MODULE 1

MATHEMATICS IN
OUR WORLD
Prepared by:
MAIKO H. ANICOY
Math 111 Instructor
 MODULE 1: MATHEMATICS IN OUR WORLD

MODULE OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, challenge yourself to:

1. argue about the nature of mathematics, what it is, how it is expressed, represented and used;
2. discuss the concept of Fibonacci and its application;
3. identify patterns in nature and regularities in the world;
4. appreciate the nature and uses of mathematics in everyday life;
5. establish the relationship between the Fibonacci sequence with the golden ratio;
6. investigate the relationship of the golden ratio and Fibonacci number in natural world; and
7. determine the application of the Golden ratio in arts and architecture.
 Lessons in the Module

LESSON 1: Patterns and Numbers in Nature and in

the World
LESSON 2: Fibonacci Sequence
LESSON 3: Patterns and Regularities in the
World
 Lesson 1

PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN NATURE AND IN

THE WORLD
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

There is much beauty in nature's clues even

without any mathematical training we can all How will you define
recognize it. Mathematical stories have its own pattern?
beauty which start from the clues and deduce the
underlying rules and regularities, but it is a 1

different kind of beauty, applying to ideas rather

2
than things.
3
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

The development of new mathematical theories begins to reveal the

secret of nature's patterns. We have already seen a practical impact as
well as an intellectual one of our newfound understandings of nature's
secret regularities. But most important of all, it is giving us a deeper
vision of the universe in which we live, and of our own place in it. The
modern understanding of visible patterns is developed gradually
through the years.
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

Patterns can be observed even in stars which move in circles across

the sky each day. The weather seasons cycle each year (e.g., winter,
spring summer, fall). All snowflakes contain sixfold symmetry which
What are the patterns that you
no two are exactly the same. There are evidences presented by
can find in your surroundings?
mathematician that hexagonal snowflakes have an atomic geometry
of ice crystals.
1

3
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

Patterns can be seen in fish patterns like spotted

trunkfish, spotted puffer, blue spotted stingray, spotted
moral eel, coral grouper, red lion fish, yellow boxfish,
and angel fish. These animals and fish stripes and spots
attest to mathematical regularities in biological growth
and form. These evolutionary and functional arguments Spotted Trunkfish Spotted Puffer
explain why these animals need their patterns, but it is
not explained how the patterns are formed.

Blue Spotter Stingray Spotted Moray Eel

 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

Zebra, tigers, cats and snakes are covered in patterns of stripes;

leopards, and hyenas are covered in patters of spots; and giraffes are
covered in patterns of blotches.
What do you think are the reasons behind
the patterns formed in these animals?

3
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND IN THE WORLD

Natural patterns like the intricate waves across the oceans; sand dunes
on deserts; formation of typhoon; water drop with ripple; and others.
These serve as clues to the rules that govern the flow of water, sand,
and air. One of the most strikingly mathematical landscapes on Earth
is to be found in the great ergs, or sand oceans, of the Arabian and
Sahara deserts. When wind blows steadily in a fixed direction, sand
dunes form and the simplest pattern is the transverse dunes, which
looks like ocean waves. If the sand is slightly moist, and there is a
Ocean Waves Dessert Dune
little vegetation to bind it together, then you may find parabolic
dunes.

Typhoon Water Ripple

 Lesson 2

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
 Fibonacci Sequence

• The Fibonacci sequence is named after Leonardo of Pisa, also known as

Fibonacci, who first observed the pattern while investigating how fast rabbits
could breed under ideal circumstances.

• Fibonacci’s 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western

European mathematics, although it had been described earlier in Indian
Mathematics.

By definition, the first two numbers in the Fibonacci sequence are 1 and 1, and each
subsequent number is the sum of the previous two. In mathematical terms, the sequence of
Fibonacci numbers is defined by the recurrence relation , with seed values and .
 Fibonacci Sequence

Starting with 0 and 1, the succeeding terms in the sequence can be generated by adding the two numbers that came
before the term:

Solve the following problem:

F1= 1 0, 1
F2= 0+1=1 0, 1, 1
F3= 1+1=2 0, 1, 1, 2 1 F 10=
F4= 1+2=3 0, 1, 1, 2, 3
F5= 2+3=5 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5
F6= 3+5=8 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 2 F 12=
F7= 5 + 8 = 13 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …
3 F 14=
 Fibonacci Sequence

To find the nth Fibonacci number without using the recursion formula, the following is evaluated using a
calculator:

This form is known as the Binet formula of the nth Fibonacci number.
 Fibonacci Sequence

Use Binet’s formula to determine the 25th and 30th Fibonacci numbers.

