RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

MODULE 1: NATURE AND REGULARITIES IN THE WORLD

Lesson 4: The Value of Mathematical Discoveries

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Articulate the importance of mathematics in one’s life.
• Argue about the nature of mathematics, what it is, how it is expressed,
represented and used.
• Express appreciation for mathematics as a human endeavor

Lesson Proper

For thousands of years, mathematics has been around the world and a large number of
geniuses contributed to its growth through revolutionary discoveries which are, until now,
among the most important discoveries of all times. Mathematics is of no exception to the saying
“beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The conception of mathematics varies from one person to
another. For some, its essence lies in its intellectual challenges, while for other, the chief value
and beauty of mathematics lies on its application to work. Since mathematics plays such a vital
role in the modern society, understanding of its nature is a requisite to scientific and modern
literacy. This lesson focuses on several mathematical discoveries that are deemed valuable since
time immemorial and today’s modern era.

A. The Zero Symbol

In mathematics, zero, symbolized by the character “0” is defined to be

a) a place indicator in a positional number system which means “ no units of this

multiple”. For example, in the 1041, there is one unit in the thousands position, no units
in the hundreds position, four units in the tens position and one unit in ones position.; and

Mathematics in the Modern World: Module 1 Methelyn H. Garzon 1

 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig
b)An independent value midway between +1 and -1.

The discovery of the zero symbol dates back to third and fourth century. A small dot on
an old piece of birch bark marked one of the biggest events in mathematics’ history- as it is the
first known recorded use of the number zero. Today, the value of zero, especially in the positional
number system is of utmost importance and thus, having mathematics without zero is difficult
to imagine. Ittay Weiss of the University of Portsmouth reiterated however that for thousands of
years, mankind was able to live without zero. In fact Sumerians of the 5000 BC employed a
positional system without a zero.

Weiss also added that the invention of zero immensely simplified computations. One
example is when putting zero at the end of a number, it makes multiplying and dividing by 10
easy as it does with adding numbers like 9 and 1. This lead mathematicians to develop vital
mathematical disciplines such as algebra and calculus, which became the basis for computers.
Another remarkable outcome of the invention of zero is the emergence of an accurate way to
describe fractions. Adding zeros at the end of a number increases its magnitude and with the help
of a decimal point, adding zeros before a non -zero number decreases its magnitude. This concept
of placing infinitely many digits to the right of the decimal point was what Isaac Newton and
Gottfried Leibniz need to develop calculus.

So to sum up, the three pillars of mathematics- algebra, algorithms and calculus, are all
products of a notation for nothing- the zero symbol! To know more on the zero symbol, you may
watch the video “A Big Zero: Research uncovers the date of the Bakhshali manuscript” thru the
link below.

https://youtu.be/pV_gXGTuWxY

B. Special Irrational Numbers

Many of us have learned Pi and square root when we were in the basic education
(elementary). We may have heard the term “irrational numbers” earlier than the time we came to
understand its meaning. While irrational numbers are harder to understand than rational
numbers. So, in order for one to fully understand it, he/ she must learn rational numbers first.

In mathematics, rational numbers are whole numbers, fractions and decimals (often used
in daily life) that can be written as a ratio of two integers. This also includes terminating decimals
and non- terminating repeating decimals (decimals that repeat a sequence of digits). Meanwhile,
irrational numbers are the opposite. Non-repeating non- terminating decimal numbers are
irrational numbers.

Mathematics in the Modern World: Module 1 Methelyn H. Garzon 2

 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig
Now, recall Pi. In old school, we were taught that the value of Pi is “approximately 3.14”.
In reality, Pi is unending, non- repeating decimal with first few digits
3.1415926535897932384626433832795. Pi is an irrational number contributed by Archimedes
using his method of exhaustion of pi. The discovery of this special irrational number developed
concepts in Geometry, Trigonometry and even Science. In fact, the following modern- day
endeavors are linked to the use of pi:

C. Pythagorean Theorem

In an article by Jon Zamboni published in sciencing.org, the Pythagorean Theorem is

described as “a statement in geometry that shows the relationship between the lengths of the
sides of a right triangle”. This definition is also similar to what early- grade mathematics and
geometry textbooks discuss. But how is this useful to us? How does knowing the lengths of the
sides of a triangle help us in our daily lives? Below is a short list of modern-day endeavors which
thrives on the use of the Pythagorean theorem as a foundation and basic principle as mentioned
by Zamboni:

1) Architecture and construction;

2) Laying out square angles;

3) Navigation;

4) Surveying.

BackyardProduction/Stock/GettyImage
BackyardProduction/iS

Mathematics in the Modern World: Module 1 Methelyn H. Garzon 3

 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

References

Article
• “Amazing Discovery of Mathematics” available from
https://amazingarchimedes.weebly.com/archimedes.html
• “The Fascinating Irrational Numbers” available from
https://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/irrational_numbers.php
• Weiss, Ittay .2017. “Nothing matters: how the invention of zeros helped create modern
mathematics” available from https://theconversation.com/nothing- matters-how-the-
invention-of-zero-helped-create-modern-mathematics-84232
• Zamboni, Jon. 2018. “Real Life Uses of the Pythagorean Theorem” available from
https://sciencing.com/real-life-uses-pythagorean-theorem-8247514.html

Images
• “How is 𝜋 used in the real world” by Eureka City Schools available from
https://bit.ly/2YyFjTU
• Gettyimage.com

Mathematics in the Modern World: Module 1 Methelyn H. Garzon 4