflake is identical, unless it has been damaged.
Snowflakes exhibit six-fold radial symmetry, with elaborate, identical patterns on each arm.
Researchers already struggle to rationalise why symmetry exists in plant life, and in the animal
kingdom, so the fact that the phenomenon appears in inanimate objects totally infuriates them.
Cyclic
Represented with the notation Cn, where n is the number of rotations. Each rotation will have
an angle of 360/n. For example, an object having C3 symmetry would have three rotations of
120 degrees.
Dihedral
Represented with the notation Dn where n represents the number of rotations, as well as the
number of reflection mirrors present. Each rotation angle will be equal to 360/n degrees and
the angle between each mirror will be 180/n degrees. An object with D4 symmetry would have
four rotations, each of 90 degrees, and four reflection mirrors, with each angle between them
being 45 degrees.
Geometry is the branch of mathematics that describes shapes.
Sphere
One beautiful mathematical formation found in nature is the perfect sphere. A perfect sphere is
defined as being completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying
the same distance from the center point. While Earth is oftentimes referred to as a sphere, it
actually just misses this classification because it is slightly squashed at the poles. The shape of
the Earth is close to an oblate spheroid - a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole
such that there is a bulge around the equator.
Nonetheless, a perfect sphere does appear in nature and can be seen in examples such as
bubbles, water drops, planets, and atoms. Also, the sun is considered to be the most perfect
sphere ever observed in nature. It is the most perfectly round natural object in the entire
universe.
Why are these perfect spheres so important to nature and our existence?
If spheres are not balanced with one another, the world would not function as we know it. Life
on our earth depends on balance, and nature has always found a way to balance perfect
spheres over time. Sphere
The balance of spheres is what makes nature predictable and mathematical. In nature, gravity
and force tend to make many things into spheres such as bubbles, planets, and atoms. If these
spheres were not balanced, they would not exist. Thus, nature would not exist.
Hexagons
Hexagons are six-sided polygons, closed, 2- dimensional, many-sided figures with straight
edges. For a beehive, close packing is important to maximise the use of space. Hexagons fit
most closely together without any gaps; so hexagonal wax cells are what bees create to store
their eggs and larvae.
A Voronoi pattern provides clues to nature’s tendency to favor efficiency: the nearest neighbor,
shortest path, and tightest fit. Each cell in a Voronoi pattern has a seed point. Everything inside
a cell is closer to it than to any other seed. The lines between cells are always halfway between
neighboring seeds. Other examples of Voronoi patterns are the skin of a giraffe, corn on the
cob, honeycombs, foam bubbles, the cells in a leaf, and a head of garlic.
A single layer or “raft” of bubbles contains mostly hexagonal bubbles, albeit not all of them
perfect hexagons. There are some “defects”—bubbles with perhaps five or seven sides.
Nonetheless, all the junctions of bubble walls are threefold, intersecting at angles that are close
to 120 degrees.
-Parallel Lines
Cones
Cones are 3-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat, usually circular base
to a point called the apex or vertex and whose volume can be calculated by 1/3 x area of base x
height. Volcanoes form cones, the steepness and height of which depends on the runniness
(viscosity) of the lava. Fast, runny lava forms flatter cones; thick, viscous lava forms steep-sided
cones.
Parallel Lines
In mathematics, parallel lines stretch to infinity, neither converging nor diverging.
These parallel dunes in the Australian desert aren't perfect - the physical world rarely is.
Fibonacci spiral
Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…
The pattern in this sequence of numbers is made by adding two numbers to get the next
number in the sequence.
How does this work in nature?
We see that some plants exhibit a Fibonacci pattern, like the branches of a tree. You start with
the main branch at the bottom, it splits off so that you have two, it splits off again so that you
have 3, and so forth. The family tree within a honeybee colony also exhibits a Fibonacci pattern.
The drone in the colony hatches from an unfertilized egg, so it only has one parent. But it has
two grandparents because the queens and workers who produce these eggs have two parents.
It therefore has three great grandparents and so on.
These parallel dunes in the Australian desert aren't perfect - the physical world rarely is.
A spiral is a curved pattern that focuses on a center point and a series of circular shapes that
revolve around it. Examples of spirals are pine cones, pineapples, hurricanes. The reason for
why plants use a spiral form is because they are constantly trying to grow but stay secure. A
spiral shape causes plants to condense themselves and not take up as much space, causing it to
be stronger and more durable against the elements.
If you construct a series of squares with lengths equal to the Fibonacci numbers (1, 1,2,3,5, etc)
and trace a line through the diagonals of each square, it forms a Fibonacci spiral.
These parallel dunes in the Australian desert aren't perfect - the physical world rarely is.

