Chapter 1

The Nature of Mathematics

Chapter Introduction
Mathematics is more than numbers and the variable x. It does not end in finding the
value of a variable nor finding the solution set. It is more than graphing on a Cartesian
Plane and constructing a three- dimensional figure. During your Practical Research
subject, Mathematics plays a big role in collecting, organization, and presentation of
your data. However, its application goes beyond than that of a requirement. So, what is
Mathematics? What role does mathematics play in your life? In this chapter, you will find
out how Mathematics is reflected in our nature.

Competencies
At the end of the chapter, the student will be able to:
 Identify patterns in nature
 Use mathematics to think about the world and nature
 Articulate the importance of mathematics in his/ her life
 Express appreciation for mathematics as a human endeavor

Lesson 1: MATHEMATICS IN NATURE

Introduction
Objectives
Nothing can beat the
 Identify Fibonacci sequence in beauty of nature. Finding
nature mathematics in nature at a first
 Determine the nth term of a glance may seem less obvious.
o However, if one does take time to
Fibonacci sequence.
 Use Golden ratio in appreciating examine nature, then one can
mathematics in human anatomy and describe its beauty
in photography. mathematically.
Activity (Collaboration)
By group, identify the flower and the number of its petals.
IMAGE NAME NUMBER OF PETALS

The numbers 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21 are all parts of the Fibonacci sequence. The number of
petals of a flower is usually a Fibonacci number. The man behind this sequence is
Leonardo Pisano Bogollo, whose nickname was “Fibonacci”. Study the pattern of the
Fibonacci sequence below
 Term (Fn) 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 ...

Term number
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ...
(n)

What is the 9th term? Answer: ________

How did you solve the 9th term?
Answer: _______________________________________________________________

What is the pattern of the Fibonacci sequence?

Answer: _______________________________________________________________

To get the 8th term which is 21, the sixth term and the seventh term are added. So,
8+13= 21. Therefore, adding two consecutive terms will result to another term of the
Fibonacci sequence.
Fn = Fn-1 + Fn-2
Where: Fn = Fibonacci number
Fn-1 = the previous term
Fn-2 = the term before Fn-1
Find the 11th to 15th term of the Fibonacci sequence.
a. 11th term: __________
b. 12th term: __________
c. 13th term: __________
d. 14th term: __________
e. 15th term: __________

What is the 80th term of the Fibonacci sequence? It may take you an hour or more
to find it. However, one may calculate the Fibonacci number using the Golden ratio. It is
usually denoted using the Greek letter “phi” φ or Φ.
The Golden Ratio is a special number which is approximately equal to 1.618034
and may be used to find the nth term of a Fibonacci sequence using the Binet’s formula.
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5

F n=
( 2 ) (
−
2 )
√5
Find the following terms of the Fibonacci sequence.

a. 35 th
term: __________
b. 40 th
term: __________
c. 47 th
term: __________

Aside from the famous painting Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci was also known for his
Vitruvian Man. It was one of the most important works of the Italian Renaissance.
According to Vitruvius (1492), the 15 th century drawing was also known as “the
proportions of the human body”.
 Leonardo da Vinci [Public Domain]

Analysis (Communication)
Form a group, and discover how golden ratio is evident on human body.

My Data
Measurement
Distance from your knees to the ground A= ____________
Distance from your belly button to the ground B= ____________
Distance from the top of your head to your C= ____________
belly button
Distance from your wrist to your elbows D= ____________
Length of your hand E= ____________

Refer to the figure below: F= ____________

G=
____________

H=
____________

F
G

H
Get the ratio of the following and round- off your answer to the nearest ten thousandths.

1. B ÷ C = __________

2. B ÷ A = __________

3. D ÷ E = __________

4. G ÷ F = __________

5. H ÷ G = __________

What can you say about the ratios from numbers 1 to 5?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Group’s Data

Collect the data from the members of your group.

Members

B÷C B÷A D÷E G÷F H÷G

2
 3

Abstraction (Critical Thinking)

Write your conclusion on how evident is golden ratio on the human body.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Application (Creativity)

Do you want to have a perfect collage of photos that will be perfect on your social media
account? Then, layout using the Golden Ratio diagram.

Summary

 The Fibonacci Sequence is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, ……

  To find a Fibonacci number, use the Binet’s formula. The symbol “n” stands for
the term number.
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5

F n=
( 2 ) ( −
2 )
√5
 The Golden Ratio is a special number which is approximately equal to 1.618034…

LESSON II: NUMBERS AND PATTERNS

Introduction
A sequence may be finite or
infinite. The Fibonacci sequence
Objectives
is an infinite sequence. A finite
 Examine the nature and relationship sequence has a definite number
of numbers in a sequence. of terms. A list of numbers which
form a pattern is called a
o  Determine the nth term of a number
sequence. Number patterns may
sequence. be described by examining how
 Generate a pattern to form a number the terms are being generated.
sequence.

Activity (Collaboration)

Describe the pattern of each sequence.

