[GEMM]MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD​

SECOND SEMESTER
COVERAGE: PRELIMS
PROFESSOR: SIR ALLAN JAY NAPIZA

PRELIMS PERIOD

A. The Nature of Mathematics

B. Mathematics in our World

C. The Fibonacci Sequence

A. The Nature of Mathematics

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

●​ 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 is it, how it
is expressed, represented and used.
●​ Express appreciation for mathematics as a human endeavor.

I. What is Mathematics?

Mathematics is the study of pattern and structure. Mathematics

is fundamental to the physical and biological sciences,
engineering and information technology, to economics and
increasingly to the social sciences.

Mathematics is a useful way to think about nature and our world.

Mathematics is a tool to quantify, organize and control our

world, predict phenomena and make life easier for us.

II. Nature of Mathematics

In the book of Stewart, Nature’s Number, he described that

mathematics is a formal system of thought that was gradually
developed in the human mind and evolved in the human culture.
Thus, in the long course of human history, our ancestors at a
certain point were endowed with insight to realize the existence
of “form” in their surroundings.
From their realization, a system of thought further advanced
their knowledge into understanding measures. They were able to
gradually develop the science of measures and gained the ability
to count, gauge, assess, quantify, and size almost everything.

From the realization of measures, they were able to notice and

recognize some rudiment hints about patterns. Thus, the concept
of recognizing shapes made its course towards classifying
contour and finally using those designs to build human culture:
an important ingredient for a civilization to flourish.

From then, man realized that the natural world is embedded in a

magnanimously mathematical realm of patterns----and that natural
order efficiently utilizes all mathematical patterns to its
advantage.

As a result, we made use of mathematics as a brilliant way to

understand the nature by comprehending the structure of its
underlying patterns and regularities.

Mathematics is present in everything we do; it is all around us

and it is the building block of our daily activities. It has
been at the forefront of each period of our development, and as
our civilized societies advanced, our needs of mathematics
pioneering arose on the frontier of our course as we prepare our
human species to traverse the cosmic shore.

III. Mathematics is a Tool

Mathematics, as a tool, is immensely useful, practical, and

powerful. It is not about crunching numbers, formulas, and
symbols but rather, it is all about forming new ways to see
problems so we can understand them by combining insights with
imagination.

It also allows us to perceive realities in different contexts

that would otherwise be intangible to us. It can be likened to
our sense of sight and touch.

Mathematics is our sense to decipher patterns, relationships,

and logical connections. It is our whole new way to see and
understand the modern world.

Mathematics, being a broad and deep discipline, deals with the

logic of shape, quantity, and arrangement. Once, it was
perceived merely a collective thoughts dealing with counting
numbers, but it is now being understood as a universal language
dealing with symbols, arts, equations, geometric shapes and
patterns. It is asserting that mathematics is a powerful tool in
decision-making, and it is a way of life.

In the Figure 1.1 illustrated by Nocon and Nocon, it portrays

the function of mathematics. As shown, it is stated that
mathematics is a set of problem-solving tools. It provides
answers to existing questions and presents solutions to
occurring problems. It has the power to unveil the reasons
behind occurrences and it offers explanations.

Mathematics, as a study of patterns, allows people to observe,

hypothesize, experiment, discover, and recreate.

On the other hand, mathematics is an art and a process of

thinking. For it involves reasoning, which can be inductive or
deductive, and it applies methods of proof both in fashion that
is conventional and inventional.

IV. Mathematics is Everywhere

Mathematics is our important tool in the field of sciences,

humanities, literature, medicine, and even in music and arts; it
is in the rhythm of our daily activities, operational in our
communities, and a default system of our culture.

There is mathematics wherever we go.

It helps us cook delicious meals by exacting our ability to

measure and moderately control of heat.
It also helps us to shop wisely, read maps, use the computer,
remodel a home with constrained budget with utmost economy.

V. The Essential Roles of Mathematics

Mathematics has countless hidden uses and applications. It is

not only something that delights our mind, but it also allows us
to learn and understand the natural order of the world.

Mathematics helps us to take the complex processes that is

naturally occurring in the world around us and it represents
them by utilizing logic to make things more organized and more
efficient.

Mathematics also facilitate not only to weather, but also to

control the weather ---- be it social, natural, statistical,
political, or medical. Applied mathematics, which once only used
for solving problems in physics, and it is also becoming a
useful tool in biological sciences: for instance, the spread of
various diseases can now be predicted and controlled. Scientists
and researchers use applied mathematics in doing or performing
researches to solve social, scientific, medical, or even
political crises.

