MATHEMATICS IN THE

MODERN WORLD
THE NATURE OF
MATHEMATICS
Mathematics in our World
 OBJECTIVES:

• identify patterns in nature and regularities in the

world;
• 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; and
• express appreciation for mathematics as a human
endeavor.
1. WHAT IS MATHEMATICS?

2. WHERE CAN IT BE FOUND?

“Mathematics is the alphabet with
which GOD has written the universe.”
- - - Galileo Galilei
 MATHEMATICS IS
A study of patterns
A language
A set of problem solving tools
A process of thinking
An art

MATHEMATICS IS UNIVERSAL.
PATTERNS IN NUMBERS IN NATURE AND IN
THE WORLD

TOPIC 1
 THE CONTEXT
Mathematics is not all about numbers. Rather, it is
more about reasoning, of making logical inferences
and generalizations, and seeing relationships in both
the visible and invisible patterns in nature and in the
world.
One cannot simply base a person’s potential in
mathematics based on numeric skills in the same way
that a good writer is not judged from his or her
penmanship.
 PATTERN
• an arrangement which helps observers anticipate
what they might see or what happens next
• also shows what may have come before
• studying such allows one to observe, hypothesize,
discover, and create
• help individuals understand the world and predict
what comes next, imagine what came before, and
estimate if the same pattern will occur when
variables are changed
 TYPES OF PATTERNS
• Logic Patterns
• the first to be observed
• concerned with classifications of things (i.e color,
shape, size)
• deal with the characteristics of various objects or with
order
• commonly encountered on aptitude tests
EXAMPLES:
 TYPES OF PATTERNS
Number Patterns
• one of the first patterns encountered at school
• helps establish track/s to predict
Examples:
2, 4, 6, 8, 10
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13
Find the values of the last two numbers in the
sequence 448, 224, 112, 56, 28, __, __ ?
 EXAMPLES
Find the next number in the sequence.
1. 3, 6, 12, 24, ____
2. 88, 83, 78, 73, ____
3. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ____
4. 5, 11,18, 26, 35, ____
5. 2, 4, 5, 15, 17, 68, ____
 TYPES OF PATTERNS

• Geometric Patterns (patterns of shapes)

• a motif or design that depicts abstract shapes like
lines, polygons and circles
• visual patterns are observed in nature and in
art(objects in a consistent, regular manner)
• Examples of patterns in nature include symmetries,
spirals, tilings, stripes and fractional dimensions.
EXAMPLES
GEOMETRIC PATTERNS IN NATURE
 TYPES OF PATTERNS
Word Patterns
- found in rules in language (pluralizing nouns,
conjugating verb tenses, metrical rules of poetry)
Examples:
knife: knives life: lives wife: ?
live: lived receive: received deceive: deceived
comb, tomb, lamb, climb
thief, thorn, thumb, three
 WORD PATTERNS
HAIKU
 AGREE OR DISAGREE?
1. Mathematics is exhibited and demonstrated only
through numbers.
2. Every phenomenon, be it scientific or social, can
be explained by Mathematics.
3. Patterns that occur in nature are only for arts
appreciation and not for Mathematical
explorations.
4. Mathematics is not meant to be learned by
everyone.
THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

TOPIC 2
 FIBONACCI
• a great European Mathematician of the Middle Ages
• his full name in Italian is Leonardo Pisano (Leonardo of Pisa) because he was born
in Italy around 1175
• a shortened word for the Latin term “filius Bonacci” meaning son of Bonaccio
• discovered the sequence of numbers in nature
 THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610,

987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10946, 17711, 28657,
46368, 75025, 121393, 196418, 317811, ...

The next number is found by adding up the two

numbers before it.
 THE RULE
n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 ...

𝑥𝑛 = 𝑥𝑛−1 + 𝑥𝑛−2
where:
• 𝑥𝑛 is term number "n"
• 𝑥𝑛−1 is the previous term (n-1)
• 𝑥𝑛−2 is the term before that (n-2)
• Fibonacci’s most popular contribution is the number
of petals of flowers.
calla lily - 1
trillium - 3
hibiscus - 5
cosmos - 8
corn marigold – 13
asters (some) – 21
daisy (can have) – 34, 55 or 89
 THE FIBONACCI NUMBERS IN NATURE

• Lilies and irises = 3 petals

Buttercups and wild roses = 5 petals

Corn marigolds = 13 petals Black-eyed Susan’s = 21 petals

HOW DO WE USE FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE?
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, …

When we make squares with those

widths,
we get a nice spiral.
 EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE

Shells follow the progressive

proportional increase of the
Fibonacci Sequence. Shells are
probably the most famous example
of the sequence because the lines are
very clean and clear to see.
EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE
Storms
(specifically
hurricanes and
tornadoes)
Many storm
systems follow
the Fibonacci
Sequence.
 EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE

The human body has various representations of the

Fibonacci Sequence proportions, from your face to your
ear to your hands and beyond!
EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE
Flower Petals
EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE

Leaves
Leaves follow Fibonacci
both when growing off
branches and stems and in
their veins. Similar to a
tree, leaf veins branch off
more and more in the
outward proportional
increments of the
Fibonacci Sequence.
FIBONACCI NUMBERS IN SNEEZEWORT
(HARANGAN IN TAGALOG)
 EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE IN NATURE
• ~ The Fibonacci numbers can be found in pineapples and bananas
• ~ Bananas have 3 or 5 flat sides
• ~ Pineapple scales have Fibonacci spirals in sets of 8, 13, 21
FIBONACCI NUMBERS FROM RABBIT
BREEDING

