MATH IN THE MODERN WORLD

Lecture 1/First Semester

Topic 1 Nature of Mathematics Ian Stewart

Mathematics ● We live in a world of patterns

● study of pattern and structure. Examples:

● fundamental to the physical & biological ● Patterns can be observed even in stars

sciences, engineering & information which move in circles across the sky each

technology, economics & increasingly to day.

the social sciences. ● The weather season cycle each year. All

● useful way to think about nature & our snowflakes contains sixfold symmetry

world. which no two are exactly the same.

● tool to quantify, organize & control our ● Patterns can be seen in fish patterns like

world, predict phenomena & make life spotted trunkfish, spotted puffer, blue

easier. spotted stingray, spotted moral eel, coral

WHERE IS MATHEMATICS? grouper, redlion fish, yellow boxfish and

● Many patterns and occurrences exists in angel fish. These animals and fish stripes

nature, in our world, in our life. and spots attest to mathematical

● Mathematics helps make sense of these regularities in biological growth and form.

patterns and occurrences ● Zebras, tigers, cats and snakes are

ROLE OF MATHEMATICS PLAY IN OUR WORLD covered in patterns of stripes; leopards

and hyenas are covered in pattern of
● helps organize patterns & regularities in our
spots and giraffes are covered in
world.
pattern of blotches.
● helps predict the behavior of nature &
● Natural patterns like the intricate waves
phenomena in the world.
across the oceans; sand dunes on deserts;
● helps control nature & occurrences in the
formation of typhoon; water drop with
world for our own ends.
ripple and others.
● has numerous applications in theworld
● Other patterns in nature can also be seen
making it indispensable.
in the ball of mackerel, the v-formation of
TOPIC 2: PATTERNS IN NATURE AND
REGULARITIES IN THE WORLD geese in the sky and the tornado
formation of starlings
Patterns
SOME EX OF NATURAL PATTERNS
● are regular, repeated or recurring forms
● Symmetry
or design
● Trees
● Can be sequential, spatial, temporal, &
● Spiral
linguistic
● Meanders
● Ex: sequence of dates in calendar
● Waves
Repetition
● Foams
● Repetition of events & names
● Tesselations
● The same thing always happens in same
● Cracks and stripes
circumstances
SYMMETRY
Patterns in nature
● Visible regularities of form found in world ● agreement in dimensions, due proportion,
Geometric pattern and arrangement