Mathematics plays an important role in many sciences. It is and

it provides tools for calculations. We use of calculations in
other disciplines whenever we are underrating some kind of
research or experiment. The use of mathematical calculations is
indispensable method in scientifically approaching most of the
problems.

In a similar way, mathematics, provides new questions to think

about. Indeed, in learning and doing mathematics, there will
always be new questions to answer, new problems to solve, and
new things to think about

VI. The Mathematical Landscape

The human mind and culture developed a conceptual landscape for

mathematical thoughts and ideas to flourish and propagate. There
is a region in the human mind that is capable of constructing
and discerning the deepest insights being perceived from the
natural world.
In this region, the mathematical landscape exists- wherein
concepts of numbers, symbols, equations, operations
calculations, abstractions, and proofs are the inhabitants as
well as the constructs of the impenetrable vastness of its
unchartered territories. In this landscape, a number is not
simply a mathematical tree of counting. This landscape claimed
complex numbers as the firmament and even asserted that
imaginary numbers also exist. To the low state negative numbers
relentlessly enjoying recognition as existent beings. The wind
in this landscape is unpredictable just like the rate of change
of weather is known as calculus. And beneath the surface of this
mathematical landscape are firmly-woven proofs, theorems,
definitions, and axioms which are intricately “fertilized” by
reasoning, analytical, critical thinking and germicide by
mathematical logic that made them precise, exact and powerful.

VII. How Mathematics is Done

Math is a way of thinking, and it is undeniably important to see

how that thinking is going to be developed rather than just
merely see face value of the results.

For some people, few math theorems can bring up as much

remembered pain and anxiety.

For most, mathematics is just nothing but something to survive,

rather than to learn.

To the untrained eye, doing mathematics is quite difficult and

challenging. It is ambiguous, for it follows a set of patterns,
formulas, and sequences that make it more demanding to do and to
learn. It is abstract and complex ---- and for these reasons, a
lot of people adopt the belief that they are not math people.

Mathematics builds upon itself. More complex concepts are built

upon simpler concepts, and if you do not have a strong grasp of
the fundamental principles, then a more complex problem is more
likely going to stump you.

Doing and performing mathematics is not that simple. It is done

with curiosity, with a penchant for seeking patterns and
generalities, with a desire to know the truth, with trial and
error, and without fear of facing more questions and problems to
solve.
IX. Mathematics is for Everyone

Everyone uses mathematics, whoever they are, wherever they are,

and whenever they need to. From mathematicians to scientists,
from professionals to ordinary people, they all use mathematics.
For mathematics puts order amidst disorder. It helps us become
better persons and helps make the world a better place to live
in.

X. The Importance of Knowing and Learning Mathematics

Why do we want to observe and describe patterns and

regularities? Why do we want to understand the physical
phenomena governing our world? Why do we want to dig out rules
and structures that lie behind patterns of the natural order?

It is because those rules and structures explain what is going

on. It is because they are beneficial in generating conclusions
and in predicting events. It is because they provide clues.

Mathematical training is vital to decipher the clues provided by

nature. But the role of mathematics goes clues and it goes
beyond prediction. Once we understand how the system works, our
goal is to control it to make it do what we want.

B. Mathematics in our World

Specific Objectives

●​ To develop one’s understanding about patterns;

●​ To identify different patterns in nature;
●​ To recognize different symmetries in nature; and
●​ To explain the presence of Fibonacci numbers in nature

I. Mathematics in our World

The mathematics in our world is rooted in patterns. Patterns are

all around us. Finding and understanding patterns give us great
power to play like god.
With patterns, we can discover and understand new things; we
learn to predict and ultimately control the future for our own
advantage.

A pattern is a structure, form, or design that is regular,

consistent, or recurring.

Patterns can be found in nature, in human-made designs, or in

abstract ideas. They occur in different contexts and various
forms. Because patterns are repetitive and duplicative, their
underlying structure regularities can be modelled
mathematically.

II. Different Kinds of Pattern

As we look at the world around us, we can sense the

orchestrating great regularity and diversity of living and
non-living things. The symphonies vary from tiny to gigantic,
from simple to complex, and from dull to the bright. The
kaleidoscope of patterns is everywhere, and they make the nature
look only fascinating but also intriguing. Paradoxically, it
seemed that everything in the world follows a pattern of their
own and tamed by the same time pattern of their own.

1. Patterns of Visuals

Visual patterns are often unpredictable, never quite repeatable,

and often contain fractals. These patterns are can be seen from
the seeds and pinecones to the branches and leaves. They are
also visible in self-similar replication of trees, ferns, and
plants throughout nature.

