Mathematics in the Modern World

Mathematics in Our World

Section 1 : The Nature of Mathematics
I. Mathematics in Our World
Core Idea:
Mathematics is a useful way to think about nature and our world

 Patterns and Numbers in Nature and the World: the snowflake and
honeycomb; tiger’s stripes, and hyena’s spots; the sunflower; the
snail’s shell, flower petals, world’s population, the weather, etc..
 The Fibonacci Sequence

 Mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world.

 Mathematics helps predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in

the world.
 Mathematics helps control nature and occurrences in the world for
our own ends.
 Mathematics has numerous applications in the world making it
indispensable.
Fibonacci Sequence
Vila, 2016
0+1=1
01+1=2
011+2=3
0112+3=5
01123+5=8
0 1 1 2 3 5 + 8 = 13
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 + 13 = 21
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181

• The Fibonacci sequence “is an infinite sequence of natural numbers where first value is
0, the next is 1 and from there, each amount is obtained by adding the previous two.
Fibonacci Spiral
(Vila, 2016)

Circular arcs connect the opposite corners of squares in the Fibonacci tiling
 Golden Spiral
(Golden spiral in rectangles, 2008)

1+ 5
r = 𝜑2𝜃/𝜋 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜃 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜑 = is the golden ratio
2
Nautilus Spiral
(Vila, 2016)

nautilus spiral
golden spiral
Vila’s Mistake
(Vila, 2016)

Vila admits he made a mistake in the animation for the Nautilus shell. (It is neither a
Fibonacci spiral nor a golden spiral.)
Golden Rectangle
(Vila, 2016)
How the golden rectangle is formed?

The construction of golden rectangle viewed using GSP (Geometer’s

Sketchpad). First constructed by Pythagoras in the 6th Century BCE, Golden
Rectangles can be formed easily by using adjacent terms of the Fibonacci
series. The ratio between successive Fibonacci numbers is approximately Phi.
How do you make a golden rectangle?
A golden rectangle can be constructed with only
straightedge and compass by your simple steps:
1. Construct a simple square.
2. Draw a line from the midpoint of one side to
the square to an opposite corner.
3. Use that line as the radius to draw an arc that
defines the height of the rectangle.
4. Complete the golden rectangle.
Golden Ratio
(Vila, 2016)

a+b
b
a b
b
a a
𝑎 𝑎+𝑏
= = 𝝋 𝑃ℎ𝑖 = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟑𝟑𝟗𝟗 … .
𝑏 𝑏

In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as
the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.
Relationship between golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence
(Vila, 2016: Golden ratio, 2017)
1/1 = 1 𝐹0 = 0
2/1 = 2 𝐹1 = 1
3/2 = 1.5 𝐹𝑛 = 𝐹𝑛−1 + 𝐹𝑛−2 for n > 1, n ∈ ℤ
5/3 = 1.6666666
8/5 = 1.6
13/8 = 1.625 𝜑𝑛 −(1−𝜑)𝑛 𝜑𝑛 −(−𝜑)−𝑛
𝐹𝑛 = =
21/13 = 1.61538461538 5 5
34/21 = 1.61904761905
55/34 = 1.61764705882 𝐹𝑛+1 𝑛
89/55 = 1.618181818 lim =𝜑
𝑛→∞ 𝐹𝑛
_____
Phi = 1.6180339887
 The Golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two
parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal
to the whole length divided by the longer part. It is often symbolized
using phi, after the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet.

 The Golden Ratio. Throughout history, the ratio for length to width of
rectangles of 1.61803 39887 49894 84820 has been considered the
most pleasing to the eye. This ratio was named the golden by the
Greeks. In the world of mathematics, the numeric value is called “phi”
named for the Greek sculptor Phidians.
Golden Angle
(Vila, 2016)
Golden Angle and Arrangement of Sunflower Seeds
(Vila, 2016)
Fibonacci Numbers and Arrangement of Sunflower Seeds
(Vila, 2016)
What is mathematics?
(Hamming, 1980. p.83)

Perhaps the best way to approach the question of what

mathematics is, is to start at the beginning. In the far distant,
prehistoric past, where we must look for the beginnings of
mathematics, there were already four major faces of mathematics.
First, there was the ability to carry of the long chains of close
reasoning that to this day characterize much of mathematics.
Second, there was geometry, leading through the concept of
continuity to topology and beyond. Third, there was a number,
leading to arithmetic, algebra, and beyond. Finally, there was artistic
taste, which plays so large a role in modern mathematics. [….]
What is mathematics?

Mathematics reveals hidden patterns that help us to

understand the world around us. Now, much more than arithmetic
and geometry, mathematics today is a diverse discipline that deals
with data, measurements and observations from science, with
inference, deduction, and proof; and with mathematical models of
natural phenomena, of human behavior and of social systems.
What is mathematics education for?
(Dudley, 2010. p.613)

What mathematics education is for is not for jobs. It is to teach

the race to reason. It does not, heaven knows, always succeed, but it
is the best method that we have. It is not the only road to goal, but
there is none better.
Is mathematics
invented or
discovered?
 Mathematics describes the real world of atoms
and acorns, stars and stairs, with remarkable precision.
So is mathematics invented by humans just like chisels
and hammers and pieces of music? Or is mathematics
discovered – always out there, somewhere, like
mysterious islands waiting to be found? Whenever
mathematics is will help define reality itself.
Evaluation
• Two-to-three page synthesis paper focusing on one of the following
aspects of mathematics:
a. Mathematics provides tools for calculations.
b. Mathematics provides new questions to think about.
c. Mathematics helps organize patterns and regularities in the world.
d. Mathematics helps predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in
the world.
e. Mathematics helps control nature and occurrences in the world for
our own ends.
Thank you!!!