Unit 4 The Nature of Mathematics

The Nature
of Mathematics
• What is Mathematics?
- is the study of pattern and structure.
• Many patterns and occurrences exist in nature, in
our world, in our life. Mathematics helps makes
sense of these patterns and occurrences.
• Mathematics is a tool to quantify, organize and

control our world, predict phenomena and make life
easier for us.
• Mathematics is fundamental to the physical and
biological sciences, engineering and information
technology, to economics and increasingly to the
social sciences.
Looking at simple things
deeply, fi nd ing a pattern, and
using the pattern to gain new
insights
provides great value.
Fibonacci: Leonardo Pisano

An Italian mathematician from the Republic of Pisa, who is
considered to be "the most talented Western mathematician
of the Middle Ages".
Sequences of Numbers
• The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2,

3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...
• The next number is found by adding up the two
numbers before it.
• The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1).
• The 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2).
• And the 5 is (2+3).
• and so on!
The Fibonacci Sequence
1; 1; 2; 3; 5; 8; 13; 21; 34; 55; 89; 144; 233; 377; 610; 987;
1597; 2584; 4181; 6765; 10946; 17711; 28657; 46368;
75025; 121393; 196418; 317811; 514229; 832040; 1346269;
2178309; 3524578; 5702887; 9227465; 14930352; ...
The fi rst 2 numbers are 1 and subsequent numbers

are obtained by adding the previous two numbers.
• the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
• usually rounded off to 1.618.
• Golden mean, the Golden section, divine proportion.
• can be seen in the architecture of many ancient creations,

like the Great Pyramids and the Parthenon.
The Golden ratio also appears in all forms of nature
and science. Some unexpected places include:
Flower petals:
• The number of petals on some
flowers follows the Fibonacci
sequence. It is believed that in
the Darwinian processes, each
petal is placed to allow for the
best possible exposure to
sunlight and other factors.
Seed heads
• The seeds of a flower are often
produced at the center and
migrate outward to fill the space.
For example, sunflowers follow
this pattern.
Pinecones
• The spiral pattern of the seed
pods spiral upward in opposite
directions. The number of steps
the spirals take tend to match
Fibonacci numbers.
Tree branches
• The way tree branches form or split is an example oof
the Fibonacci sequence. Root systems and algae exhibit
this formation pattern.
Shells
• Many shells, including snail shells
and nautilus shells, are perfect
examples of the Golden spiral.
Spiral galaxies
• The Milky Way has a number of
spiral arms, each of which has a
logarithmic spiral of roughly 12
degrees. The shape of the spiral
is identical to the Golden spiral,
and the Golden rectangle can be
drawn over any spiral galaxy.
Hurricanes
• Much like shells, hurricanes often display the Golden spiral.
DNA molecules
• A DNA molecule measures 3 4
angstroms by 21 angstroms at
each full cycle of the double
helix spiral. In the Fibonacci
series, 34 and 21 are
successive numbers.
Animal bodies
• The measurement of the human
navel to the floor and the top of
the head to the navel is the
Golden ratio. But we are not the
only examples of the Golden
ratio in the animal kingdom;
dolphins, starfish, sand dollars,
sea urchins, ants and honeybees
also exhibit the proportion.
Fingers
• The length of our fingers, each
section from the tip of the base
to the wrist is larger than the
preceeding one by roughly the
ratio of phi.
Golden Ratio in Arts
The golden ratio can be used to achieve beauty, balance and
harmony in art, architecture and design. It can be used as a tool in art
and design to achieve ballance in the composition.
1. The exterior dimension of the Pathernon in Arhens, Greece

embodies the golden ratio.
2. In “Timaeus” Plato describes five possible regular solids that
relate to the golden ratio which is now known as Platonic Solids.
He also considers the golden ratio to be the most bringing of all
mathematical relationships.
3. Euclid was the first to give definition
of the golden ratio as “a dividing line in
the extreme and mean ratio” in his book
the “ Elements” . He proved the link of the
numbers to the construction of the
pentagram, which is now known as
golden ratio. Each intersections to the
other edges of a pentagram is a golden
ratio. Also the ratio of the length of the
shorter segment to the segment
bounded by the two intersecting is a
golden ratio.
4. Leonardo da Vinci was into many interests such as invention, painting,
sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering,
literature, anatomy, geology, botany, writing, history and cartography. He
used the golden ratio to defi ne the fundamental portions in his works.
He incorporated the golden ratio in his own paintings such as the
Vitruvian Man, The Last Supper, Monal isa and St. Jerome in the
Wilderness.
5. Michael angelo di Lodovico Simon
was considered the 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
sshowing how God’s fi nger and
Adam’s fi nger meet precisely at the
golden ratio point of the weight and
the height of the area that contains
them.

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Unit 4 The Nature of Mathematics

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The Nature

• Mathematics is a tool to quantify, organize and

Fibonacci: Leonardo Pisano

• The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2,

The ﬁ rst 2 numbers are 1 and subsequent numbers

• usually rounded off to 1.618.

• Golden mean, the Golden section, divine proportion.

• can be seen in the architecture of many ancient creations,

1. The exterior dimension of the Pathernon in Arhens, Greece

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