MATHEMATICS IN THE

MODERN WORLD
 Lesson 2: Patterns
present in our nature
 Patterns and Numbers in Nature
and the World
The mathematics in our world is rooted in
patterns. Patterns are all around us.
With
patterns, we can discover and understand
new things; we learn to predict and
ultimately control the future for our own
advantage.
 A pattern is a structure, form, or design that
is regular, consistent, or recurring.
Patterns can be found in nature, in human-
made designs, or in abstract ideas. They
occur in different contexts and various forms.
Because patterns are repetitive and
duplicative, their underlying structure
regularities can be modelled
mathematically.
 In general sense, any regularity that can be
explained
mathematically is a pattern. Thus, an
investigation of nature’s patterns is an
investigation of nature’s numbers. This
means that the relationships can be
observed, that logical connections can be
established, that generalizations can be
inferred, that future events can be predicted,
and that control can possibly be
possible.
Different Kinds of Pattern
• Patterns of Visuals
• Patterns of Flow
• Patterns of Movement
• Patterns of Rhythm
• Patterns of Texture
• Geometric Patterns
 Patterns of Visuals.
Visual patterns are often unpredictable,
never quite repeatable, and often contain
fractals. These patterns are can be seen
from the
seeds and pinecones to the branches and
leaves. They are also visible in self-
similar replication of trees, ferns, and
plants throughout nature.
 Patterns of Flow.
The flow of liquids provides an
inexhaustible supply of nature’s
patterns. Patterns of flow are usually
found in the water, stone, and even in the
growth of trees. There is also a flow
pattern present in meandering rivers
with the
repetition of undulating lines.
 Patterns of Movement.
In the human walk, the feet strike the ground
in a regular rhythm: the left-right-left-right-
left rhythm. When a horse, a four-legged
creature walks, there is more of a complex
but equally rhythmic pattern. This prevalence
of pattern in locomotion extends to the
scuttling of insects, the flights of birds, the
pulsations of jellyfish, and also the wave-like
movements of fish, worms, and
 Patterns of Rhythm.
Rhythm is conceivably the most basic pattern
in nature. Our
hearts and lungs follow a regular repeated
pattern of sounds or movement whose
timing is adapted to our body’s needs. Many
of nature’s rhythms are most likely similar to
a heartbeat, while others are like breathing.
The beating of the heart, as
well as breathing, have a default pattern.
 Patterns of Texture.
A texture is a quality of a certain object
that we sense through
touch. It exists as a literal surface that we
can feel, see, and imagine. Textures are
of many kinds. It can be bristly, and
rough, but it can also be smooth, cold,
and
hard.
 Geometric Patterns.
A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern which
consists of a
series of shapes that are typically repeated.
These are regularities in the natural
world that are repeated in a predictable
manner. Geometrical patterns are usually
visible on cacti and succulents.
 Patterns Found In Nature
Common patterns appear in nature, just
like what we see when we look closely
at plants, flowers, animals, and even at
our bodies. These common patterns are
all incorporated in many natural things.
Waves and Dunes
 Spots and Stripes
 Spirals
  Symmetries
In mathematics, if a figure can be folded or divided into
two with two halves which are the same, such figure is
called a symmetric figure. Symmetry has a vital role in
pattern formation. It is used to classify and organize
information about patterns by classifying the motion or
deformation of both pattern structures and processes.
There are many kinds of symmetry, and the most
important ones are reflections, rotations, and translations.
These kinds of symmetries are less formally called flips,
turns, and slides.
  Reflection symmetry
sometimes called line symmetry or mirror symmetry,
captures symmetries when the left half of a pattern is the same as the
right half.
  Rotations
-also known as rotational symmetry,
captures symmetries when it still
looks the same after some rotation (of
less than one full turn). The degree of
rotational symmetry of an object is
recognized by the number of distinct
orientations in which it looks the same
for each rotation.
  Translations
This is another type of symmetry.
Translational symmetry exists in
patterns that we see in nature
and in man-made objects.
Translations acquire
symmetries when units are
repeated and turn out having
identical figures, like the
bees’ honeycomb with hexagonal
tiles.
 Symmetries in Nature
From the structure of subatomic particles
to that of the entire universe, symmetry
is present. The presence of symmetries in
nature does not only attract our visual
sense, but also plays an integral and
prominent role in the way our life works.
 Human Body Animal Movement
The human body is one of the pieces The symmetry of motion is present in
of evidence that there is symmetry in animal movements. When animals move,
nature. Our body exhibits bilateral we can see that their movements also
symmetry. It can be divided into two exhibit symmetry.
identical halves.
 Sunflower Snowflakes
One of the most interesting things about Snowflakes have six-fold radial
a sunflower is that it contains both radial symmetry. The ice crystals that
and bilateral symmetry. What appears make-up the snowflakes are
to be "petals" in the outer ring are symmetrical or patterned. The
actually small flowers also known as ray intricate shape of a single arm of a
florets. These small flowers are snowflake is very much similar to
bilaterally symmetrical. On the other the other arms. This only proves
hand, the dark inner ring of the that symmetry is present in a
sunflower is a cluster of radially snowflake.
symmetrical disk florets.
 Honeycombs/Beehive
Honeycombs or beehives are examples
of wallpaper symmetry. This kind of
symmetry is created when a pattern is
repeated until it covers a plane.
Beehives
are made of walls with each side having
the same size enclosed with small
hexagonal cells. Inside these cells,
honey
and pollen are stored and bees are
raised.
 Starfish
Starfish have a radial fivefold
symmetry. Each arm portion of the
starfish is
identical to each of the other regions.
 Fibonacci in Nature
By learning about nature, it becomes gradually evident that
the nature is essentially mathematical, and this is one of
the reasons why explaining nature is dependent
on mathematics.
Mathematics has the power to unveil the inherent beauty
of the natural world.
In describing the amazing variety of phenomena
in nature we stumble to discover
the existence of Fibonacci numbers. It turns out
that the Fibonacci numbers appear
from the smallest up to the biggest objects in the
natural world. This presence of
This presence of Fibonacci numbers in nature,
which was once existed realm mathematician’s
curiously, is considered as one of the biggest
mysteries why the some patterns in
nature is Fibonacci. But one thing is definitely
made certain, and that what seemed
solely mathematical is also natural.
 For instance, many flowers display figures
adorned with numbers of petals that are
in the Fibonacci sequence. The classic five-petal
flowers are said to be the most common among
them. These include the buttercup, columbine,
and hibiscus
 Aside
from those flowers with five petals,
eight-petal flowers like clematis and
delphinium also have the Fibonacci
numbers, while ragwort and marigold
have thirteen. These numbers are all
Fibonacci numbers.
 Apart from the counts of flower petals, the Fibonacci also occurs in
nautilus shells
with a logarithmic spiral growth. Multiple Fibonacci spirals are also
present in
pineapples and red cabbages. The patterns are all consistent and natural.