Many examples of the Fibonacci spiral can be seen in nature, including in the chambers of a
nautilus shell.
-The Golden Ratio
The ratio of consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence approaches a number known as
the golden ratio, or phi (=1.618033989...). The aesthetically appealing ratio is found in much
human architecture and plant life. A Golden Spiral formed in a manner similar to the Fibonacci
spiral can be found by tracing the seeds of a sunflower from the center outwards.
Vitruvian Man

It is often assumed that the ratio of the radius of the circle to the side length of the square 😊
the height of a man) in the “Vitruvian Man”, which is said to be drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, is
given by the golden ratio.
However, the ratio was estimated at 0.606 ∼ 0.609, which is significantly smaller than the
golden ratio 1.618.
-Fractals
A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar
across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an
ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems – the
pictures of Chaos. Examples: Doodle; Sierpinski triangle
Geometric series
In mathematics, a geometric series is the sum of an infinite number of terms that have a
constant ratio between successive terms. For example, the series. Is geometric, because each
successive term can be obtained by multiplying the previous term by ½ . Bacteria such as
Shewanella oneidensis multiply by doubling their population in size for every 40 minutes.
Volume occupied by N-dimensional hypercubes.

MODULE #3
Mathematics in Problem Solving and Reasoning
“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are
certain, they do not refer to reality.”
— Albert Einstein
Logic is the science of how to evaluate arguments and reasoning. Critical thinking is a process of
evaluation that uses logic to separate truth from falsehood, and reasonable from unreasonable
beliefs.
This is important because sometimes people don't realize that what sounds reasonable isn't
necessarily logical.
I dated this guy for 5 years and he cheated on me.
I also learned that my best friend's boyfriend cheated on her recently. Therefore, all guys are
indeed cheaters.
"Over-generalization"

Logical Fallacies | Fallacy

A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning or a flawed structure that undermines the validity of an
argument. A fallacious argument can make productive conversation impossible. In other terms,
a fallacy is also a reasoning that is evaluated as logically incorrect.
Fallacies are errors or tricks of reasoning. Fallacies can be either formal or informal.
Formal fallacies are created when the relationship between premises and conclusion does not
hold up or when premises are unsound; informal fallacies are more dependent on misuse of
language and of evidence.
Logical Fallacies - Formal
Premise: All black bears are omnivores.
Premise: All raccoons are omnivores.
Conclusion: All raccoons are black bears.
Logical Fallacies - Informal

-Concept of 3 fundamental appeals:

 Ethos is an argument that appeals to ethics, authority, and/or credibility

 Logos is an argument that appeals to logic

 Pathos is an argument that appeals to emotion

  Logical Fallacies - Informal

Ethos:

 Ad hominem
 False authority
 Guilt by association
 Poisoning the well
 Transfer fallacy
 Name-calling
 Plain folk
 Testimonial fallacy

Logos:

 Hasty generalization
 Appeal to ignorance—true believer’s form
 Appeal to ignorance—skeptic’s form
 Begging the question; - False dilemma
 Post hoc ergo propter hoc; - Non-sequitur
 Smoke screen; - Straw man

Pathos:

 Appeal to fear; to guilt; to pity; to the people; to tradition

 Appeal to popularity (bandwagon)
 Slippery slope
 Loaded-Language and other emotionally charged uses of language

Logical Fallacies | Informal Fallacy

Hasty generalization fallacy is sometimes called the overgeneralization fallacy. It involves
making a claim based on evidence that it just too limited. Essentially, you can’t make a claim
and assert that something is true if you have only an example or two as evidence.
Example: “Some teenagers in our community recently vandalized the park downtown.
Teenagers are so irresponsible and destructive.”
Begging the question is essentially a circular argument: the premise is the same as the claim
that you are trying to prove.
Example: “This legislation is sinful because it is the wrong thing to do.”
Setting up a false dichotomy involves the misuse of the either/or argument—presenting only
two options when other choices exist.
Example: “Either we pass this ordinance or there will be rioting in the streets.”
The straw man fallacy means pretending to criticize an opponent’s position but actually
misrepresenting his or her view as simpler and/or more extreme than it is and therefore easier
to refute than the original or actual position; it unfairly undermines the credibility of claim if not
the source of claim.
Example: “Senator Smith says we should cut back the Defense budget. His position is that we
should let down our defenses and just trust our enemies not to attack us!”
Ad hominem means “against the man,” and this type of fallacy is sometimes called name calling
or the personal-attack fallacy. An ad hominem fallacy occurs when someone attacks the person
instead of attacking his or her argument.
Example: Person 1: “I am for raising the minimum wage in our state.” Person 2: “She is for
raising the minimum wage, but she is not even smart enough to run a business.”
The bandwagon fallacy is also sometimes called the “appeal to common belief” or “appeal to
the masses” because it’s all about getting people to do or think something because “everyone
else is doing it” or “everything else thinks this.”
Example: “Everyone is going to get the new smart phone when it comes out this weekend. Why
aren’t you?”
The full Latin phrase for this post hoc fallacy is post hoc ergo propter hoc, which means “after
this, therefore because of this.” The error in logic here is the assumption that an event
preceding a second event must be the cause of that second event. In short, the post hoc fallacy
mistakes correlation for causation.
Example: “My child was diagnosed with autism after receiving vaccinations. That is proof that
vaccines are to blame.”

