GNED 03 Mathematics In the Modern World

PATTERNS AND NUMBERS IN NATURE AND THE WORLD

Symmetry
➮ The concept of symmetry can be defined as a transformation of a mathematical structure, of a
specified kind, that leaves specified properties of the structure unchanged. However, because a
complete definition appears elusive, it is best explained through examples: wheels display circular
symmetry; the shape of a rainbow is due to the rotational symmetry of refraction in rain droplets;
and waves display a variety of symmetries. (Stewart, 2013
➮ Three Main Types of Symmetry
1. Translation - Translational symmetry results from moving a figure a certain distance in a
certain direction also called translating (moving) by a vector (length and direction)

2. Reflection - Reflection symmetry is also known as line symmetry or mirror symmetry. In

reflection symmetry, there exists at least one line that divides a figure into two halves such
that one-half is the mirror image of the other half.

3. Rotation - Rotational symmetry, also known as radial symmetry, is the property a shape has
when it looks the same after some rotation by a partial turn.

Fractals
➮ a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole.
Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which
similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or
chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation
Spirals
➮ In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it
revolves around the point.
THE GOLDEN RATIO
The Golden Proportion (A.K.A. The Golden Ratio)
➮ The concept of symmetry can be defined as a transformation of a mathematical structure, of a
specified kind, that leaves specified properties of the structure unchanged. However, because a
complete definition appears elusive, it is best explained through examples: wheels display circular
symmetry; the shape of a rainbow is due to the rotational symmetry of refraction in rain droplets;
and waves display a variety of symmetries.
THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
Fibonacci Sequence
➮ From the book of Liber Abacci
➮ A set of Integers that Starts with zero, followed by a one, then by another one, and then by a
series of steadily increasing numbers.
➮ the sequence follow the rule that each number is equal to the sum of the preceding two
numbers.
➮ Edouard Lucas named after Leonard Pisano
➮ Liber Abaci “The Book of Calculating”
➮ Leonardo Pisano (ca. 1170 – 1250) (AKA Leonardo of Pisa) Son of Bonacci (Fibonacci)
➮ Edouard Lucas (1848 – 1871) Paris,France

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Application
➮ Number of spirals in a sunflower
➮ Number of spirals in a pinecone
➮ Number of a flower’s petals.
➮ Number of tree branches per section.

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE AND THE GOLDEN RATIO

Fibonacci Sequence and The Golden Ratio
➮ The Golden Ratio is considered as nature’s “perfect” ratio and is denoted by Φ (Phi), equal to
1.61803…
➮ The first few terms of the Fibonacci Sequence are as follows:
- 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, …
How is Fibonacci Sequence Related with Golden Ratio

➮ The ratio between any two successive terms in the fibonacci sequence appears to approach
the golden ratio. (especially for larger numbers in the sequence)
➮ This is why Fibonacci numbers/terms are considered as “Nature’s Special Numbers” because
these are the numbers followed by different occurrences in nature.

MATHEMATICAL LANGUANGE AND SYMBOLS

The Language of Mathematics
➮ Languange
- Language, in general, is a system of words, signs, and symbols which people use to
convey ideas, thoughts, and feelings
➮ Mathematical Language
- A system used to communicate mathematical ideas which includes a large component
of logic, numbers, measurement, shapes, spaces, functions, patterns, data, and
arrangements.
Mathematical Language
➮ Characteristics of Mathematical Language
1. Mathematical language is non-temporal. There is no past, present, nor future in
mathematics.
2. Mathematical language is devoid of emotional content
3. Mathematical language is precise
Mathematical Expression Vs. Sentences

Guidelines in Translating Statements to Mathematical Expessions

➮ Read and understand the problem/text entirely
➮ Set variables for the unknown values
➮ Look for “keywords” associated with mathematical operations
➮ Familiarize yourself with commonly used mathematical operators and symbols
More Examples:

Guidelines in Translating Statements to Mathematical Expessions

➮ In reading mathematics text, one must decode and comprehend not only words, but also signs
and symbols, which involve different skills. Decoding words entails connecting sounds to the
alphabetic symbols, or letters.... In contrast, mathematics signs and symbols may be pictorial, or
they may refer to an operation, or to an expression. Consequently, students need to learn the
meaning of each symbol much like they learn “sight” words in the English language. In addition
they need to connect each symbol, the idea it represents, and the written or spoken term that
corresponds to the idea.