2. Patterns of Flow
The flow of liquids provides an inexhaustible supply of nature’s
patterns. Patterns of flow are usually found in the water,
stone, and even in the growth of trees. There is also a flow
pattern present in meandering rivers with the repetition of
undulating lines.

3. Patterns of Movement

In the human walk, the feet strike the ground in a regular

rhythm: the left-right-left-right-left rhythm. When a horse, a
four-legged creature walks, there is more of a complex but
equally rhythmic pattern. This prevalence of pattern in
locomotion extends to the scuttling of insects, the flights of
birds, the pulsations of jellyfish, and the wave-like movements
of fish, worms, and snakes.

4. Patterns of Rhythm

Rhythm is conceivably the most basic pattern in nature. Our

hearts and lungs follow a regular repeated pattern of sounds or
movement whose timing is adapted to our body’s needs. Many of
nature’s rhythms are most likely like a heartbeat, while others
are like breathing. The beating of the heart, as well as
breathing, have a default pattern.
5. Patterns of Texture

A texture is a quality of a certain object that we sense through

touch. It exists as a literal surface that we can feel, see, and
imagine. Textures are of many kinds. It can be bristly, and
rough, but it can also be smooth, cold, and hard.

III. Geometric Patterns

A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern which consists of a

series of shapes that are typically repeated. These are
regularities in the natural world that are repeated in a
predictable manner. Geometrical patterns are usually visible on
cacti and succulents.

IV. Patterns Found in Nature

Common patterns appear in nature, just like what we see when we
look closely at plants, flowers, animals, and even at our
bodies. These common patterns are all incorporated in many
natural things.

1. Waves and Dunes

A wave is any form of disturbance that carries energy as it

moves. Waves are of different kinds: mechanical waves which
propagate through a medium ---- air or water, making it
oscillate as waves pass by. Wind waves, on the other hand, are
surface waves that create the chaotic patterns of the sea.
Similarly, water waves are created by energy passing through
water causing it to move in a circular motion. Likewise, ripple
patterns and dunes are formed by sand wind as they pass over the
sand.

2. Spots and Stripes

We can see patterns like spots on the skin of a giraffe. On the

other hand, stripes are visible on the skin of a zebra. Patterns
like spots and stripes that are commonly present in different
organisms are results of a reaction-diffusion system (Turing,
1952). The size and the shape of the pattern depend on how fast
the chemicals diffuse and how strongly they interact.

3. Spiral
The spiral patterns exist on the scale of the cosmos to the
minuscule forms of microscopic animals on earth. Spiral patterns
are also common and noticeable among plants and some animals.
Spirals appear in many plants such as pinecones, pineapples, and
sunflowers.

V. Symmetries

In mathematics, if a figure can be folded or divided into two

with two halves which are the same, such figure is called a
symmetric figure. Symmetry has a vital role in pattern
formation. It is used to classify and organize information about
patterns by classifying the motion or deformation of both
pattern structures and processes.

VI. Kinds of Symmetry

There are many kinds of symmetry, and the most important ones
are reflections, rotations, and translations. These kinds of
symmetries are less formally called flips, turns, and slides.

1. Reflection Symmetry
Reflection symmetry, sometimes called line symmetry or mirror
symmetry, captures symmetries when the left half of a pattern is
the same as the right half.

2. Rotational Symmetry

Rotations, also known as rotational symmetry, captures

symmetries when it still looks the same after some rotation (of
less than one full turn). The degree of rotational symmetry of
an object is recognized by the number of distinct orientations
in which it looks the same for each rotation.

3. Translational Symmetry

Translational symmetry exists in patterns that we see in nature

and in man-made objects. Translations acquire symmetries when
units are repeated and turn out having identical figures, like
the bees’ honeycomb with hexagonal tiles.
VII. Symmetries in Nature

From the structure of subatomic particles to that of the entire

universe, symmetry is present. The presence of symmetries in
nature does not only attract our visual sense, but also plays an
integral and prominent role in the way our life works.

1. Human Body

The human body is one of the pieces of evidence that there is

symmetry in nature. Our body exhibits bilateral symmetry. It can
be divided into two identical halves.

2. Animal Movement

The symmetry of motion is present in animal movements. When

animals move, we can see that their movements also exhibit
symmetry.

3. Sunflower

One of the most interesting things about a sunflower is that it

contains both radial and bilateral symmetry.
4. Snowflakes

Snowflakes have six-fold radial symmetry. The ice crystals that

make-up the snowflakes are symmetrical or patterned.

