Learning Activity Sheet # 1
Learning Activity Sheet # 1
Mathematics is everywhere.
Mathematics exists hand in hand with the creation of God
(proofs of God’s creation)
Explores nature’s patterns – are numerical
Exhibits the order in nature and get awed by which all these
things came about.
Mathematics is embedded in Nature and more have to be
discovered.
Challenges us to do more mathematical investigations in nature
and formulate conjectures
Numbers originate from nature, the use of numbers in exploiting
nature.
Beauty of Mathematics, it helps us predict behavior of nature
Mathematics is not just about the abstract things and it connects
to many concrete things
Nature is better appreciated because of mathematics
Any physical occurrence proves that math enables us to move
and have our being
Mathematics is every breath we take, video shares the power of
mathematics
Mathematics can help us explain the patterns in nature
These patterns give order
Mathematics lead us to discover new things (metaphor for
Math)
Nature unfolds before us – no one completes it
Long ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind.
The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm.
Since the blind men could not see the world for themselves, they had to
imagine many of its wonders. They listened carefully to the stories told
by travelers to learn what they could about life outside the village.
The men were curious about many of the stories they heard, but they
were most curious about elephants. They were told that elephants could
trample forests, carry huge burdens, and frighten young and old with
their loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the Rajah's daughter
rode an elephant when she traveled in her father's kingdom. Would the
Rajah let his daughter get near such a dangerous creature?
The old men argued day and night about elephants. "An elephant must
be a powerful giant," claimed the first blind man. He had heard stories
about elephants being used to clear forests and build roads.
"No, you must be wrong," argued the second blind man. "An elephant
must be graceful and gentle if a princess is to ride on its back."
"You're wrong! I have heard that an elephant can pierce a man's heart
with its terrible horn," said the third blind man.
"Please," said the fourth blind man. "You are all mistaken. An elephant
is nothing more than a large sort of cow. You know how people
exaggerate."
"I am sure that an elephant is something magical," said the fifth blind
man. "That would explain why the Rajah's daughter can travel safely
throughout the kingdom."
"I don't believe elephants exist at all," declared the sixth blind man. "I
think we are the victims of a cruel joke."
Finally, the villagers grew tired of all the arguments, and they arranged
for the curious men to visit the palace of the Rajah to learn the truth
about elephants. A young boy from their village was selected to guide
the blind men on their journey. The smallest man put his hand on the
boy's shoulder. The second blind man put his hand on his friend's
shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to walk safely behind
the boy who would lead them to the Rajah's magnificent palace.
When the blind men reached the palace, they were greeted by an old
friend from their village who worked as a gardener on the palace
grounds. Their friend led them to the courtyard. There stood an
elephant. The blind men stepped forward to touch the creature that was
the subject of so many arguments.
The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal.
"An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It must be
very powerful."
The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's limber trunk. "An
elephant is like a giant snake," he announced.
The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right," he
decided. "This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear."
The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. "What we
have here," he said, "is an extremely large cow."
The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. "I believe an elephant
is like a huge fan or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over mountains
and treetops," he said.
The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this
is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed," he
scoffed.
The gardener led his friends to the shade of a tree. "Sit here and rest for
the long journey home," he said. "I will bring you some water to drink."
While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant.
"An elephant is like a wall," said the first blind man. "Surely we can
finally agree on that."
"A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the second blind man.
"I'm certain it's a giant cow," said the fourth blind man.
"Don't you see?" pleaded the sixth blind man. "Someone used a rope to
trick us."
Their argument continued and their shouts grew louder and louder.
It was the Rajah, awakened from his nap by the noisy argument.
"How can each of you be so certain you are right?" asked the ruler.
The six blind men considered the question. And then, knowing the
Rajah to be a very wise man, they decided to say nothing at all.
"The elephant is a very large animal," said the Rajah kindly. "Each man
touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will
see the truth. Now, let me finish my nap in peace."
When their friend returned to the garden with the cool water, the six
men rested quietly in the shade, thinking about the Rajah's advice.
"He is right," said the first blind man. "To learn the truth, we must put
all the parts together. Let's discuss this on the journey home."
The first blind man put his hand on the shoulder of the young boy who
would guide them home. The second blind man put a hand on his
friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to travel
together.
Many patterns and occurrences exist in nature, in our world, in our life.
Mathematics helps makes sense of these patterns and occurrences. It’s
a tool to quantify, organize and control our world, predict phenomena,
and make life easier for us
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; the world’s population, the weather, etc.
Who is Fibonacci?
Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician. He was really named
Leonardo de Pisa nut his nickname was Fibonacci.
About 800 years ago, in 1202, he wrote himself a Math problem
all about rabbit that went like this:
“A certain man put a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded by a wall.
How many pairs of rabbits can be produced from that pair in a year if it
is supposed that every month each pair breed a new pair from which the
second month on becomes productive?” (Liber abbaci, pp. 283-284)
A load of….
Fibonacci’s rabbit theory turned out not to be true BUT the
sequence he created is incredibly useful…
The sequence goes:
The sequence Fibonacci created may not have solved his rabbit
reproduction problem
But other mathematicians looked at his numbers and started
seeing them all over the place.
1. Is God a mathematician?
2. What is Mathematics?
3. Where is Mathematics?
4. What is Mathematics for?
5. What is Mathematics about?
6. How is Mathematics done?
7. Who uses Mathematics?
Prepared by:
Lorena U. Mandal, BSEd-Mathematics