PATTERNS
Mr. Melvin M. Ledesma
Mathematics in the
Modern World
MATHMOD Instructor
PATTERNS
• Patterns in nature are visible regularities of form found
in the natural world. These patterns recur in different
contexts and can sometimes be modelled
mathematically.
• Natural patterns include sequences, symmetries,
fractals, spirals, meanders, waves, foams, tessellations,
cracks, and stripes.
Some Mathematical Patterns in Nature
• Sequence
• Symmetry
• Fractals
• Tessellation
• Concentric Circles in Nature
A. Sequence
Definition: An enumerated collection of
objects in which repetitions are
allowed and order matters.
• One of the most well-known type of
sequence that mostly occurs in nature is the
Fibonacci sequence.
A. Sequence
The Fibonacci Sequence
“A certain man put a pair of rabbits in a place
surrounded by a wall. How many pairs of
rabbits can be produced from that pair in six
months if it is supposed that every month each
pair begets a new pair which from the second
month on becomes productive?”
A. Sequence
The Fibonacci Sequence
The figure below shows the number of
pairs of rabbits on the first day of each
of the first six months. The larger the
rabbits represent mature rabbits that
produce another pair of rabbits each
month. It will produce a sequence of 1,
1, 2, 3, 5, 8 which is the first 6 terms of a
Fibonacci sequence.
A. Sequence
The Fibonacci Sequence
• The list is named after Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (also
Leonardo Fibonacci), an Italian mathematician who
wrote the book Liber Abaci in 1202.
• The book contained a problem that concerns the birth
rate of rabbits. It is this problem which rise to the
Fibonacci numbers.
A. Sequence
The Fibonacci Sequence
• The list is named after Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (also
Leonardo Fibonacci), an Italian mathematician who
wrote the book Liber Abaci in 1202.
• The book contained a problem that concerns the birth
rate of rabbits. It is this problem which rise to the
Fibonacci numbers.
A. Sequence
• What’s remarkable is that the numbers in the
sequence are often seen in nature.
• A few examples include the number of spirals in a
pinecone, pineapple or seeds in a sunflower, or the
number of petals on a flower.
• The numbers in this sequence also form a unique
shape known as a Fibonacci spiral which we see in
nature in the form of shells and the shape of
hurricanes/typhoon/storm.
A. Sequence
The Golden Ratio
• Note that the ratios of
successive Fibonacci
numbers approach the
number Φ (Phi), also
known as the Golden Ratio.
This approximately equal to
1.618 and equal to the
1+ 5
irrational number
2
.
A. Sequence
• The Golden Ratio
• Fibonacci numbers
are intimately
connected with
the golden ratio.
A. Sequence
The Golden Ratio
• The Golden ratio is visible in
many works of art and
architecture such as in the
Mona Lisa, the Notre Dame
Cathedral, and the
Parthenon. In fact, the human
DNA molecule also contains
Fibonacci numbers.
A. Sequence
The Golden Ratio in YOU
You can find several instances in
your own body that approximate
𝜙 (phi).
• The lengths of your finger joints
• The distance from the floor to your navel
relative to
• your height
• Front two incisors height to width
• Ratio of forearm and hand length
A. Sequence
Fibonacci in Nature
I. Flower Petals
• Lilies and iris have 3 petals;
buttercups have 5 petals; some
delphiniums have 8; corn
marigolds have 13 petals; some
asters have 21 whereas daisies
can be found with 34, 55 or
even 89 petals.
A. Sequence
Fibonacci in Nature
II. Seed Heads
• Counting along the spirals of
seed heads normally leads to a
Fibonacci number.
A. Sequence
Fibonacci in Nature
III. Pine Cones
• Pine cone scales are also
normally arranged in a
Fibonacci spiral
A. Sequence
B. Symmetry
• Symmetry in everyday
language refers to a
sense of harmonious and
beautiful proportion and
balance. Symmetry
occurs when two or
more parts are identical
after a flip, slide or turn.
B. Symmetry
Types of Symmetry
• Reflection – (or a flip) can be thought of as
getting a mirror image. It has a line of
reflection or mirror line where the distance
between the image and the mirror line is
the same as that between the original figure
and the mirror line. The line of symmetry is
any line that divides the figure into two
congruent parts. This line is unmoved by
the reflection. This is called as Line of or
bilateral Symmetry or “Mirror Symmetry”.
B. Symmetry
Types of Symmetry
• Translation – (or slide) moves a
shape in each direction by sliding it
up, down, sideways, or diagonally.
