Sei sulla pagina 1di 9

Mathematics in the Modern World

Nature of Mathematics

 Mathematics – science that deals with the logic of shape, quantity and arrangement (patterns)
o All around us, in everything we do
 In nature
 In our daily routine
 In our world
 In people and communities
 In events
o Building block for everything in our daily lives (mobile devices, architecture, art, money)
o What is mathematics for
 Helps us unravel the puzzles of nature (a useful way to think about nature)
 Organizes patterns, regularities and irregularities
 Helps in predicting
 Helps us control weather, epidemics
 Provides tools for calculations
 Provides new questions to think about
o Numbers, symbols, notations
o Operations, equations, and fucntions
o Processes and “thingification” of processes
o Proof – a story rather than a sequence of statements
o how is mathematics done
 with curiosity
 with a penchant for seeking patterns and generalities
 with a desire to know the truth
 with trial and error
 without fear of facing more questions and problems to solve
 with tenacity (willingness to keep working)
o who uses mathematics
 mathematicians – pure and applied
 scientists – natural and social
 everyone - differently
 Numbers – the heart of mathematics
o Concept of numbers – started with simple counting method using scratches on pieces of wood
or bone or using objects as counters
 Later symbolized as numbers (1,2,3…) that we use today
Patterns and Numbers in Nature and the World

 Patterns – regular, repeated, or recurring forms or designs


o Help in identifying relationships and finding logical connections to form generalizations and
make predictions
 Symmetry – indicates that you can draw an imaginary line across an object and the resulting parts are
mirror images of each other
o Line/Bilateral symmetry – evident in most animals, even humans
 The division in two mirror images
o Types of symmetry (based on the number of symmetrical sides)
 Three-fold symmetry – spiderwort (flower)
 Five-fold symmetry – starfish
 Rotation symmetry – if you rotate an object (by several degrees) and then still have the
same symmetrical sides
 Angle of rotation – smallest angle that a figure can be rotated while still
preserving the original formation
o 120degrees – spiderwort
o 72degrees – starfish
o Formula: 360degrees / n (n = number of symmetrical sides)
 Fractals – objects whose smaller parts look similar to the bigger part
o Snowflakes – formed water molecules which are suspended in dust particles in freezing
temperature
 No two snowflakes are the same
o Self – similarity – repetition of shape at the miniscule level
 Lightning
 Root system of plant
 Veins and nerve system of the human body
 Ferns
 Mountain
 Clouds
o Honeycombs – whose cells are in the shape of hexagon allow bees to store the largest
quantity of honey given a limited amount of beeswax
o Morphogens – the two substances behind the patterns of stripes of tigers and zebras, spots on
hyenas and other coloration and patterns visible on the skins of animals
 Named by Allan Turing - famous mathematician credited for breaking Nazi Enigma
code in WWII
 World population Formula: A = Pert
A = size of the population after it grows
P = initial number of people
r = rate of growth
t = time
The Fibonacci sequence

 Leonardo Bonacci
o Known as Fibonacci, Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, Leonardo Fibonacci
o Most talented mathematician of the middle ages
o Born (1170) and died (1250) at Pisa, Italy
o Liber abaci – written in 1202
 Describe the mathematics he learned
 If 2 new rabbits are put in a pen, how many rabbits will be in the pen after one year
 144 pairs
 Sequence – ordered list of numbers called terms that may have repeated values
o Fibonacci sequence – series of numbers where a number is found by adding up the two
numbers before it
 Denoted by Fn with 1 as the first term
 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, …
 Binet formula:
𝒏 𝒏
𝟏 𝟏+ √𝟓 𝟏 − √𝟓
 𝑭𝒏 = [( ) − ( ) ]
√𝟓 𝟐 𝟐
 Simplified
𝒏
𝟏 𝟏+ √𝟓
o 𝑭𝒏 = [( ) ]
√𝟓 𝟐
Patterns and regularities in the world
Mathematics as predictor to behaviour of nature and phenomena in the world
Mathematics in nature and occurrences in the world
Numerous applications of mathematics

