MATHEMATICS IN

THE MODERN
WORLD

PREPARED BY:
NIÑO LEMUEL L. CONCINA
 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.
 WHERE IS MATHEMATICS?

• Many patterns and occurrences exist

in nature, in our world, in our life.
Mathematics helps make sense of
these patterns and occurrences.
WHAT ROLE DOES MATHEMATICS PLAY IN
OUR WORLD?
• Mathematics helps organize patterns
and regularities in our world.
• Mathematics helps predict the behavior
of nature and phenomena in the world.
• Mathematics helps control nature and
occurrences in the world for our own
ends.
• Mathematics has numerous applications
in the world making it indispensable.
 PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN
NATURE AND THE WORLD
Patterns in nature are visible
regularities of form found in the
natural world and can also be seen in
the universe.
Nature patterns which are not just to
be admired, they are vital clues to the
rules that govern natural processes.
Check out examples of some of these
patterns and you may be able to spot a
few the next times you go for a walk.
• Patterns can be observed even in stars
which move in circles across the sky each
day.
• The weather season cycle each year. All
snowflakes contains six fold symmetry
which no two are exactly the same.
Patterns can be seen in fish patterns
like spotted trunkfish, spotted puffer,
and blue spotted stingray, spotted
moral eel, coral grouper, red lion fish,
yellow boxfish and angel fish. These
animals and fish stripes and spots
attest to mathematical regularities in
biological growth and form.
Zebras, tigers, cats and snakes are
covered in patterns of stripes;
leopards and hyenas are covered in
pattern of spots and giraffes are
covered in pattern of blotches.
Natural patterns like the intricate
waves across the oceans; sand dunes
on deserts; formation of typhoon;
water drop with ripple and others.
These serves as clues to the rules that
govern the flow of water, sand and air.
Other patterns in nature can also be
seen in the ball of mackerel, the v-
formation of geese in the sky and the
tornado formation of starlings.
 PATTERNS AND REGULARITIES

 Mathematics is all around us. As we discover

more about our environment, we can
mathematically describe nature. The beauty of
a flower, the majestic tree, even the rock
formation exhibits nature’s sense of symmetry.
 Have you ever thought about how nature likes
to arrange itself in patterns in order to act
efficiently? Nothing in nature happens without
a reason, all of these patterns have an
important reason to exist and they also happen
to be beautiful to watch.
 TYPES OF PATTERNS
SYMMETRY – a sense of harmonious and beautiful
proportion of balance or an object is invariant to
any various transformations (reflection, rotation or
scaling.)
• a.) Bilateral Symmetry: a symmetry in which the
left and right sides of the organism can be divided
into approximately mirror image of each other
along the midline. Symmetry exists in living things
such as in insects, animals, plants, flowers and
others. Animals have mainly bilateral or vertical
symmetry, even leaves of plants and some flowers
such as orchids.
 Radial Symmetry ( or
rotational symmetry )
:a symmetry around a fixed point
known as the center and it can
be classified as either cyclic or
dihedral. Plants often have
radial or rotational symmetry,
as to flowers and some group of
animals. A five-fold symmetry
is found in the echinoderms,
the group in which includes
starfish (dihedral-D5
symmetry), sea urchins and
sea lilies. Radial symmetry
suits organism like sea
anemones whose adults do not
move and jellyfish(dihedral-D4
symmetry). Radial symmetry is
also evident in different kinds
of flowers.
FRACTALS – a curve or geometric figure, each part
of which has the same statistical character as the
whole. A fractal is a never-ending pattern found
in nature. The exact same shape is replicated in a
process called “self similarity.” The pattern repeats
itself over and over again at different scales. For
example, a tree grows by repetitive branching. This
same kind of branching can be seen in lightning
bolts and the veins in your body. Examine a single
fern or an aerial view of an entire river system and
you’ll see fractal patterns.
SPIRALS - A logarithmic spiral or growth spiral
is a self-similar spiral curve which often
appears in nature. It was first describe by
Rene Descartes and was later investigated by
Jacob Bernoulli. A spiral is a curved pattern
that focuses on a center point and a series of
circular shapes that revolve around it.
Examples of spirals are pine cones,
pineapples, hurricanes. The reason for why
plants use a spiral form is because they are
constantly trying to grow but stay secure.
FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE
• The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers
where a number is found by adding up the two
numbers before it. Starting with 0 and 1, the
sequence goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and
so forth. Written as a rule, the expression is

