MATHEMATICS in the MODERN WORLD

MATHEMATICS in our
WORLD
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Nature by Numbers

Pair - sharing
A. Patterns and Numbers in Nature
and the World

 Human mind and culture have developed a formal

system of thought for recognizing, classifying, and
exploiting patterns called Mathematics.
 By using Mathematics to organize and systematize our
ideas about patterns, we have discovered a great
secret: nature’s patterns are not just there to be
admired, they are vital clues to the rules that governs
natural processes.
A. Patterns and Numbers in
Nature and the World
We live in a universe of
patterns!
1. The snowflake
2. The honeycomb
3. The sunflower
4. The snail’s shell
5. Flower’s petals
6. Weather
The Snowflakes
 The Honeycomb
Why do the cells of a honeycomb have a
hexagonal form?
The shape turns out to be economical: much honey is
enclosed by minimum beeswax.

VIDEO: click
 Petals of flowers

FLOWERS NUMBER OF PETALS

Lilies 3
Buttercups 5
Delphiniums 8
Marigolds 13
Asters 21
Daisies 34, 55, 89
 The Sunflower
Seed patterns of sunflower

All the sunflowers in the world show a number of

spirals that are within the Fibonacci sequence.
The Snail
Cycle of Seasons
 B. The Fibonacci Sequence
Think of this!
At the beginning of a month, you are given a pair of
newborn rabbits. After a month the rabbits have produced no
offspring; however, every month thereafter, the pair of rabbits
produces another pair of rabbits. The offspring reproduce in exactly
the same manner. If none of the rabbits dies, how many pairs of
rabbits will there be at the start of each succeeding month?
At the start of 4th month, how many pairs of rabbits
will there
be?
How about at the start of the 5th and 6th months?
Solutio
n:
JOSEPH
G.
TABAN,
UNP
 Fibonacci discovered that the number of
pairs of rabbits for any month after the
first two months can be determined by
adding the numbers of pairs of rabbits in
each of the two previous months. For
instance, the number of pairs of rabbits at
the start of the sixth month is 3 + 5 = 8.
 A recursive definition for a sequence is one in
which each successive term of the sequence is
defined by using some of the preceding terms. If we
use the mathematical notation Fn to represent the
nth Fibonacci number, then the numbers in the
Fibonacci sequence are given by the following
recursive definition.

𝐅=
𝟏 𝟏, 𝐅=
𝟐 𝟏,𝐡
𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐅𝐧= 𝐅𝐧𝟏−+ 𝐅𝐧𝟐−𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐧≥ 𝟑.
 Binet’s Formula
 The following formula is known as Binet’s formula for
the
nth Fibonacci number.
𝐧 𝐧
𝟏 𝟏+ 𝟓 𝟏− 𝟓
𝐅𝐧= −
𝟓 𝟐 𝟐

The advantage of this formula over the recursive formula

𝐅𝐧= 𝐅𝐧−𝟏 + 𝐅𝐧−𝟐
is that you can determine the nth Fibonacci number
without finding the two preceding Fibonacci numbers.
Exercise 1
 Use the definition of Fibonacci numbers to
find the eleventh and twelfth Fibonacci
numbers.
Exercise 2
 Use Binet’s formula and a calculator to
find the 20th, 30th, and 40th Fibonacci
numbers.
 Fibonacci in Sunflower
The seeds on a sunflower are arranged in
spirals that curve both clockwise and counterclockwise
from the center of the sunflower’s head to its outer
edge. In many sunflowers, the number of clockwise
spirals and the number of counterclockwise spirals are
consecutive Fibonacci numbers. The number
clockwise spirals is 34 and the of
counterclockwise spirals i number
s of
55
.
 Fibonacci in Pineapple
Pineapples have spirals formed by their
hexagonal nubs. The nubs on many pineapples
form 8 spirals that rotate diagonally upward to
the left and 13 spirals that rotate diagonally
upward to the right. The numbers 8 and 13 are
consecutive Fibonacci numbers.
Fibonacci in Plants
 Fibonacci in Fruits
Inside the fruit of many plants we can observe
the presence of Fibonacci order.
 Fibonacci in Animals

The shell of the chambered

Nautilus has Golden proportions. It
is a logarithmic spiral.

The eyes, fins and tail of the

dolphin fall at golden
sections along the body.

A starfish has 5
arms.
Fibonacci in Human
C. Mathematics helps organize patterns and
regularities in the world
 Patterns have underlying mathematical
structures
 Every living or nonliving thing in the

world may seem to follow a certain

pattern on their own.
 The mystery of Fibonacci sequence and

the golden ratio as common patterns in

nature.
 Suggested activity for students

 Explore patterns in nature and

present them as photo album,
photo exhibit, portfolio, etc. with
written reports.
 Video- presentation
 D. Mathematics helps predict the
behavior of nature and the world
 Mathematics help predict the location, size and
timing of natural disasters
 Made possible by the study of fractals.

A fractal is a mathematical formula of a pattern

that repeats over a wide range of size and time
scales. These patterns are hidden within more complex
systems.
 Benoit Mandelbrot is the father of fractals, who

described how he has been using fractals to find

order within the complex systems in nature, such as
the shape of coastlines.
E. Mathematics helps control nature and
occurences in the world for our own ends
 Fractal Geometry has been applied in
different fields of knowledge such as
in engineering, computer graphics,
medicine, etc.
F. Mathematics has numerous applications in
the world making it indispensable
 Mathematics helps you build things
 Mathematics is helpful in managing financial matters
 Many more…
 Thanks to the development of new mathematical
theories, these more elusive nature’s patterns are
beginning to reveal their secrets. Already we are
seeing practical impact as well as an intellectual
one. But most important of all, it is giving us
a deeper vision of the universe in which we live
in, and for our own place in it.
 ESSAY – Short Response

1.What new ideas about Mathematics did

you learn?
2.What is it about that have changed your
thoughts about it?
3.What is it most useful about Mathematics
for humankind?
 SYNTHESIS PAPER
 Prepare a 3-page synthesis paper
focusing on one of the following aspects
of Mathematics:
a. Mathematics helps organize patterns and
regularities in the world.
b. Mathematics helps predict the behavior of
nature and phenomena in the world.
c. Mathematics helps control nature and
occurrences in the world for our own ends.
 “Learning Mathematics outside
the classroom is not enrichment,
it is at the core of empowering our
understanding of the subject.
Links need to be made between
Mathematics and real life
to give learning a sense of purpose
and a need for us students to
achieve.“
“Teachers give most consideration
to what students are actually
learning. However, it is just as
important to give thought to how
and where students learn.
Then, it is the role of teachers to
utilize places, other than the
classroom,
to stimulate, to inspire and to
enhance learning. ”
“The BEST kept and the RICHEST classroom
is roofed only by the sky.”
 REFERENCE
S
 Essential Mathematics for the Modern World by
Nocon and Nocon
 Nature’s Numbers by Ian Stewart

 Video clip: https://vimeo.com/9953368

 Mathematical Excursions (Ch. 1) by R. Aufmann

• , et al.