Lesson Plan in MMW

Lesson Plan in Mathematics in the Modern World Objectives: At the end of the two-hour period, the students students should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Recognize and describe patterns in nature. Express these relationships in mathematical forms/language. Be amazed how God created the universe using mathematics. Appreciate the contribution of mathematics in solving problems in the Modern World.

Materials and References: Videos: 1. Nature’s Mathematics (12 mins) 2. Michio Kaku - Is God a Mathematician (5 mins) 3. Can one math model explain all patterns in nature? (3 min) 4. Michio Kaku String Theory (4 min)

Methods/Procedure : Exploration: Ask students to form small groups consisting of five members each. Give each group a twig of Horseradish or Malunggay ( Moringa Oliefera Oliefera)) with leaves & twigs intact. Let them observe if there emerge pattern that can be expressed in mathematical form. They may count the leaves or the small twigs. They may look at the symmetry or shapes of the twig.

After 10 minutes of exploration, ask volunteers from each group to report their findings. Give each group a printed copy of the picture of Sunflower. Let them count the number of seeds and number of spirals (separately counting clockwise and counter-clockwise spirals). Let them write their observations on a piece of paper. Ask one volunteer from each group to write on the  board the numbers the obtained from observing observing the Sunflower Sunflower seeds. seeds.

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Ask them if there are similarities in the numbers obtained by observing the Malunggay twigs/leaves and the Sunflower seeds. Write the numbers common to the two observation activities. Then, ask “ did you know that the numbers you have just listed are part of a mathematical sequence called the Fibonacci’s Sequence?” Did you know that Fibonacci’s numbers unveil the secret of nature? Video Presentation Ask this question “ Did you know that mathematics is everywhere in nature?” Then, show a video entitled Nature’s Mathematics (12 minutes presentation).

Video: Nature’s Mathematics Whole Group Discussion Wrap up the video presentation by saying “So you see mathematics is everywhere. It shows as a pattern. It shows as an art (rainbows, halos, zebra’s strife, etc); and it also is able to explain the laws of natures.”

Share to them the thoughts of Galileo about mathematics as the language use by God to write the universe.

Share also Paul Dirac (a Physicist) thought on mathematics.

Ask the whole class this question: So what do you think about God? I S GOD A  MATHEMATICIAN?” 

Call four to five volunteers to answer this question and ask them to justify their answers.

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Wrap up students’ answers by saying “Let us listen to the thoughts of Michio Kaku, a theoretical  physicist, on what he believes God is.” Video: Michio Kaku - Is God a Mathematician (5 mins)

Ask this question, “if God is a mathematician is there a math model that explain all patterns in nature?” Then present a video Can one math model explain all patterns in nature? (3 min) If Turin has found (although it is still to be verified further) a possible mathematical model that can explain biological growth and patterns in living organisms, is there also a mathematical model that may be used to explain the laws of the universe? Present the video on String Theory. Wrap up the discussion by saying that “although the String Theory of Michio Kaku and the Theory on Chemical Bases of Morphogens of Alan Turing are still theories which need further verifications and validations. It is an undeniable fact that nature’s laws can be explained by mathematics; and we should be grateful to those peoples, the mathematicians, scientists, and other scholars who devote their time discovering the secret of the universe. ”

Evaluation: “As your final activity, I’d like you to write an easy, or compose a poem or song that expresses  your appreciations to those people like Aristotle, Galileo, Euclid, Newton, Einstein, Laplace, Turing, and Michio Kaku who devoted their time to understanding the laws of the universe through mathematics.” Give them 15 minutes to do the task. After 15 minutes, ask some volunteers to present their works before the whole class.

Assignment: Read scientific journals or websites that explains why there are different colors in a rainbow. Explains these differences in colors in terms of mathematical language (wavelengths and frequencies).

Prepared by: FABIAN C. PONTIVEROS, JR. October 11, 2018

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