PATTERNS &

NUMBERS IN
NATURE
 PATTERNS
■ are visible regularities of form found in the
natural world
■ recur in different contexts and can sometimes
be modeled mathematically
■ include symmetries, fractals, spirals,
meanders, waves, foams, tessellations, cracks,
and stripes
■ Studying patterns allows one to watch, guess,
create, and discover
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 SYMMETRY
■ something that repeats again and again
■ the math of symmetry can describe what this
repetition may look like and as well as why
some objects seem more orderly and
organized than others
■ symmetry is the fundamental “language” of
patterns.

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 REFLECTION/BILATERAL
SYMMETRY
■ is the simplest kind of symmetry
■ a shape can be folded in half so that one half
fits exactly on top of the other
■ the fold is called a line of symmetry, which
may be in any direction, divides the shape into
two equal parts
■ Bilateral-symmetric objects have at least
one line or axis of symmetry

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 RADIAL SYMMETRY
■ is rotational symmetry around a fixed point
known as the center
■ an equilateral triangle and circles are examples
■ radial symmetry can be found both in natural
and human made objects

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SYMMETRIC PATTERNS
■ ROSETTE PATTERNS (those that repeat in no
direction),
■ FRIEZE PATTERNS (those that repeat in
exactly one direction) and
■ WALLPAPER PATTERNS (those that repeat in
more than one direction).

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 ROSETTE PATTERNS
■ consist of taking motif or an element and
rotating and/or reflecting that element
■ there are two types of rosette patterns
namely cyclic and dihedral
■ cyclic if it only admits rotational
symmetries; dihedral if it admits both
rotational symmetries and bilateral or
reflectional symmetries

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 FRIEZE PATTERNS
■ a pattern in which a basic motif repeats
itself over and over in one direction
■ it extends to the left and right in a way
that the pattern can be mapped onto
itself by a horizontal translation
■ we can usually find these patterns in
unique places like on the walls of
buildings, fabrics, borders of rugs and
tiled floor
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WALLPAPER PATTERNS
■ a pattern with translation symmetry in
two directions
■ essentially an arrangement of friezes
stacked upon one another to fill the
entire plane
■ made up of a combination of the
following symmetries; reflection, rotation
and glide reflection

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WALLPAPER PATTERNS
■ According to Nocon (2016), in order for a
plane figure to be considered a wallpaper
pattern, it must have at least the basic
unit, one copy by translation, and a copy
of these two by translation in the second
direction. There must be at least two
rows, each one of at least two units long.

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 TESSELATIONS
■ a tessellation or tiling is a repeating pattern of
figures that covers a plane with no gaps or
overlaps
■ it is just like a wallpaper group in which
patterns are created by repeating a shape to
fill the plane
■ can be created with translations, rotations, and
reflections
■ can be seen in nature, arts and everyday life
(i.e. pavements, snake skin, turtle shell and
a honeycomb) 19
FIBONACCI
NUMBERS
 FIBONACCI NUMBERS
A calla lily flower has only 1 petal, euphorbia has 2, trillium
has 3, hibiscus has 5, cosmos flower has 8, corn marigold has
13, some asters have 21, and a sunflower can have 34, 55, or
89 petals. Surprisingly, these petal counts represent the first
ten numbers of the Fibonacci sequence.

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GOLDEN RATIO

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 PINECONES, SPEED HEADS,
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
■ Spiral patterns curving from left and right can be
seen at the array of seeds in the center of a
sunflower. The sum of these spirals when counted will
be a Fibonacci number. You will get two consecutive
Fibonacci numbers if you divide the spirals into those
pointed left and right
■ The seed pods on a pinecone are also arranged in a
spiral pattern. Each cone consists of a pair of spirals,
each one spiraling upwards in opposing directions.
Spiral patterns can also be deciphered in cauliflower
and pineapples. 23
 FLOWERS AND
BRANCHES
Some plants exhibit the Fibonacci sequence in their growth points, on
the places where tree branches form or split. A trunk grows until it
produces a branch, resulting in two growth points. The main trunk then
produces another branch, resulting in three growth points and then the
trunk and the first branch produce two more growth points, bringing
the total to five as illustrated on the image below.

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 HONEYBEES
The family tree of a honey bee perfectly resembles the Fibonacci
sequence. A honeybee colony consists of a queen, a few drones and
lots of workers.

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 THE HUMAN BODY

The human body has many elements that show the

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 GEOGRAPHY, WEATHER AND
GALAXIES
Fibonacci numbers and the relationships between these
numbers are evident in spiral galaxies, sea wave curves
and in the patterns of stream and drainages. Weather
patterns, such as hurricanes and whirlpools sometimes
closely resemble the Golden Spiral. The milky way
galaxy and some other galaxies have spiral patterns.
Planets of our solar system and their orbital periods are
closely related to the golden ratio.

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 ARCHITECTURE
The Great Pyramid of Giza: The Great
Pyramid of Giza built around 2560 BC is
one of the earliest examples of the use
of the golden ratio. The length of each
side of the base is 756 feet, and the
height is 481 feet. So, we can find that
the ratio of the base to height is
756/481 = 1:1.5717
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 ARTS
Mona-Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci:
It is believed that Leonardo, as a mathematician tried to
incorporate of mathematics into art. This painting seems to be
made purposefully line up with golden rectangle.

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FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
■ was invented by the Italian
Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (1180-
1250), who is known in
mathematical history by several
names: Leonardo of Pisa (Pisano
means “from Pisa”) and Fibonacci
(which means “son of Bonacci”)
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FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
■ start by defining F1 = 1 and F2 = 1.
For n > 2, we define Fn := Fn−1 + Fn−2:
■ the sequence F1; F2; F3; : : : is then the
Fibonacci sequence
■ such a definition is called a recursive definition
because it starts by defining some initial
values and defines the next term as a function
of the previous terms.

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FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
■ let x1 = 1 be the first term, and x2 = 1 be the second term,
the third term x3 is found by x3 = x1 + x2 = 1 + 1 = 2
■ the fourth term x4 is 2 + 1 = 3, the sum of the third and
the second term
■ to find the new nth Fibonacci number, simply add the two
numbers immediately preceding this nth number.
n = 3: x3 = 1 + 1 = 2 n = 6: x6 = 3 + 5 = 8 n=
9: x9 = 13 + 21 = 34
n = 4: x4 = 1 + 2 = 3 n = 7: x7 = 5 + 8 = 13
n = 5: x5 = 2 + 3 = 5 n = 8: x8 = 8 + 13 = 21

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THANK YOU
AND
GOD BLESS!