PATTERNS

In this discussion, we will be looking at patterns and regularities in

the world, and how MATHEMATICS comesinto play, both in
nature and in human endeavor.
Definition
Patterns are regular, repeated or recurring forms or designs.

Example

layout of floor tiles

designs of buildings
the way we tie our shoelaces

Studying patterns helps us in identifying relationships and finding

local connections to form generalizations and make predictions.
 1. Which of the figures can be used to continue the
series given below?

1 The basefigure rotates at an angle of 45◦ in the counterclockwise direction.

Hencechoice Cis the perfect match.
 2. Which of the figures, you think best fits the series
below?

1 The base figure rotates at an angle of 90◦ in the clockwise direction.

Hence choice A is the best fit.
 3. Which of the figures can be used to continue the
series given below?

1 In the given series, afigure is followed by the combination of itself and its
vertical inversion. Thus D. is the right choice.
 4. Which number should come next in this series?

10, 17, 26, 37, ?

A. 46
B. 52
C. 50
D. 56

1 Beginning with 3, eachnumber in the seriesis asquareof the

succeeding no. plus 1.
Who ISFibonac c i?
Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician. He was
really named Leonardo de Pisa but his nic kname
was Fibonac c i.

About 800 years ago, in 1202, he wrote himself a

Maths problem all about rabbits that went like this:

"A c ertain man put a pair of rabbits in a plac e

surrounded by a wall. How many pairs of rabbits c an
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 abbac i, pp. 283-284)
Fibonacci’s Like all good mathematicians he stayed
Rabbits! working on this problem for months and
eventually c ame up with a solution:
A load of…
𝗈 Fibonacci’s rabbit theory turned out not
to be true BUTthe sequenc e he created
ISinc redibly useful…
𝗈 The sequence goes:
Can you work
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 ….
out which
numbers come
next?
Continue the sequenc e…
𝗈 Fibonacci’s sequence is made by adding the two
previous numbers together to c reate the next, starting
with zero and one:

𝗈 0 +1 =1
1 +1 =2
1 +2 =3
2 +3 =5
3 +5 =8
… keep going in your notebooks!
𝗈 The sequence Fibonacci created
may not have solved his rabbit
reproduction problem
𝗈 BUT other mathematicians looked
at his numbers and started seeing
them all over the place.
Find Fibonac c i!
Other patterns in nature…
𝗈 Nature may be full of Fibonacci but
not EVERY plant or flower has a
Fibonacci number.

𝗈 There are plenty of other

interesting patterns to look out for.

𝗈 C an you think of any patterns?

SYMMETRY

Definition
Symmetry indicates that you can draw an imaginary line across an
object and the resulting parts are mirror images of each other.

Example

butterfly
Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man
starfish
 Figure 1

The butterfly is symmetric about the axis indicated by the black line.
Note that the left and right portions are exactly the same. This type
of symmetry is called bilateral symmetry.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man shows the proportion and
symmetry of the human body.
There are other types of symmetry depending on the number of
sides or faces that are symmetrical.

Figure 3
Note that if you rotate the starfish in Figure 3 by 72◦ , you can still
achieve the same appearance as the original position. This is known
as the rotational symmetry. The smallest measure of angle that
a figure can be rotated while still preserving the original position is
called the angle of rotation. A more common way of describing
rotational symmetry is by order of rotation.
2. Spirals…

Can you
count
the
spirals??
A
Fibonacci
number?
Chec k this out!
𝗈 Look at what your teacher has brought
in and talk about any pattern you see.
3. Frac tals…
𝗈 Some plants have fractal patterns. A
fractal is a never-ending pattern that
repeats itself at different scales.

𝗈 A fractal continually reproduces copies of

itself in various sizes and/or directions.

𝗈 Frac tals are extremely

complex, sometimes infinitely
complex.
Watc h this frac tal zoooom!
𝗈 Watch from 3:05 for one minute:
𝗈 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIOQcJ-
ZlJE

𝗈 Watch the same minute again and

write your own definition of a fractal.
A never-ending pattern
Tessellation…
𝗈 Sometimes in nature we find tessellation.
A tessellation is a repeating pattern of polygons
that covers a flat surface with no gaps or
overlaps.

𝗈 Think about when you tile a floor. No

gaps and no overlapping tiles! There are
regular tessellations (all the same shape
tiles) and irregular (a mix of shapes).

𝗈 C an you think of any examples in nature?

Where is
THIS
tessellation
from?!