• Named after Fibonacci, also known as Leonardo

of Pisa or Leonardo Pisano, Fibonacci numbers
were first introduced in his Liber Abbaci (Book of
Calculation) in 1202. The son of a Pisan
merchant, Fibonacci traveled widely and traded
extensively. Mathematics was incredibly
important to those in the trading industry, and
his passion for numbers was cultivated in his
youth.
 THE HABBIT RABBIT
One of the book’s exercises which is
written like this “A man put a pair of
rabbits in a place surrounded on all
sides by a wall. How many pairs of
rabbits are produced from that pair in a
year, if it supposed that every month
each pair produces a new pair, which
from the second month onwards
becomes productive?” This is best
understood in this diagram:
 GROWTH OF RABBIT COLONY
MONTH ADULT YOUNG
TOTAL
S PAIRS PAIRS
1 1 1 2
2 2 1 3
3 3 2 5
4 5 3 8
5 8 5 13
6 13 8 21
7 21 13 34
8 34 21 55
9 55 34 89
10 89 55 144
11 144 89 233
12 233 144 377

The sequence encountered in the rabbit problem 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,

13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, ….is called the Fibonacci
sequence and its terms the Fibonacci numbers.
 GOLDEN RECTANGLE
Leonardo of Pisa also known as Fibonacci discovered
a sequence of numbers that created an interesting
numbers that created an interesting pattern the
sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34… each
number is obtained by adding the last two
numbers of the sequence forms what is known as
golden rectangle a perfect rectangle. A golden
rectangle can be broken down into squares the
size of the next Fibonacci number down and
below. If we were to take a golden rectangle, break
it down to smaller squares based from Fibonacci
sequence and divide each with an arc, the pattern
begin to take shapes, we begin with Fibonacci
spiral in which we can see in nature.
 FIBONACCI NUMBERS IN NATURE
FIBONACCI NUMBERS IN NATURE
Flower petals exhibit the Fibonacci
number, white calla lily contains 1 petal,
euphorbia contains 2 petals, trillium
contains 3 petals, columbine contains 5
petals, bloodroot contains 8 petals, black-
eyed Susan contains 13 petals, Shasta
daisies 21 petals, field daisies contains
34 petals and other types of daisies
contain 55 and 89 petals.
 FIBONACCI SEQUENCE IN NATURE
 The sunflower seed conveys the
Fibonacci sequence. The pattern of
two spirals goes in opposing directions
(clockwise and counter-clockwise ).
The number of clockwise spirals and
counter clockwise spirals are
consecutive Fibonacci numbers and
usually contains 34 and 55 seeds.
The Fibonacci sequence can
also be seen in the way tree
branches form or split. A
main trunk will grow until
it produces a branch,
which creates two growth
points. Then, one of the
new stems branches into
two, while the other one
lies dormant. This pattern
of branching is repeated for
each of the new stems. A
good example is the
sneezewort. Root systems
and even algae exhibit this
pattern.
 GOLDEN RATIO
 Fibonacci discovery of Fibonacci sequence
happened to approach the ratio asymptotically.
He found the interesting and mysterious
properties of the Fibonacci sequence that the
series has a deep relationship with the golden
ratio.
 The golden ratio was first called as the
Divine Proportion in the early 1500s in
Leonardo da Vinci’s work which was explored
by Luca Pacioli entitled “De Divina
Proportione” in 1509. This contains the
drawings of the five platonic solids and it was
probably da Vinci who first called it “section
aurea” which is Latin for Golden Section.
 In mathematics, two quantities are in
the Golden ratio if their ratio is the
same of their sum to the larger of the
two quantities. The Golden Ratio is
the relationship between numbers on
the Fibonacci sequence where plotting
the relationships on scales results in a
spiral shape. In simple terms, golden
ratio is expressed as an equation,
where a is larger than b, (a+b) divided
by a is equal to a divided by b, which
is equal to 1.618033987…and
represented by (phi).
 b a a/b
2 3 1.5
3 5 1.666666666…
5 8 1.6
8 13 1.625
13 21 1.615384615...
21 34 1.61905
34 55 1.61765
. . .
. . .
144 233 1.618055556...
233 377 1.618025751...
 GOLDEN RATIO IN NATURE
It is often said that math contains the
answers to most of universe’s
questions. Math manifests itself
everywhere. One such example is the
Golden Ratio. This famous Fibonacci
sequence has fascinated
mathematicians, scientist and artists
for many hundreds of years. The
Golden Ratio manifests itself in many
places across the universe, including
right here on Earth, it is part of Earth’s
nature and it is part of us.
1. Flower petals
Number of petals in a flower is often one of the
following numbers: 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 or 55.
For example, the lily has three petals,
buttercups have five of them, the chicory has
21 of them, the daisy has often 34 or 55
petals, etc.
2. Faces
Faces, both human and nonhuman, abound
with examples of the Golden Ratio. The
mouth and nose are each positioned at golden
sections of the distance between the eyes and
the bottom of the chin. Similar proportions
can been seen from the side, and even the eye
and ear itself.
3. Body parts
The Golden Section is manifested in the
structure of the human body. The human
body is based on Phi and the number 5.The
number 5 appendages to the torso, in the
arms, leg and head. 5 appendages on each
of these, in the fingers and toes and 5
openings on the face. Animal bodies exhibit
similar tendencies.
4. Seed heads
Typically, seeds are produced at the center,
and then migrate towards the outside to fill
all the space. Sunflowers provide a great
example of these spiraling patterns.
5. Fruits, Vegetables and Trees
Spiraling patterns can be found on
pineapples and cauliflower. Fibonacci
numbers are seen in the branching of
trees or the number of leaves on a floral
stem; numbers like 4 are not. 3’s and
5’s, however, are abundant in nature.
6. Shells
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. Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxies are the most common
galaxy shape. The Milky Way has
several spiral arms, each of them a
logarithmic spiral of about 12 degrees.
8. Hurricanes
It’s amazing how closely the powerful
swirls of hurricane match the
Fibonacci sequence.
GOLDEN  The golden ratio can be
RATIO IN used to achieve beauty,
ARTS balance and harmony in
art, architecture and
design. It can be used as
a tool in art and design to
achieve balance in the
composition. Check out
some examples of golden
ratio in arts.
 The exterior dimension of
the Parthenon in Athens,
Greece embodies the
golden ratio.
  was considered the
Michaelangelo DI
LODOVICO SIMON
greatest living artists of
his time. He used golden
ratio in his painting “The
Creation of Adam” which
can be seen on the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel. His
painting used the golden
ratio showing how God’s
finger and Adam’s finger
meet precisely at the
golden ratio point of the
weight and the height of
the area that contains
 GOLDEN RATIO IN ARCHITECTURE
Some of the architectural structures that exhibit the
application of the Golden ratio are the following:
 The Great Pyramid of Giza built 4700 BC in
Ahmes Papyrus of Egypt is with proportion
according to a “Golden Ratio”. The length of each
side of the base is 756 feet with a height of 481
feet. The ratio of the base to the height is roughly
1.5717, which is close to the Golden ratio.