 Golden ratio – 1.618


o Ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers approach the number φ (phi) and approximately equal
to 1.618

o Markowsky (1992) – “the ratio of a person’s height to the height of his/her navel is roughly the
golden ratio
o Ratio between the forearm and the hand also yields a value close to the golden ratio

o Divine proportion – another name for golden ratio


o Golden ratio proportions in human face are as follows:
 Center of pupil : bottom of teeth : bottom of chin
 Outer and inner edge of eye : center of nose
 Outer edges of lips : upper ridges of lips
 Width of center tooth : with of second tooth
 Width of eye : width of iris
𝟏+ √𝟓
o 𝝋= = 1.6180339887…
𝟐
o Denoted by φ
o Sometimes called the golden mean or golden section
o The ratio between two numbers which is just the same as the ratio between the sum and the
larger of the two numbers
o Geometrically – can be visualize as a rectangle perfectly formed by a square and another
rectangle, which can be repeated infinitely inside each section
 Golden Rectangle
o Ratio of length to width of rectangles of 1.61803 39887 49484 84820 has been considered the
most pleasing to the eye
o Named as the golden ratio by the Greeks
o In the world of mathematics, the numeric value is phi (φ)
 Named after the great sculptor Phidias
o If a rectangle is cut into a square and a rectangle, the resulting rectangle will be similar in shape
to the larger/original rectangle
o 1+x:1
 x = non-ending decimal whose value can be calculated in a number of ways
 x=1/1+x
Mathematical Language and Symbols
Characteristics of Mathematical Language

 Precise – able to make very fine distinctions of definitions among a set of mathematical symbols
 Concise – can express long expositions or sentences briefly using the language of mathematics
 Powerful – express complex thoughts with relative ease
Expressions vs. Sentences

 Mathematical Expressions and Sentences


o Expression – mathematical analogue of a “noun”
 Name given to a mathematical object of interest
 Correct arrangement of mathematical symbols used to represent a mathematical object
of interest
 Does not state a complete thought
o Sentence – mathematical analogue of a “sentence”
 Like an English sentence – must state a complete thought
 Correct arrangement of mathematical symbols that state a complete thought
o

 Synonyms: Different Names for the Same Object


o 2 + 3, 10 / 2, (6 – 2) + 1, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 all look different
 But all are just different names for the same number
 Ideas Regarding Sentences
o Sentence have verbs
 = / equals / equal to / equal sign
 Most popular mathematical verb
o Truth of sentences
 Sentences can be true or false
 Notion of truth (the property of being true or false) – of fundamental importance in
the mathematical language
 Vocabulary and Grammar of the Language of Mathematics
o The following summarizes the commonly used vocabulary and grammatical rules in
mathematics
Mathematical Conventions

 There are several mathematical conventions


o Written to shorten a sentence
o ⊆ - subset
 A ⊆ B – every element of A is also an element of B
o ⊇ - superset
 A ⊇ B – every element of B is also an element of A
o Ɐ - upside down A – “for all”
 Ɐx, P(x) means P(x) is true for all x
o Ǝ - (backward E) – there exists
 Ǝx : P(x) – these is at least one x such that P(x) is true
o ϵ - (epsilon)
 an element of
 in
 belongs to
 a ϵ S means a is an element of the set S
o ϶ - backward epsilon
 Such that
o ∴ - three dots triangle, point up
 Therefore
 Thus
o ∵ - three dots triangle, point down
 Because
 Due to
o Ø – set with no elements or a null set
 Quantifiers – used to describe the variable(s) in a statement
o Universal quantifier – written in the English language as “for all” of “for every”
 Denoted by Ɐ
o Existential quantifier – expressed in words as “there exists” or “for some”
 Denoted by Ǝ
o Compound Quantifiers
 When one quantity is involved in a statement
 Common to have more than one quantifier
 Take note of the order of the quantifiers however if the same quantifier is used,
order does not matter anymore

 Ɐx ϵ R, Ǝy ϵ R, y > x
 true
 For any number of x, there is a y greater than x
 If x = 3, that y may take 4 or 6
 Ǝx ϵ R, Ɐy ϵ R, y > x
 False
 There is a number y that cannot be greater than all number x
 If y = 6, then it is true for x = 5 but not for x = 8
Four Basic concepts: sets, functions, relations, binary operations