1. 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, ... ________________________________

2. 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, …. ________________________________
3. 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, …. ________________________________

A pattern may have a list of numbers in which a constant number is added to get the
succeeding terms. For other sequences, the terms are increasing because the number
to be added is increasing in a predictable way. There are number patterns whose terms
are decreasing, because the number to be added is decreasing in an expected way.

Examples:

To generate the next term, the number to

Examples
be added is

Repeating 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, ….

 Growing/ increasing 14, 15, 17, 20, 24, 29, ….

Shrinking 118, 98, 73, 43, 8, -32, ….

Analysis (Communication)

Write the next three terms of the following sequences.

1. 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, … Answer: ____________________

2. 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, … Answer: ____________________
3. 100, 78, 54, 28, 0, … Answer: ____________________
4. 30, 35, 45, 60, 80, … Answer: ____________________
5. 151, 149, 145, 137, 121, … Answer: ____________________
6. 36, 43.5, 51, 58.5, 66, … Answer: ____________________
7. 100.1, 100, 99.8, 99.55, 99.1, … Answer: ____________________
1 11 23 37 53
8. , , , , , … Answer: ____________________
2 2 2 2 2
5 13 21 29 37
9. , , , , , … Answer: ____________________
8 8 8 8 8
10. √ 2, 12 + √ 2, 24 + √ 2, 36 + √ 2, 48 + √ 2, … Answer: ____________________

Application (Creativity)

Create a sequence satisfying the following: Prove that it satisfies the given condition.

1. The tenth term is 100.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. The first term is 12.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

1
3. The third term is .
2

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Summary

The pattern of a number sequence may be identified by scrutinizing how the terms are
related to one another. To generate the next term of some sequences, a constant
number is added, the number to be added increases, or the number to be added
decreases.

Chapter Summary

 The Fibonacci Sequence is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, . . . .

 To find a Fibonacci number, use the Binet’s formula, The symbol “ n” stands for
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5
the term number
F n=
( 2 ) (
−
2 )
√5
 The Golden Ratio is a special number which is approximately equal to 1.618034…

Chapter Assessment

I. Answer the following.

1. What is the 8th term of the Fibonacci Sequence?
2. What is the 16th term of the Fibonacci Sequence?
3. What is the 50th term of the Fibonacci Sequence?
4. What is the next term of the sequence 1, 8, 27, 64, …?
5. What is the next term of the sequence 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, …?
6. What is the missing number in the sequence 3, 5, 9, ___, 15, 23, 33?
7. What is the next three term of the sequence 10, 9, 7, 4, 0, …?
8. What is the missing number in the sequence -10, -6, -2, ___, 6, 10?
9. What is the missing number in the sequence 21, ___, 18, 15, 12, 9?
10. Describe the nature of the number pattern 88, 77, 55, 22, ….
11. How are each term related to one another in the sequence 2, 90, 4, 87, 6, 12,
8, 51, 10?
12. If the first four Fibonacci numbers are given as X 1= 1, X2 = 2, X3 = 3 and X4=5,
then what is the least value of n for which x n > 500?
13. If F is the Golden Ratio = 1.61803398874989484820 … then what is the exact
13 13
( 1+ √ 5 ) ( 1+ √ 5 )
−
value of F13= 2 2
√5
14. If F nis a Fibonacci number and n = -8, which of the following is true?
15. What is the average of the first 15 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence?
16. The first positive square number is 1 squared = 12= 1 × 1 = 1
 17. What is the thirteenth positive square number?What is the missing number in
the sequence 1, 6, 24, _____, 96
18. The first four Fibonacci numbers are 0, 1, 1 and 2, what is the twelfth number?
19. If the first three Fibonacci numbers are given as x 1 = 1, x2 = 1 and x3 = 2, then
what is the least value of n for which xn > 500?
20. The Golden Ratio = 1.61803398874989484820... = 1.618 correct to 3 decimal
places. If xn are terms of the Fibonacci sequence, then what is the least value
of n for which
Xn+1
= 1.618 correct to 3 decimal places.
Xn
21. If ψ is the Golden Ratio = 1.61803398874989484820 … then what is the exact
ψ 10−(1−ψ)10
value of ?
√5
22. If ψ is the Golden Ratio = 1.61803398874989484820 … then what is the exact
ψ 19−(1−ψ )19
value of ?
√5
23. If xn is a Fibonacci number and n = -4, which of the following is true?
24. The partial sums of the first n and n + 1 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence
are both divisible by 11. What is the smallest value of n for which this is true?
25. What is the variance of the first 10 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence {0, 1,
1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34} ? You can use a calculator to do the sums, but don't
use the Standard Deviation calculator.
26. What is the mean deviation of the first 10 numbers of the Fibonacci
sequence?
27. The first positive square number is 1 squared = 12 = 1 × 1 = 1
What is the tenth positive square number?

II. Write a short essay about why Mathematics is Indispensable.

III. Write a two to three-page synthesis paper focusing on one of the following aspects of
Mathematics.
a. Mathematics helps to organize patterns and regularities in the world.
b. Mathematics helps to predict the behavior of nature and phenomena in the world.
c. Mathematics helps to control nature and occurrences in the world for our own
ends.