8
CHARACTERISTIC OF FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
 ASSIGNMENT:

• List all the Fibonacci Numbers from the first element

up to the 20th element.
• What have you noticed with every 3rd element?
• What have you noticed with every 4th element?
• What have you noticed with every 5th element?
 FIBONACCI SPIRALS IN SUNFLOWERS

ASSIGNMENT:
 FINDING THE NTH TERM OF THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
1+ 5 𝑛 1− 5 𝑛
( ) −( )
𝐹𝑛 = 2 2
( Binet’s formula for of the nth Fibonacci
5
number)
Example: Find the 21st term of the Fibonacci sequence.
Solution: n = 21
1 + 5 21 1 − 5 21
( ) −( )
𝐹21 = 2 2
5
= 10946
2. Find the 15th term of the Fibonacci
sequence.
Solution: n = 15
1 + 5 15 1 − 5 15
( ) −( )
𝐹15 = 2 2
5
= 610
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610
987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10946, 17711, 28657,
46368, 75025, 121393, 196418, 317811, ...
Use Binet’s formula to determine the 25th, 30th, and
50th Fibonacci numbers.

Answers:
𝐹25 = 75,025
𝐹30 = 832,040
𝐹50 = 1.26 𝑥 1010
THE GOLDEN RATIO
• a special number approximately equal to 1.618
1+ 5
• also equal to the irrational number
2
• named after the Greek sculptor Phidias
• Symbolized by the Greek letter phi
𝜑 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝜙 𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒
• earned names like Divine and Golden because it has
very unique properties in mathematics and geometry
and appears in surprising numbers of places in nature
In mathematics and the art, two quantities are in a
golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of
their sum to the larger of the two quantities.
 GOLDEN RATIO IN ARCHITECTURE, ART,
AND NATURE
Some artists and architects
believe the Golden Ratio
makes the most pleasing and
beautiful shape.
Many buildings and artworks
have the Golden Ratio in
them, such as the Parthenon
in Greece, but it is not really
known if it was designed that
way.
 The Great Pyramid
of Giza is believed
to be 4,600 years
old, which was long
before the Greeks.
Its dimensions are
also based on the
Golden Ratio.
 GOLDEN RATIO

Many artists who lived

after Phidias have
used this proportion
like Leonardo Da Vinci
in his painting “Mona
Lisa”.
 GOLDEN RATIO
• Proportions of the
human body, such as
the face, follows the
Divine Proportion.
• The closer the
proportion of the body
parts is to the Golden
Ratio, the more
aesthetic and beautiful
the body is.
 JOHANNES KEPLER
• a famous mathematician and astronomer
• discovered the first connection between
the Fibonacci sequence and the golden
ratio
• observed that the ratios of consecutive
Fibonacci numbers converge to phi
• When we take any two successive (one after the
other) Fibonacci Numbers, their ratio is very close to
the Golden Ratio"φ" which is approximately
1.61803398874989484820... (an irrational number)

• The bigger the pair of Fibonacci Numbers, the closer

the approximation is of φ.
𝟏+ 𝟓
• The Golden Ratio is also equal to 2 × sin(54°) and .
𝟐
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987,
1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10946, 17711, 28657, 46368,
75025, 121393, 196418, 317811, ...

1 5 21
=1 = 1.6666… = 1.61538…
1 3 13

2 8 55
= 2 = 1.6 = 1.617647…
1 5 34

3 13 121393
= 1.5 = 1.625 = 1.61803…
2 8 75025
THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE
 GOLDEN RATIO
• it can be defined in terms of itself
1
𝜙 =1+
𝜙

• It can be expanded into this

fraction that goes on forever
(called a "continued fraction"):
 ACTIVITY
The Golden Ratio and the Human Body

Measure the following:

Distance from the ground to your navel
Distance from your navel to the top of
your head
Distance from the ground to your knees
Length of your hand
Distance from your wrist to your elbow
Are the results close to the Golden Ratio?

1.618
1.568 - 1.668
• In his book “Nature’s Numbers, Ian Stewart
explained that 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 govern natural processes.
 MODELLING THE PATTERNS TO ADDRESS ISSUE
IN NATURE AND IN THE WORLD
Mathematics sets the systems and processes by which man can
understand and predict the behavior of and phenomena in nature and
the world, thereby controlling the predicted results for his/her favor.
 In human anatomy:
- the human lung is divided into sections based from the
Golden Ratio
- the eardrum consists of chambers that are located at
approximately Golden Ratio to optimize sound regulation and vibration
- the ratio of systolic and diastolic pressure in the blood
pressure is ideally 1.6 (close to the Golden Ratio)
In architecture and design:
- the Golden Ratio is not only used for aesthetic and
visual sensation but also as a basis for structural stability of
tall buildings and edifices.
Examples: the pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon
temple in Greece, the Notre Dame in Paris, and many
others
• In statistics:
- The normal curve is typically used to model
experiments both to social and scientific researches
In Biology:
- Mathematical biology focuses in developing new models and
carry out simulations of certain biological questions (to cure physical
and mental illnesses)
 IN THE FIELD OF PHYSICS:
• Newton’s Law of Gravity served as a model for
understanding the solar system, the orbit of the planets as
well as other motion patterns as influenced by gravity.
• Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
• Calculus is essential in the areas of electronics and signal
processing.
Physical models are formulated in the language of
mathematics.
• the theory behind the wireless technology emerging from
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
• Michael Faraday’s Theory of Electromagnetism