Translating Statements to Mathematical Expression/Equations Examples:

1. The sum of a number x and two less than twice that is 13.
- x + ( 2 x−2 )=13
 2. The square of the mean of three numbers a, b, and c is twice their sum.
- ¿
3. The sum of three consecutive counting numbers is 54.
- x + ( x+1 ) + ( x +2 )=54
-

PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING

Inductive and Deducting Reasoning
 ➮ Inductive Reasoning
- Refers to the process of making generalized decisions after observing, witnessing,
and/or repeated scientific instances of something. Proofs done in this manner are not
always true.
- Specific To General
- Examples:
1. 1st Premise: Harley is a good swimmer
2nd Premise: Harley’s family has a swimming pool
Conclusion : Lesley, Harley’s sister, is also a good swimmer
2. 1st Premise: Gusion is a student of CvSU.
2nd Premise: Gusion is a working student.
Conclusion : Students of CvSU are working students.
➮ Deductive Reasoning
- Refers to the process of taking the information gathered from general observations
and making specific decisions based on that information. Proofs done in this manner
are always true.
- General To Specific
- Examples:
1. 1st Premise: Humans are mortal
2nd Premise: Math teachers are humans
Conclusion : Math teachers are mortal
2. 1st Premise: All squares are rectangles
2nd Premise: All rectangles have four sides
Conclusion : All squares have four sides
Intuition, Proof, and Certainty
➮ Intuition
- The ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning.
➮ Instinctive Knowledge
- Being aware of or knowing something without having to discover or perceive it, or the
ability to do it.
➮ Instinctive Belief
- Knowing or believing something instinctively, even without actual evidence for it.
➮ Proof
- An inferential argument for a mathematical statement. It is a conclusive evidence or
an argument that serves to establish a fact or the truth of something.
➮ Certainty
- Total continuity and validity of inquiries to the highest degree of precision. It is a
conclusion or outcome that is beyond doubt. A mathematical certainty is something
that is certain to happen.

Polya’s Four Steps to Problem Solving

➮ In 1945, George Polya, considered as the “Father of Problem Solving in Mathematics”, on his
book How To Solve It, identified four basic principles of problem solving as follows:
 1. Understand the problem
2. Devise a plan
3. Carry out the plan
4. Look back
➮ STEP # 1: UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM (PREPARATION)
- a. Learn the necessary underlying mathematical concepts
- b. Consider the terminologies and notations used in the problem:
What sort of problem is it?
What is being asked?
What do the terms mean?
Is there enough information or is more information needed?
What is known or unknown?
- c. Rephrase the problem in your own words
- d. Write down specific examples of the conditions given in the problem
➮ STEP # 2: DEVISE A PLAN (THINKING TIME)
- a. How are you going to attack the problem
- b. Think of possible strategies
Guess and check
Listing
Eliminate possibilities
Use symmetry
Consider special cases
Use direct reasoning
Solve an equation
Draw a picture
Simplify
Use a model
Work backwards
Use a formula
Look for patterns
Be ingenious and creative
➮ STEP # 3: CARRY OUT THE PLAN (INSIGHT)
- In general, all you need is care and patience, given that you have the necessary skills.
Persist with the plan that you have chosen. If it continues not to work, discard it and
choose another. Do not be misled, this is how mathematics is done, even by
professionals.
➮ STEP # 4: LOOK BACK (VERIFICATION)
- Much more can be gained by taking time to reflect and look back at what you have
done, what worked, and what did not. Doing this will enable you to predict what
strategy to use in solving future problems.
Four Main Actions Ascribed to Problem Solving and Reasoning (Schwartz & Kenney, 1995)
➮ According to the model proposed by Schwartz and Kenney at Harvard Graduate School of
Education in the year 1995, there are four actions or processes that every person go through in
solving a problem. These actions are as follows:
1. MODELLING AND FORMULATING
- Creating appropriate representations and relationships to mathematize the original
problem
2. TRANSFORMING AND MANIPULATING
- Changing the mathematical form in which a problem is originally expressed to
equivalent forms that represents solutions
3. INFERRING
- Applying derived results to the original problem situation, and interpreting and
generalizing the results in that light
4. COMMUNICATING
- Reporting what has been learned about a problem to a specified audience

SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS INVOLVING ONE VARIABLE

Solving Word Problems Involving One Variable
➮ Equation
 - A statement which expresses that the values of two mathematical expressions are
equal. This relationship is indicated by an equal sign “=“
Example :
7 + 2 = 10 -1
5x – 14 = 31
6(x + 2) = 30
Linear Equations In One Variable
➮ Linear equations in one variable are equations which can be written in the standard form
ax +b=c , where a, b, and c are real numbers and a ≠ 0
➮ Linear equations are also known as first – degree equations.
➮ Most commonly used types of word problems:
1. Number (or Digit) – Related Problems
2. Age - Related Problems
3. Work – Related Problems
4. Distance – Related Problems
5. Mixture – Related Problems
6. Geometry – Related Problems
7. Investment – Related Problems
Number (Or Digit) – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. The sum of two numbers is 50. Three times the first is 5 more than twice the second.
Find the value of the two numbers.
2. Find four consecutive even integers such that twice the third integer subtracted from
five times the first equals eighteen more than the sum of the second and fourth
integers.
3. The units digit of a two-digit number is twice the tens digit. If the digits are reversed,
the new number is nine less than twice the original number. What is the original
number?
Age – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. A mother is four times as old as her daughter Judy. Five years ago, she was seven
times as old. How old will each of them be in five years?
2. Hubert is three years older than Jodie. Find their ages last year if the sum of their
present ages is 51.
3. Aries is twice as old as Rico while Jay is 24 years younger than Aries. If half of Aries’
age six years ago was three less than one-half the sum of Rico’s age in four years and
Jay’s present age, find the age of the three boys.
Work – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. Jerry can build a garage in 3 days while Sam can build the same garage in 5 days. How
long will it take them to build the garage working together?
2. Suppose Claire and Diane can do their project in 4 days. If Claire can finish the project
alone in 6 days, how long will it take Diane to do the project if she works alone?
3. Mary can finish an embroidery work in 10 days. After working for 3 days, Maine joined
and together, they can finish the embroidery in another 4 ½ days. How many days can
Maine finish the work alone?

