Module II:

THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICS

Prepared by: Mr. Leandro V. Botalon, LPT
Module No. II
Week 2-4
I. Introduction

Alejan et.al. (2018) mentioned that in our modern world, the usefulness of
mathematics is inevitable. Mathematics is used in different fields to calculate effectively the
results of different activities, predict the behavior of a variable when the other variables are
known. We look at mathematics as a useful way to think about the nature and the world in
general; thus patterns and numbers that are useful in this world will be dealt with to think
about the Fibonacci sequence and other arrays of number in order to order to predict and
control the behavior of nature and phenomena in this world.

II. Learning Objectives

1. Identify patterns in nature and regularities in the world
2. Articulate the importance of mathematics in one’s life
3. Argue about the nature of mathematics, what is it, how it is expressed, represented, and
used
4. Express appreciation for mathematics as a human endeavor

III. Topics and Key Concepts

A. Seeing Math Patterns in Nature : https://www.slideshare.net/MaryVanDyke/seeing-math-

patterns-in-nature?from_action=save

B. Fibonacci Sequence

The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...

The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it:

• the 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1),

• the 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2),
 • the 5 is (2+3),
• and so on!

Example: the next number in the sequence above is 21+34 = 55

It is that simple!

Here is a longer list:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10946,
17711, 28657, 46368, 75025, 121393, 196418, 317811, ...

Can you figure out the next few numbers?

Makes A Spiral

When we make squares with those widths, we get a nice spiral:

Do you see how the squares fit neatly together?

For example 5 and 8 make 13, 8 and 13 make 21, and so on.
This spiral is found in nature!

The Rule

The Fibonacci Sequence can be written as a "Rule" (see Sequences and Series).

First, the terms are numbered from 0 onwards like this:

So term number 6 is called x6 (which equals 8).

So we can write the rule:

Golden Ratio

And here is a surprise. When we take any two successive (one after the other) Fibonacci
Numbers, their ratio is very close to the Golden Ratio "φ" which is approximately 1.618034...

In fact, the bigger the pair of Fibonacci Numbers, the closer the approximation. Let us try a few:

We don't have to start with 2 and 3, here I randomly chose 192 and 16 (and got the
sequence 192, 16, 208, 224, 432, 656, 1088, 1744, 2832, 4576, 7408, 11984, 19392, 31376, ...):
It takes longer to get good values, but it shows that not just the Fibonacci Sequence can do this!

Using the Golden Ratio to Calculate Fibonacci Numbers

And even more surprising is that we can calculate any Fibonacci Number using the Golden
Ratio:

The answer comes out as a whole number, exactly equal to the addition of the previous two
terms.

You can also calculate a Fibonacci Number by multiplying the previous Fibonacci Number by
the Golden Ratio and then rounding (works for numbers above 1):
Terms Below Zero
The sequence works below zero also, like this:
 (Prove to yourself that each number is found by adding up the two numbers before it!)

In fact the sequence below zero has the same numbers as the sequence above zero, except they
follow a +-+- ... pattern. It can be written like this:

History

Fibonacci was not the first to know about the sequence, it was known in India hundreds of years
before!
About Fibonacci The Man

His real name was Leonardo Pisano Bogollo, and he lived between 1170 and 1250 in Italy.

"Fibonacci" was his nickname, which roughly means "Son of Bonacci".

As well as being famous for the Fibonacci Sequence, he helped spread Hindu-Arabic
Numerals (like our present numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) through Europe in place of Roman
Numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, etc). That has saved us all a lot of trouble! Thank you Leonardo.
Fibonacci Day

Fibonacci Day is November 23rd, as it has the digits "1, 1, 2, 3" which is part of the sequence.
So next Nov 23 let everyone know!
C. PROGRESSIONS

In this section we discuss two important series namely

1) Arithmetic Progression (A.P)

2) Geometric Progression (G.P)

Arithmetic Progressions

Consider the sequence of numbers of the form 1, 4, 7,10… . In this sequence the next
term is formed by adding a constant 3 with the current term.
An arithmetic progression is a sequence in which each term (except the first term) is
obtained from the previous term by adding a constant known as the common difference.
An arithmetic series is formed by the addition of the terms in an arithmetic progression.
Let the first term on an A. P. be a and common difference d.