 Notre Dame is a Gothic Cathedral in Paris, which

was built in between 1163 and 1250. It appears to
have a golden ratio in a number of its key
proportions of designs.
 The Taj Mahal in India used the golden ratio in its
construction and was completed in 1648. The order
and proportion of the arches of the Taj Mahal on the
main structure keep reducing proportionately
following the golden ratio.
 The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres in Paris,
France also exhibits the Golden ratio.
 In the United Nation Building, the window
configuration reveals golden proportion.
 The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, erected in 1889
is an iron lattice. The base is broader while it
narrows down the top, perfectly following the golden
ratio.
 The CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest tower and
freestanding structure in the world, contains the
golden ratio in its design. The ratio of observation
deck at 342 meters to the total height of 553.33 is
 BEHAVIOR OF NATURE
Behavior of nature can be observed
around us.
Natural regularities of nature:
Symmetry Fractals
Spirals
Trees Meanders
Waves
Foams Tessellations
Cracks Stripes Spots
Golden Ratio can be found in the
beauty of nature, the growth
patterns of many plants,
insects, and the universe.
 Honeycombs of the bees show
specific regular repeating
hexagons. It uses the least
amount of wax to store the honey
giving a strong structure with no
gaps.
 Zebra’s coat, the alternating
pattern of blacks and white are
due to mathematical rules that
govern the pigmentation
chemicals of its skin.
Spider webs illustrate a
beautiful pattern. The spider
creates a structure by
performing innate steps.
The nautilus shell has
natural pattern which
contains a spiral shape
called logarithmic spiral.
Age of the trees can be
determined by applying
dendrochronology which is
a scientific method of dating
based on the amount of rings
found in the core of a tree.
 Turtles have growth rings called
“scutes” which are hexagonal.
Scutes estimates the age of the
turtle. Smallest scute is in the center
and is the oldest one, while the
largest ones on the outside are the
newer ones.
 Lightning during storms creates
fractals.
 Foam bubbles formed by trapping
pockets of gas in a liquid or solid.
 Cracks can also be found on the
barks of trees which show some sort
of weakness in the bark.
 The meander is one of a series of
regular sinuous curves, bends,
loops, turns, or windings in the
channel of the body of water.
 APPLICATIONS OF MATHEMATICS
IN THE WORLD
 In our daily life, we use mathematics directly
or indirectly in various fields. The application of
mathematical methods in different fields such as
science, engineering, business, computer science
and industry is a combination of mathematical
science and specialized knowledge. For example,
statistics, combinatory, and graph theory are used
by investigators to solve crimes.
 Other applications of mathematics are in
forensic science, medicine, engineering, information
technology, cryptography, archaeology, social
sciences, political science and other fields.
• In forensic, mathematics is applied specifically the
differential and integral calculus to clarify the
blurred image to clear image. Another application of
calculus is optimization (maximize or minimize)
surface areas, volumes, profit and cost analysis,
projectile motion, etc.
• In medical field, much of a function of a protein is
determined by its shape and how the pieces move.
Many drugs are designed to change the shape or
motions of a protein by modeling using geometry and
related areas. Mathematics is also being applied in
the development of medicine to cure diseases.
• In fluid dynamics, engineers use numerical
analysis in phenomena involving heat, electricity and
magnetism, relativistic mechanics, quantum
mechanics and other theoretical constructs.
• In Information Technology, modern computer are invented
through the help of mathematics. An important area of
applications of mathematics in the development of formal
mathematical theories related to the development of computer
science. Computer science development includes logic,
relations, functions, basic set theory, counting techniques,
graph theory, combinatorics, discrete probability, recursion,
recurrence relations and number theory, computer-oriented
numerical analysis and Operation Research techniques.
• Cryptography is a combination of both mathematics and
computer science and is affiliated closely with information
theory, computer security and engineering. It is used in
applications present in technologically advanced societies,
examples include the security of ATM cards, computer
passwords and electronic commerce.
• In archaeology, archaeologists use a variety of mathematical
and statistical techniques to present the data from
archaeological surveys and try to find patterns to shed on past
human behavior an in carbon dating artifacts.
• In Social Sciences such as economics,
sociology, psychology and linguistics all now
make extensive use of mathematical models,
using the tools of calculus, probability, game
theory, and network theory.
• In Economics, mathematics such as
matrices, probability and statistics are used.
The models may be stochastic or
deterministic, linear or non-linear, static or
dynamic, continuous or discrete and all
types of algebraic, differential, difference and
integral equations arise for the solution of
these models.
• In political Science, political analysts study past election
results to see changes in voting patterns and the influence
of various factors on voting behavior or switching of votes
among political parties and mathematical models for
Conflict Resolution using Game Theory and Statistics.