5. Honeycombs/Beehive

This kind of symmetry is created when a pattern is repeated

until it covers a plane. Beehives are made of walls with each
side having the same size enclosed with small hexagonal cells.

6. Starfish

Starfish have a radial fivefold symmetry. Each arm portion of

the starfish is identical to each of the other regions.
 C. The Fibonacci Sequence

Specific Objectives

●​ To define sequence and its types

●​ To differentiate Fibonacci sequence from other types of
sequence
●​ To discover golden ratio and golden rectangle, and;
●​ To learn how to compute for the nth in the Fibonacci
Sequence.

I. Sequence

Sequence refers to an ordered list of numbers called terms, that

may have repeated values. The arrangement of these terms is set
by a definite rule. (Mathematics in the Modern World, 14th
Edition, Aufmann, RN. et al.).

As shown above, the elements in the sequence are called terms.

It is called sequence because the list is ordered, and it
follows a certain kind of pattern that must be recognized in
order to see the expanse. The three dots at the end of the
visible patterns means that the sequence is infinite.

There are different types of sequence and the most common are
the arithmetic sequence, geometric sequence, harmonic sequence,
and Fibonacci sequence.

II. Types of Sequences

1. Arithmetic Sequence

It is a sequence of numbers that follows a definite pattern. To

determine if the series of numbers follow an arithmetic
sequence, check the difference between two consecutive terms. If
common difference is observed, then definitely arithmetic
sequence governed the pattern.
Notice in the given example above, the common difference between
two consecutive terms in the sequence is two. The common
difference is the clue that must be figure out in a pattern in
order to recognize it as an arithmetic sequence.

2. Geometric Sequence

If in the arithmetic sequence we need to check for the common

difference, in geometric sequence we need to look for the common
ratio. All possibilities must be explored until some patterns of
uniformity can intelligently be struck. At first it may seem
like pattern less but only by digging a little bit deeper that
we can finally delve the constancy.

The illustrated in the example above, geometric sequence is not

as obvious as the arithmetic sequence. That 8÷2, 32÷4, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 128÷4
generate 4, 4, 4,…

3. Harmonic Sequence

In this sequence, the reciprocal of the terms behaved in a

manner like arithmetic sequence. Consider the example below and
notice an interesting pattern in the series.
With this pattern, the reciprocal appears like arithmetic
sequence. Only in recognizing the appearance that we can finally
decode the sequencing the govern the series.

4. Fibonacci Sequence

This specific sequence was named after an Italian mathematician

Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (1170 - 1250). He discovered the
sequence while he was studying rabbits. The Fibonacci sequence
is a series of numbers governed by some unusual arithmetic rule.
The sequence is organized in a way a number can be obtained by
adding the two previous numbers.

Notice that the number 2 is actually the sum of 1 and 1. Also

the 5th term which is number 5 is based on addition of the two
previous terms 2, and 3.

That is the kind of pattern being generated by the Fibonacci

sequence. It is infinite in expanse, and it was once purely
maintained claim as a mathematical and mental exercise but later
on, it was observed that the ownership of this pattern was also
being claimed by some species of flowers, petals, pineapple,
pinecone, cabbages and some shells.

To explore a little bit more about the Fibonacci sequence, the

location of the term was conventionally tagged as Fib(n). This
means that Fib(1)=1, Fib(2)=1, Fib(3)=2 and Fib(4)=3. In this
method, the Fib(n) is actually referring to the nth term of the
sequence. It is also possible to makemsome sort of addition in
this sequence.
Fib(2) refers to the 2nd term in the sequence which is “1”. And
Fib(6) refers to the 6th term which is “8”. So, the answer to
that equation is simply “9”.

Formula for computing for the nth term in the Fibonacci

Sequence:

Where:

𝑥_𝑛 stands for the Fibonacci number we’re looking for n stands
for the position of the number in the Fibonacci sequence 𝜑
stands for the value of the golden ratio 1.618.

The amazing beauty of Fibonacci sequence was also discovered in

the structure of Golden rectangle. The golden rectangle is made
up of squares whose sizes, surprisingly is also behaving similar
to the Fibonacci sequence.

As we can see in the figure, there is no complexity in forming a

spiral with the use of the golden rectangle starting from one of
the sides of the first Fibonacci square going to the edges of
each of the next squares. This golden rectangle shows that the
Fibonacci sequence is not only about sequence of numbers of some
sort, but it is also a geometric sequence observing a rectangle
ratio.

The spiral line generated by the ratio is generously scattered

around from infinite to infinitesimal.