Then, general form of an A. P is a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, ...nth term of an A.

P is tn = a + (n - 1) d
Sum of first n terms of an A. P is
Sn = n/2 [2a + (n - 1) d]
or = n/2 [ first term + last term]

Example 1: Find (i) The nth term and (ii) Sum to n terms of the A.P whose first term is 2
and common difference is 3.
Answer:
1) tn= 2 + (n -1) 3 = 3n -1
𝑛 n
2) Sn = (2 x 2 + (n -1) 3 ) = (3𝑛 + 1)
2 2

Example 2: Find the sum of the first n natural numbers.

Solution
The sum of the natural numbers is given by
Sn=1+2+3+…+ n
This is a A.P whose first term is 1 and common difference is also one and the last term is n.
𝑛 𝑛
Sn= 2 (𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 + 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚) = 2 (𝑛 + 1)

Example 3: Find the 15thterm & the sum of the 15 terms of the A.P 7, 17, 27,…

a = 7, d = 17 – 7= 10 and n=15

tn = a +( n-1) d
 15
t15 = a + (15-1)d = a +14d 𝑆15 = ( a + 𝑡15 )
2
15 15
= 7 + 14(10) = ( 7 + 147 ) = (154 )
2 2
= 147 = 1155

Geometric Progression

Consider the sequence of numbers

a) 1, 2, 4, 8, 16…

1 1 1
b) 1, 4 , 16 , 64 …

In the above sequences each term is formed by multiplying constant with the preceding
term. For example, in the first sequence each term is formed by multiplying a constant 2 with
1
the preceding term. Similarly, the second sequence is formed by multiplying each term by 4 to
obtain the next term. Such a sequence of numbers is called Geometric progression (G.P).
A geometric progression is a sequence in which each term (except the first
term) is derived from the preceding term by the multiplication of a non-zero constant,
which is the common ratio.
The general form of G.P is a, ar, ar,2, ar3,…
Here ‘a’ is called the first term and ‘r’ is called common ratio.
The nth term of the G.P is denoted by tn is given by tn = arn-1
The sum of the first n terms of a G.P is given by the formula.

𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 −1) 𝑎 (1−𝑟 𝑛)

𝑠𝑛 = if r >1 𝑆𝑛 = if r < 1
r−1 1−𝑟

Examples

1. Find the common ratio of the G.P 16, 24, 36, 54.
Solution

𝑡2 24 3
The common ratio is 𝑡1
= 16
= 2

2 8 32
2. Find the 10th term of the G.P. , ,
5 52 53
Solution:

8
2 52 8 5 4
Here a = 5 and r = 2 = × =
25 2 5
5

Since tn = arn-1 we get

2 4 2(218 ) 219
t10 = 5 (5)9 = =
510 510

Sum to infinity of a G.P.

Consider the following G.P’s
1 1 1
1. 1, , , …
2 4 8
1 1 1 1
2. 1, – 3 , 9
, − 27 , 81
…

1
In the first sequence, which is a G.P. the common ratio is r= 2 . In the second G.P. the
1
common ratio is r = – 3 . In both these cases the numerical value of r = |𝑟|<1. (For the first
1 1
sequence |𝑟| = and the second sequence |𝑟| = and both are less than 1. In these equations,
2 3
ie. |𝑟| < 1 we can find the “Sum to infinity” and it is given by the form

𝑎
𝑆∞ = provided -1 < r <1
1−𝑟
Solutions:
𝑎 𝑎
1. 𝑆∞ = 2. 𝑆∞ =
1−𝑟 1−𝑟
1 1 1
= 1 = 1 = 1
1– 1 –(– ) 1+
2 3 3
1 1 3
= 1 = 2 = 4 =
4
2 3

Examples:
1
1. Find the sum of the infinite geometric series with first term 2 and common ratio
2
.
Solution:
1
Here a =2 and r=
2
 2
𝑆𝑛 = =4
1
1−2

2. Find the sum of the infinite geometric series ½ +1/4 +1/8 +1/16 +…
Solution:
1
1 1 1 1 2
+ + + +⋯ = =1
2 4 8 16 1
1 − (2)