 Sets – well-defined collection of objects or things


o Members / elements – the objects of a set
o Well-defined – possible to determine whether or not an object belongs to a given set
o Denoted by E or ϵ
o a ϵ S – a is an element of a set of S
o a ∈ S – a is not an element of a set of S
 null set – a set which contains no element
 denoted by { } or Ø
 {Ø} – not an empty set
o Contains one element – the empty set
o Two ways of describing a set
 Tabular or roster form – elements are listed down and separated by commas and
enclosed in a pair of braces
 {1,2,3,4}
 x + 5 = -1, thus, {-6} = x
 Rule form or Set Builder Notation – enclosing within braces a descriptive phrase and
agreeing that those elements and only those which have the described property are
objects or elements of the set
 The set of integers greater than -3
o Rule form: {x | x ϵ Z and x > -3}
 The set of whole numbers less than 1000
o Rule form: {x | x ϵ W and x < 1000}
 Relations vs. Functions
o Relation – rule that relates values from a set of values (domain) to a second set of values
(range)
 Elements of domain – input to a machine to generate one or more outputs
 A set of ordered pairs (x,y)
o Function – relation where each element in the domain is related only one value in the rangeby
some rule
 Elements of domain – input to a machine wherein that input corresponds to only one
output
 Set of ordered pairs (x,y) – no two ordered pairs have the same x-value but different y-
values
 Represented by the equation y = f(x)
 y – dependent variable
 x – independent variable
 Function Represented by a Set of Ordered Pairs
 Set of ordered pairs – represent a function if no two ordered pairs have the same
first coordinate
 Function Represented by an Equation
 The equation should show that for all possible values of x, there corresponds
unique value of y or f(x)
 Function Represented by a Graph
 Vertical Line Test – a vertical line will intersect the graph in one and only one
point
 Binary Operations – take two values, and include the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication
division, and exponentiation
o There are many binary operations on real numbers
o Takes two real numbers as arguments to produce another real number
o Properties of Binary Operations (two binary operations, addition and multiplication, set
of real numbers)
 Closure of Binary Operations – product and sum of any two real numbers is also a
real number
 Ɐx, y ϵ R, x + y ϵ R and x * y ϵ R
 Commutativity of Binary Operations – addition and multiplication of any two real
numbers is commutative
 Ɐx, y ϵ R, x + y = y + x
 Ɐx, y ϵ R, x * y = y * x
 Associativity of Binary Operations – any three real numbers you may take any two
and perform addition or multiplication will result to the same answer
 Ɐx, y, z ϵ R, (x + y) + z = x + (y + z)
 Ɐx, y, z ϵ R, (x * y) * z = x * (y * z)
 Distributivity of Binary Operations – multiplication is performed on a group of two
numbers added or subtracted together
 Ɐx, y, z ϵ R, z(x ± y) = zx + zy
 Addition is not distributive over multiplication
 Identity Elements of Binary Operations – there exist two distinct real numbers 0
(additive identity) and 1 (multiplicative identity)
 x+0=0+x=x
 x(1) = 1(x) = x
 Inverses of Binary Operations
 Additive inverse of x - For every real number x, there exists a real number –x
o x + (-x) = (-x) + x = 0
 Multiplicative inverse of x – for every real number x, except 0, there exists x-1
o x(x-1) = (x-1)x = 1
Some Fundamentals Logic

 Statement or Preposition – declarative sentence with the fundamental property that is either true or
false but not both simultaneously
o Notation
 Truth value – truthfulness or falsity of a statement
 Generally, (p, q, r) denote mathematical statements and either (T,F) denote their truth
value
o Compound Statements
 Logical connectives – combine one or more simple statements
 and, or, not, if
 forming compound sentences
 Component statements – single statements that make up the compound
statement
 Three Basic Logical Operations/Connectives
 Conjunction – and
o Denoted by Ʌ
 Disjunction – or
o Denoted by V
 Negation - not
o Can be formed by writing “it is not the case that…” or “it is false that…”
before the statement
o Denoted by ~
 Truth Table – shows all possible combinations of truth values for the component statements, as well as
the corresponding truth value for the compound statement under consideration
p q pɅq pVq ~p ~q
T T T T F F
T F F T F T
F T F T T F
F F F F T T

 Equivalent statements – two statements which have the same truth value in every possible situation
o written with a three bar symbol (three horizontal lines) =
o the last columns of each truth table to be completed will be exactly the same for equivalent
statements
 De Morgan’s Law
o For any statements p and q,
 ~ (p V q) = ~p Ʌ ~q
 ~ (p Ʌ q) = ~p V ~q
 Conditional Statement (implication) – compound statement that uses if … then, or anything
equivalent
o If the president comes, then security will be tight.
o If p then q
 p→q
 p implies q
 if p, then q
 if p, q
 p only if q
 p is sufficient for q
 all p’s are q’s
 q if p
 q when p
 q is necessary for p
 p – antecedent (hypothesis or premise)
 q – consequent (conclusion)
p q pɅq pVq ~p ~q p→q
T T T T F F T
T F F T F T F
F T F T T F T
F F F F T T T

o Variations of the Conditional Statement

Name Symbolic Form English Translation


Conditional p→q If p, then q
Converse q→p If q, then p
Inverse ~p → ~q If not p, then not q
Contrapositive ~q → ~p If not q, then not p

 Conditional and contrapositive are equivalent


 Converse and inverse are equivalent
 Biconditional Statement – compound statement that uses the connective if and only if
o p iff q
o p↔q
o p ↔ q means that p → q and q → p
 p ↔ q = (p → q) Ʌ (q → p)
Proposition Conjunction Disjunction Negation Condition Bi-conditional
p q pɅq pVq ~p ~q p→q p↔q
T T T T F F T T
T F F T F T F F
F T F T T F T F
F F F F T T T T

Potrebbero piacerti anche