● Pattern formed of geometric shapes ● Gaving one side that exactly mirrors the

typically repeated like wallpaper design other

MATH IN THE MODERN WORLD
Lecture 1/First Semester
● a sense of harmonious and beautiful
proportion of balance or an object is
invariant to any various transformations
(reflection, rotation or scaling)
Bilateral Symmetry
● a symmetry in which the left and right sides
of the organism can be divided into
approximately mirror image of each other
along the midline.
● Symmetry exists in living things such as in
insects, animals, plants, flowers and others.
● Animals have mainly bilateral or vertical
symmetry, even leaves of plants and some
flowers such as orchids.
Radial Symmetry/ rotational symmetry
● a symmetry around a fixed point known as
the center and it can be classified as
either cyclic or dihedral.
● Plants often have radial or rotational
symmetry, as to flowers and some group of
animals.
● A five-fold symmetry is found in the
echinoderms, the group in which includes
starfish (dihedral-D5 symmetry), sea urchins
and sea lilies.
● Radial symmetry suits organism like sea
anemones whose adults do not move and
jellyfish(dihedral-D4 symmetry).
● also evident in different kinds of flowers.
FRACTALS
● a never-ending pattern found in nature
● Infinitely complex patterns that are self-
similar across different scales
● Driven by recursion, image of dynamic
systems -the picture of chaos
Ex:
● -a tree grows by repetitive branching,
-lightning bolts
- veins in your body.
- single fern or an
- aerial view of an entire river system
-coastlines, clouds, seashells
-mountains, hurricanes
Spirals
● a curved which emanates from a point,
moving farther awayas it revolves around
the point
● Curve pattern that focuses on a center
point and a series of circular shapes that
revolve around it.
● Ex: nautilus shell, pine cones, pineapples,
hurricanes.
● The reason for why plants use a spiral form
is because they are constantly trying
to grow but stay secure.
Meanders
● series of regular sinuous curves, bends,
loops, turns or windings in the channel of a
river, stream, etc
Waves
● disturbance that transfers energy through
matter or space, with little or no
associated mass transport
● Consist of oscillations/vibrations of
physical medium
Tessellations
● flat surface is the tiling of a plane using
one or more geometric shapes called tiles,
with no overlaps & no gaps
● Ex: zellige terracotta tiles
Foam
● substance formed by trapping pockets of
gas in a liquid or solid.
MATH IN THE MODERN WORLD
Lecture 1/First Semester
● Ex. A bath sponge, the head on a glass of
beer.
● Soap foams also known as suds
Cracks or fracture
● separation of an object or material into
two or more pieces under the action of
stress
Normile tensile crack/crack
● If a displacement develops perpendicular
to the surface of displacement
Shear crack/slip band/dislocation
● A displacement develop tangentially to
the surface of displacement
Stripes
● series of bands of strips, often of the same
width and color along the length
● Ex: Zebra stripes
Affine Transformations
● the processes of rotation, reflections and
Order of operation
scaling
● Big heads of cauliflower kapag kinunan ng
portion of small head parehas sila ng form
ng big head
● Ex: broccoli & cauliflower heads
Mathematical language and Symbols
Geometric pattern
● pattern formed of geometric shapes and
typically repeated like a wallpaper design.
mathematical language
● the system used to communicate
mathematical ideas
language of mathematics
● Makes iteasy to express in the kind of
thoughts that mathematicians would like
to say,
the following characteristics of language are
considered:
● precise (able to give very fine distinctions)
● concise (able to tell things briefly)
● powerful (able to convey complex
thoughts with relative ease)
Mathematical expression
● Correct arrangement of mathematical
symbols used to represent a mathematical
object of interest
● Finite combination of symbols that is well
formed
mathematical sentence
● Analogue of english language
● Correct arrangement of mathematical
symbols that states complete though
Mathematical Convention
● fact, name, notation, or usage which is
generally agreed upon by
mathematicians.
● Hierarchy of mathematical operation
● Set of rules that determine which
operation should be done first before the
other
Four basic concept of mathematics
1. Set
2. Relation
3. Function
4. Binary operation
Set
● is a collection of well-defined objects that
contains no duplicates
Elements
● the object in the set
MATH IN THE MODERN WORLD
Lecture 1/First Semester
Ellipsis Recursive
● three dots enumerating the lements ● By defining set of rules which
Finite set generates/defines its members
● Contains elements that can be counted
Ex: books in the library, bank account in bank

Infinite set Equal sets

● Contains elements that cannot be ● Contain exactly the same elements
counted
Ex: the rational number is the set of quotient of Equivalents sets
integers ● Contain the same number of elements

Universal set
● Set contains all the elements considered in
empty set or null set a particular situation ande denoted by U
● A set that has no element

Subset
singleton or Singleton set ● If A and B are set such that every element
● Set with only one member of A is also an element of B

Specification of set
1. List notation/roster method
2. Predicate Notation/Rule
method/set-builder notation
3. Recursive rules
Roster method
● By listing all its members, separate by
commas and enclose in braces
Proper subset
● Subset that is not equal to the original set

Predicate Notation Improper subset

● Subset that is equal to the originals set
● By stating a property of its elements
● It has a property that members of the set
cardinality of the set.
share / condition which holds the
● number of distinct elements of a finite set
members of the set
Power set
● Family of all the subsets of A denoted by
Power (A)
MATH IN THE MODERN WORLD
Lecture 1/First Semester
Operation on set

Union
● Operation for sets A and B in which set is
formed that consist of all elements
included in A or B, denoted by AUB

Intersection
● Set containing all elements common to
both A and B, denoted by A B

Complementation
● Operation on set that must be performed
in reference to a universal set,denoted
by A