CH 1 - LESSON 1-Mathematics in Our World

Lesson 1: PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN NATURE
In this lesson, I will present the nature of mathematics. I will

also reveal hidden beautiful patterns found in nature and introduce
the famous mathematical number sequence that is related to nature.
Source: google.com
Nature of Mathematics
What is mathematics?
The word mathematics comes from the Greek word “máthēma” (noun) which
means "learning”. Mathematics has no universally accepted definition (Tobies, 2012).
According to Webster’s dictionary, “Mathematics is the science of number and their
operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations and abstractions and of
space configurations and generalizations.
Here are some definitions of mathematics from famous mathematicians:
 Mathematics is the science of quantity. – Aristotle
 Mathematics is the language in which god has written in the universe. -
Galileo
 The science of indirect measurement. - Auguste Comte
 Mathematics is the classification and study of all possible patterns. - Walter
Warwick Sawyer
 Mathematics is our one and only strategy for understanding the complexity of
nature. – Ralph Abraham
 Mathematics is a formal system of thought for recognizing, classifying, and
exploiting patterns and relationships. - Stewart
It can be seen that the definition of mathematics changes according to specific lights.
Thus, mathematics maybe defined as the study of patterns which may be numerical,
logical or geometric. Mathematics as the study of patterns will be the focus of the
lesson.
In your own
perspective, what is
mathematics?
Source: google.com
2
PATTERNS IN NATURE
Mathematics shapes the world around us! One of the things about Mathematics
that we love the most is it’s uncanny ability to reveal hidden beautiful patterns in our
everyday life, the nature around us.
What number comes next in

0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ?
What is the pattern in getting the next number?
Yes you’re correct! The

next number after 25 is
30. The pattern in
getting the next number
is to add 5 to the
previous number.
A pattern is an organized arrangement of objects in space or time. It must have

something that is repeated either exactly or according to recognizable
transformations. It is the opposite of chaos.
Natural patterns include symmetry, stripe, spot, crack, spiral, tessellation, foam,
wave, dunes and fractal.
Symmetry is when a shape looks identical to its original shape after being
flipped or turned. The two main types of symmetry are reflective and rotational.
Reflective, or line, symmetry means that one half of an image is the mirror image of
the other half (think of a butterfly's wings). Rotational symmetry means that the
object or image can be turned around a center point and match itself some number of
times (as in a five-pointed star).
Crack are linear openings that form in materials to relieve stress. The pattern of
cracks indicates whether the material is elastic or not. Some examples are old pottery
surface, drying inelastic mud, and palm trunk with branching vertical cracks.
Tesselation or tiling forms a class of patterns found in nature. The arrays of
hexagonal cells in a honeycomb or the diamond-shaped scales that pattern snake skin
are natural examples of tessellation patterns.
Fractal pattern is when an object exhibits self-similar shape or form at any scale
and repeat itself overtime. Trees are natural fractals, patterns that repeat smaller and
smaller copies of themselves to create the biodiversity of a forest.
3
Here are some examples of patterns in nature.
The tiger face shows a bilateral symmetry Phyllotaxis of spiral aloe
Honeycomb is a natural tessellation Stripes of a zebra
Branching pattern of a tree is a fractal Palm trunk with branching vertical cracks
4
Foam of soap bubbles Spots of a Leopard
Breaking wave in a ship's wake Patterns form as wind blows sand in the
dunes
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterns_in_nature
Now look around you, what

objects do you see? Does it have
any pattern? Can you identify the
patterns?
5
NUMBERS IN NATURE
The natural world is full of sets of numbers. The Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 1,
2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and so on), that is, it follows a trivial logic in which the sum
of the later two numbers gives rise to the next number in the sequence. It is a simple
pattern, but it appears to be a kind of built-in numbering system to the universe.
An interesting fact is that the number of petals on a flower always turns out to
be a fibonacci number.
Another example is if you look at the bottom of pine cone, and count
clockwise and anti-clockwise number of spirals, they turn out to be adjacent
fibonacci numbers.
https://medium.com/math-%CF%80rates/beauty-of-numbers-and-patterns-a-world-
shaped-by-math-71d240c4ee05
6
The head of a flower is also subject to Fibonaccian processes. Typically,

seeds are produced at the center, and then migrate towards the outside to fill all the
space.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/15-uncanny-examples-of-the-golden-ratio-in-nature-
5985588
The unique properties of the Golden Rectangle provides another example.
This shape, a rectangle in which the ratio of the sides a/b is equal to the golden mean
(phi), can result in a nesting process that can be repeated into infinity — and which
takes on the form of a spiral. It's call the logarithmic spiral, and it abounds in nature.
Snail shells and nautilus shells follow the logarithmic spiral, as does the
cochlea of the inner ear. It can also be seen in the horns of certain goats, and the
shape of certain spider's webs.
7
It’s great having learned the numbers

found in nature. Did you appreciate the
wonders of numbers in nature? I hope
so! You will have more of these in Lesson
2. Now , relax have some sort of
stretching before proceeding with the
self-test.

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Lesson 1: PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN NATURE

In this lesson, I will present the nature of mathematics. I will

What number comes next in

Yes you’re correct! The

A pattern is an organized arrangement of objects in space or time. It must have

Here are some examples of patterns in nature.

The tiger face shows a bilateral symmetry Phyllotaxis of spiral aloe

Honeycomb is a natural tessellation Stripes of a zebra

Foam of soap bubbles Spots of a Leopard

Now look around you, what

The head of a flower is also subject to Fibonaccian processes. Typically,

It’s great having learned the numbers

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