• In music and arts, the rhythm that we find in all music

notes is the result of innumerable permutations and
combinations. Music theorists understand musical
structure and communicate new ways of hearing music by
applying set theory, abstract algebra, and number theory
APPRECIATION OF
NUMBERS
 We look at numbers as sign or
symbols used to represent
magnitudes or quantities. The
idea of the signs and symbols was
standardized and became
acceptable universally.
 The Uses of Numbers in Our Daily Life
1. Calling a member of a family or a friend using mobile
phone.
2. Calculating your daily budget for your food,
transportation, and other expenses.
3. Cooking, or anything that involves the idea of proportion
and percentage.
4. Weighing fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken, and others in
market.
5. Using elevators to go places or floors in the building.
6. Looking at the price of discounted items in a shopping
mall.
7. Looking for the number of people who liked your post on
Facebook.
8. Switching the channels of your favorite TV shows.
9. Telling time you spent on work or school.
10. Computing the interest you gained on your business.
Numbers can be of different scales:

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
 Nominal Number
• A Nominal Number is a number
used only as a name, or to
identify something (not as an
actual value or position).
• Refers to the characteristics or
attribute of subjects or objects
that is used for naming,
labeling, and categorizing only.
 Nominal numbers are used
only for naming
 In the nominal scale, numbers
lose their numerical value.
 Operating these numbers do
not make sense.

 How to remember: "Nominal is

a Name".
 Examples of nominal:
• Cause of death • Color of the
• Nationality skin
• Color of the • Race
eyes • Names
• Religious • Zip code
affiliation • Gender
• Major fields etc.
 Ordinal numbers
• Refers to the characteristics of
subjects or objects that is used
for ranking and ordering.

How to remember: "Ordinal says

what Order things are in".
 Examples of ordinal:
 Grades (1, 1.1, 1.2 1.3, 1.4,
etc.)
 Judging (1st place, 2nd place, 3rd
place, etc)
 Rating scale (poor, good,
excellent)
 Year level
 Social status
 Interval numbers
• Refer to the characteristics
or attribute of subjects or
objects that is known sizes
or distances.
Examples of interval
• UPCAT score
• Temperature
• IQ
• Credit score
 Ratio numbers
• Refers to the characteristics or
attribute of subjects or objects
that contains the characteristics
of the interval data but in this
case, zero has a true value.
Examples of ratio:
• Height
• Weight
• Time
• Salary
• Age
 EVALUATION
1.Look around the classroom.
Form a sentence that has a
number mentioned in it. State
what scale the number
belongs to.
2.Why are numbers important?