A slippery slope fallacy occurs when someone claims that one event will lead to another event,
which will lead to another, and so on until some terrible conclusion is reached. Along the way,
each step or event in the faulty logic becomes more and more improbable.
Example: “If we enact any kind of gun control laws, the next thing you know, we won’t be
allowed to have any guns at all. When that happens, we won’t be able to defend ourselves
against terrorist attacks, and when that happens terrorists will take over our country.
Therefore, gun control laws will cause us to lose our country to terrorists.”
An emotion appeal is a type of argument or rhetorical technique that attempts to arouse the
emotions of its audience in order to gain acceptance of a conclusion or bring about a change in
behavior. Such an appeal is fallacious when emotion bypasses or overwhelms the audience's
reason, leading to irrational beliefs or behavior.
Logical Form: X must be true.
Imagine how sad it would be if it weren’t true.

 Logic is the study of the criteria used in evaluating inferences or arguments

 Logic is the science of correct reasoning
 Inference is a process of reasoning in which a new belief is formed on the basis of or in
virtue of evidence or proof supposedly provided by other beliefs
 Reasoning is drawing of inferences or conclusions from known or assumed facts

Argument is a collection of statements/propositions, some of which are intended to provide

support or evidence in favor of one of the others. A statement or proposition is something that
can either be true or false.
Argument and Reasoning will be used interchangeably in some context but referring to same
idea.

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning/argument uses patterns to arrive at a conclusion (conjecture). It also uses a
collection of specific examples as its premises and uses them to propose a general conclusion.
Deductive reasoning/argument uses facts, rules, definitions or properties to arrive at a
conclusion. It also uses a collection of general statements as its premises and uses them to
propose a specific situation as the conclusion
INDUCTIVE REASONING
An inductive argument is never able to prove the conclusion true, but it can provide either
weak or strong evidence to suggest it may be true
Deductive Reasoning
A deductive argument is considered valid if all the premises are true, and the conclusion follows
logically from those premises. In other words, the premises are true, and the conclusion follows
necessarily from those premises.
Note: Logical arguments can be invalid when the premises are not true, when the premises are
not sufficient to guarantee the conclusion, or when there are invalid chains in logic. See Fallacy .

MODULE 4
General Problem Solving
Prove 2 + 2 = 5
An anthropologist was asking a primitive tribesman about arithmetic. When the anthropologist
asked, "What does two and two make?" the tribesman replied, "Five."
Asked to explain, the tribesman said, "If I have a rope with two knots, and another rope with
two knots, and I join the ropes together, then I have five knots."

Intro: General Problem Solving

Thinking comes naturally. You don’t have to make it happen—it just does. But you can make it
happen in different ways. As a college student, you are tasked with engaging and expanding
your thinking skills. One of the most important of these skills is critical thinking. Critical thinking
is important because it relates to nearly all tasks, situations, topics, careers, environments,
challenges, and opportunities.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is clear, reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or
do. It means asking probing questions like, “How do we know?” or “Is this true in every case or
just in this instance?” It involves being skeptical and challenging assumptions, rather than
simply memorizing facts or blindly accepting what you hear or read.
Critical Thinking IS

 Skepticism
 Examining assumptions
 Challenging reasoning
 Uncovering biases
Critical Thinking is NOT

 Memorizing
 Group thinking
 Blind acceptance of authority

Questions of Logic in Critical Thinking

1. What’s happening? Gather the basic information and begin to think of questions.
2. Why is it important? Ask yourself why it’s significant and whether or not you agree.
3. What don’t I see? Is there anything important missing?
4. How do I know? Ask yourself where the information came from and how it was
constructed.
5. Who is saying it? What’s the position of the speaker and what is influencing them?
6. What else? What if? What other ideas exist and are there other possibilities?

Problem-Solving with Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is clear, reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or
do. It means asking probing questions like, “How do we know?” or “Is this true in every case or
just in this instance?” It involves being skeptical and challenging assumptions, rather than
simply memorizing facts or blindly accepting what you hear or read.

Proportional Relationships and a Bit of Geometry

Proportions can help us understand how things change or relate to each other.
In this lesson you will learn how to do the following:
Given the part and the whole, write a percent
Calculate both relative and absolute change of a quantity
Percents
Percent literally means “per 100,” or “parts per hundred.” When we write 40%, this is
equivalent to
the fraction 40/100 or the decimal 0.40.
Notice that 80 out of 200 and 10 out of 25 are also 40%, since 80/200= 10/20= 40/100
If we have a part that is some percent of a whole, then
Example: In a survey, 243 out of 400 people state that they like math. What percent is this?

Cryptarithms
Cryptarithms are a type of mathematical puzzle in which the digits are replaced by symbols
(typically letters of the alphabet). The most popular is Alphabetic. The term alphabetic is used
when the letters form words and phrases.
Cryptarithms
Notice that n cannot be 0. When adding n and n, the result is m and m is different than n.
However, 0 + 0 = 0, so you are not getting a different number. By the same token, u cannot be
0.Notice also that n cannot be 2, 7, or 9.
2+2=4 7 + 7 = 14 9 + 9 = 18
When adding, you will have to write down 4, or 8. However, 4 and 8 are not listed among the
numbers we can use.