Find the 20th and 22nd Fibonacci number using the Binet formula
 Golden Ratio

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in a golden ratio if

their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two
quantities.

In symbols, a and b, where , are in a golden ratio if . The golden ratio is often symbolized by the Greek letter 𝜙. It is
the number 𝝓=𝟏.𝟔𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟑…. and the irrational number
 Golden Ratio

Golden ratio perhaps is the most important part of human beauty and
aesthetics as well as a part of the remarkable proportions of growth
patterns in living things such as plants and animals, Fibonacci number
frequently appears in the numbers of petals in a flower and in the spirals of
plants.
 Golden Ratio

The positions and proportions of the key dimensions of many animals are based
on Phi or φ. Examples include the horn of ram, the wing dimensions and
location of eye-like spots on moths, body sections of ants and other insects,
body features of animals (e.g., tiger, fish, penguin, dolphin, etc.), and the spirals
of sea shells. The growth pattern on branches of trees is Fibonacci. Even the
human face contains spirals and the human DNA contains phi proportions.
 Golden Ratio

The golden ratio shows up in art, architecture, music, and nature. For example, the ancient
Greeks thought that rectangles whose sides form a golden ratio were pleasing to look at. Many
artists and architects have set their works to approximate the golden ratio, also believing this
proportion to be aesthetically pleasing.

Monalisa Vitruvian Man Parthenon The Last Supper

 Lesson 3

Patterns and Regularities in the World

 Patterns and Regularities in the World

Patterns indicate a sense of structure and organization that it seems only humans are
capable of producing these intricate, creative, and amazing formations. It is from this
perspective that some people see an “intelligent design” in the way that nature forms.
In this lesson, we will focus on:
1. Symmetry
2. Fractals
3. Spirals
 Patterns and Regularities in the World

SYMMETRY

Symmetry is a sense of harmonious and beautiful 2 types of Symmetry

proportion of balance or an object is invariant to any

of various transformations (reflection, rotation or 1 Bilateral
scaling). There are two main types of symmetry,
bilateral and radial. 2 Radial
 Patterns and Regularities in the World

BILATERAL SYMMETRY
Butterfly
It is 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 insects, animals,
plants, flowers, and others. Animals mainly have bilateral or vertical
Dragonfly
symmetry, even leaves of plants and some flowers such as orchids.

Plant Leaves
 Patterns and Regularities in the World

RADIAL SYMMETRY
It is also known as rotational symmetry. It is a type of 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 groups
of animals. A five-fold symmetry is found in the echinoderms, the group which
includes starfish (dihedral-D5 symmetry), sea urchins, and sea lilies (dihedral- Starfish Sea Anemone
D5 symmetry). Radial symmetry suits organisms like sea anemones whose
adults do not move and jellyfish (dihedral-D4 symmetry). Radial symmetry is
also evident in different kinds of flowers.

Symmetries in Kiwi
Flowers
 Patterns and Regularities in the World

FRACTALS
Fractal is a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractal is one
of the newest and most exciting branches of mathematics. It is a class of highly irregular shapes that are related to
continents, coastlines, and snowflakes. It is useful in modeling structures in which similar patterns recur at
progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid
turbulence, and galaxy formation. Fractal can be seen in some plants, trees, leaves, and others.
 Patterns and Regularities in the World

SPIRAL
A logarithmic spiral or growth spiral is self-similar spiral curve which often appears nature. It was
first described by Rene Descartes and was later investigated by Jacob Bernoulli. Spirals are more
evident in plants. We also see spirals in typhoon, whirlpool, galaxy, tail of chameleon, and shell
among others.

Worm Fern Spiral Aloe Galaxy

 MODULE ASSESSMENT

Access the link below to answer the module assessment. You only have
1 hour to answer it. After, go back to the meeting room for our next
module. Good luck!

https://forms.gle/xsFsULsqngwVUeKJA
 MODULE 1

MATHEMATICS IN
OUR WORLD
Prepared by:
MAIKO H. ANICOY
Math 111 Instructor