B. Symmetry
Types of Symmetry
• Rotation – (or a turn) has a point
about which the rotation is made
and an angle that says how far to
rotate. The rotation is completely
determined by its center and angle
of rotation. When an image is
rotated (around a central point) it
appears 2 or more times (order).
360°
Angle of Rotation=
𝑛
B. Symmetry
Types of Symmetry
• Dilation – a transformation which
changes the size of an object.
C. Fractals
A fractal is a self-similar,
repeating shape, meaning the
same basic shape is seen again
and again in the shape itself. In
other words, if you were to
zoom in or zoom out, the same
shape is seen throughout.
• Fractals make-up many aspects of our
world, included the leaves of ferns, tree
branches, the branching of neurons in
our brain, waterfalls and coastlines.
C. Fractals
A fractal processes the
following characteristics:
• self-similarity
• fractional dimension
• formation by iteration
C. Fractals
Self-Similarity
• Geometric figures are similar if
they have the same shape. Self-
similar objects appear the same
under magnification. They are,
in some fashion, composed of
smaller copies of themselves.
C. Fractals
Iterative Formation
• This self-similar behavior can be
replicated through recursion:
repeating a process over and over.
• Each smaller triangle formed in the
Sierpinski triangle is an iteration of
the base equilateral triangle.
C. Fractals
Fractional Dimension
• Notice that each step of the Sierpinski gasket
iteration removes one-quarter of the remaining area.
If this process continued indefinitely, we would end
up essentially removing all the area, meaning we
started with a 2 −dimensional area, and somehow
end up with something less than that, but seemingly
more than just a 1 −dimensional line.
C. Fractals
D. Tessellation
• A tessellation or tiling of a
flat surface is the covering
of a plane using one or
more geometric shapes,
called tiles, with no overlaps
and no gaps. Or a pattern of
polygons fitted together to
cover an entire plane
without over lapping.
D. Tessellation
Regular Tessellations
• A regular
tessellation is a
pattern made by
repeating a regular
and congruent
polygon, with
common vertices.
D. Tessellation
Regular Tessellations
• A regular
tessellation is a
pattern made by
repeating a regular
and congruent
polygon, with
common vertices.
D. Tessellation
Semi-regular
Tessellations
• A semi-regular tessellation
is made of two or more
regular polygons. The
pattern at each vertex
must be the same.
• There are only 8 semi-
regular tessellations:
D. Tessellation
D. Tessellation
D. Tessellation
Hexagons in Nature
• The most common example
of nature using hexagons is in
a beehive. Bees build their
hives using tessellation of
hexagons.
• We also see hexagons in the
bubbles that make up a raft
bubble. Although we usually
think of bubbles round, when Cells of honeycombs in the shape of hexagons allow bees to
many bubbles get pushed store the largest quantity of honey given a limited amount of
together on the surface of beeswax. These geometric patterns are not only simple and
water, they take the shape of beautiful, but also optimally functional.
hexagons.
D. Tessellation
Optimization
• It is a field of mathematical
investigation used to aid decision
making in business and industrial
engineering.
• The goal of optimization is to Pappus of Alexandria (last Ancient Greek Mathematician)
maximize (or minimize) the pointed out that triangles, squares, and hexagons are the three
regular polygons that can tile a plane without gaps.
quantity of an output, while at
the same time minimizing the For choosing the design of hexagons, honeybees seemed imbued
quantity of resources needed to with natural wisdom, because it is the polygon that which holds
produce it. the largest quantity of honey given a limited amount of beeswax.
E. Concentric Circles in Nature
• Concentric means the circles all share
the same center but have different radii.
The region between two concentric
circles of different radii is called an
annulus. This means the circles are all
different sizes, one inside the other. The
common example is in the ripples of a
pond when something hits the surface
of the water. But we also see concentric
circles in the layers of an onion and the
rings of trees that form as it grows and
ages.
OPTION
Final Output for PATTERNS
A
• Cite ONE sample of EACH of the following patterns found in nature
(other than the one shown in the presentation):
• Sequence
• Symmetry
• Fractals
• Tessellation
• Concentric Circles
• Discuss shortly each cited sample.
• Put your final output in your activity book.
OPTION
Final Output for PATTERNS
B
• Create an ARTWORK showing one of the
kinds of PATTERNS provided in the
presentation.
• Use the created artwork to cover your
Activity Book.
• You may use your any type of materials.
