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Module 1-2 Patterns and Sequence

This document discusses patterns found in nature. It begins by defining what a pattern is and explains that patterns can be found everywhere in both natural and human-made designs. The document then discusses different types of patterns commonly seen in nature, including visual patterns found in plants, flow patterns in water and growth, rhythmic patterns like heartbeats, geometric patterns in cacti, wave and dune patterns formed by wind, spot and stripe patterns on animals, spiral patterns in plants and horns, and symmetrical patterns using examples like snowflakes and honeycombs. The document concludes by discussing how symmetry is present throughout nature from subatomic particles to the universe.

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Ronalyn Caguete
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884 views10 pages

Module 1-2 Patterns and Sequence

This document discusses patterns found in nature. It begins by defining what a pattern is and explains that patterns can be found everywhere in both natural and human-made designs. The document then discusses different types of patterns commonly seen in nature, including visual patterns found in plants, flow patterns in water and growth, rhythmic patterns like heartbeats, geometric patterns in cacti, wave and dune patterns formed by wind, spot and stripe patterns on animals, spiral patterns in plants and horns, and symmetrical patterns using examples like snowflakes and honeycombs. The document concludes by discussing how symmetry is present throughout nature from subatomic particles to the universe.

Uploaded by

Ronalyn Caguete
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
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MODULE 2

PATTERNS AND SEQUENCE


Specific Objective
1. To develop one’s understanding about patterns;
2. To identify different patterns in nature;
3. To recognize different symmetries in nature; and
4. To explain the presence of Fibonacci numbers in nature
The mathematics in our world is rooted in patterns. Patterns are all around us. Finding
and understanding patterns give us great power to play like god. 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.

Discussions
Different Kinds of Pattern
As we look at the world around us, we can sense the orchestrating great regularity and
diversity of living and non-living things. The symphonies vary from tiny to gigantic, from
simple to complex, and from dull to the bright. The kaleidoscope of patterns is
everywhere and they make the nature look only fascinating but also intriguing.
Paradoxically, it seemed that everything in the world follows a pattern of their own and
tamed by the same time pattern of their own.
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 snakes.

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
A wave is any form of disturbance that carries energy as it moves. Waves are of
different kinds: mechanical waves which propagate through a medium ---- air or water,
making it oscillate as waves pass by. Wind waves, on the other hand, are surface
waves that create the chaotic patterns of the sea. Similarly, water waves are created by
energy passing through water causing it to move in a circular motion. Likewise, ripple
patterns and dunes are formed by sand wind as they pass over the sand.

Spots and Stripes


We can see patterns like spots on the skin of a giraffe. On the other hand, stripes
are visible on the skin of a zebra. Patterns like spots and stripes that are commonly
present in different organisms are results of a reaction-diffusion system (Turing, 1952).
The size and the shape of the pattern depend on how fast the chemicals diffuse and
how strongly they interact.
Spirals
The spiral patterns exist on the scale of the cosmos to the minuscule forms of
microscopic animals on earth. The Milky Way that contains our Solar System is a barred
spiral galaxy with a band of bright stars emerging from the center running across the
middle of it. Spiral patterns are also common and noticeable among plants and some
animals. Spirals appear in many plants such as pinecones, pineapples, and sunflowers.
On the other hand, animals like ram and kudu also have spiral patterns on their horns.

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
The human body is one of the pieces of evidence that there is symmetry in
nature. Our body exhibits bilateral symmetry. It can be divided into two identical halves.
Animal Movement
The symmetry of motion is present in animal movements. When animals move,
we can see that their movements also exhibit symmetry.
Sunflower
One of the most interesting things about a sunflower is that it contains both radial
and bilateral symmetry. What appears to be "petals" in the outer ring are actually small
flowers also known as ray florets. These small flowers are bilaterally symmetrical. On
the other hand, the dark inner ring of the sunflower is a cluster of radially symmetrical
disk florets.

Snowflakes
Snowflakes have six-fold radial symmetry. The ice crystals that make-up the
snowflakes are symmetrical or patterned. The intricate shape of a single arm of a
snowflake is very much similar to the other arms. This only proves that symmetry is
present in a snowflake.
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.

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