Motion – Related Problems

➮ Examples:
1. Two cars, 1 450 km apart are traveling towards each other. One car travels at a rate
of 60 kph and the other at 85 kph. If they started at the same time, after how many
hours will the two cars meet?
 2. Two cars leave the town at the same time and travel in opposite directions. One car
travels at a rate of 40kph and the other at 60kph. In how many hours will the two cars
be 350 km apart?
3. A passenger bus starts from Quezon City and heads for Naga City at 40kph. Two hours
later, a car leaves the same station for Naga City at 60kph. How long will it be as the
car reaches the passenger bus?
Investment – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. Gary invested 50,000 pesos, part of it at 6% and the other part at 8%. The annual
interest on the 6% investment was 480 pesos more than that from the 8% investment.
How much was invested at each rate?
2. Suppose Karen has 1 000 pesos that she have invested in an account that pays 3.5%
interest compounded quarterly. How much money will she earn after 5 years?
3. A man invested 4 000 pesos at a certain rate of interest and 7 200 pesos at 2% less
than the first rate. The yearly income from both investments is 640 pesos. Find the
rate of interest for the 4 000-peso investment.
Geometry – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. The length of a rectangular swimming pool is 2 meters more than twice its width. Find
the dimensions of the pool if its perimeter is 124 meters.
2. The measure of an angle and its complement differ by 22. Find the measure of the two
angles.
3. A right triangle has acute angles whose measures are in the ratio 1:3. Find the
measure of these acute angles.
Solution/Mixture – Related Problems
➮ Examples:
1. How much pure acid must be added to 51 L of 12% acid solution to increase the
concentration to 15%?
2. How much water should be evaporated from 10 L of a 3% salt solution to produce a
solution containing 5% salt?
3. A store owner mixes two grades of sugar. The two grades are sold at 32 pesos and 24
pesos per kilo, respectively. If after mixing the sugar, he gets 70 kilos which can be
sold at 27 pesos per kilo, how much of each kind of sugar did he mix?

RECREATIONAL MATHEMATICS
What is Recreational Mathematics?
➮ Recreational Mathematics is an umbrella referring to the collection of mathematical puzzles
and games.
➮ Problems in this field mostly do not require complex and advanced knowledge in Mathematics,
 thus, Recreational Mathematics often attracts the curiosity of non-mathematicians and inspires
them to further study and explore Mathematics
Common Examples of Recreational Mathematics Games/Puzzles
➮ Tangrams
- Tangram is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans which are
put together to form various shapes. The objective of this puzzle is to form a specific
shape (given only the outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which cannot
overlap.

➮ Reversi
- Reversi is a strategy board game played by two players on an 8x8 uncheckered board.
Players take turns placing colored disks on the board with their assigned color facing
up. During a play, any disk/s of that are in a straight line and bounded by the disk
placed by the opposing player are turned over to match the current player’s color.

Winner is determined as the player who has majority of the disk to display his/her
assigned color when the last playable square is filled.

➮ Sudoku
- Sudoku is a Japanese fun puzzle game composed of a grid consisting of several regions
to be filled with numbers so that every row, column, and region contains only one
instance of each number. The most common format is a grid of nine rows and columns
that are divided into nine smaller regions of three rows and three columns into which
the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed wherein no number must be repeated in the
same row, column, or internal regions.

➮ Rubik’s Cube
 - Rubik’s cube is a puzzle in the form of plastic cube covered with multi-colored
squares, which the player attempts to twist and turn so that all the squares on each
face are of the same color.

➮ Magic Squares
- Magic squares are squares divided into smaller squares each containing a number such
that the values in each vertical, horizontal, and diagonal row add up to the same
value.

➮ Euler Puzzle
- Euler puzzle is an example of geometric puzzle which challenges a person to trace
along all of the lines of a figure once, without lifting the pen from a paper.

This puzzle is named after Leonhard Euler, an 18th century mathematician who
devised a method of knowing whether a specific figure is possible to be done or not.
He is also known for solving the puzzle of Konigsberg Bridges

➮ KenKen Puzzle
- KenKen puzzle is an arithmetic logic puzzle invented in 2004 by Japanese Mathematics
teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto as an instruction-free method of training the brain. The
name is derived from the Japanese word ken, meaning “cleverness”.

As in Sudoku, the goal of this puzzle is to fill the grids with digits – 1 through 4 for a
4x4 grid, 1 through 5 for 5x5 grid, etc, - so that no digit appears more than once in any
row or any column. Additionally, KenKen puzzles are divided into heavily outlined
groups of cells called cages and the numbers in the cells of a cage must produce a
certain “target” number when combined using a specified mathematical operation.