The connections between math and nature may not seem overtly obvious, seeming as if they belong in separate worlds. This simply isn't true and in actual fact the two are very closely connected. Math is all around us,from the design of a shell, to the probability used by predatory animals, or the symmetry of a butterfly's wings. Math was developed with the intention to describe the patterns that occur in nature.
Activities to Encourage Making Connections to Nature
Making connections to real life is essential to building the understanding of students, creating a positive mindset, and recognizing the inherent brilliance of the natural world. Connections can be easily made to symmetry, shapes, measurement, Fibonacci spirals, geometry, meteorology, and the concept of Pi.
Symmetry is defined as when one half of an object is the mirror image of the other half. Examples of this that occurs in nature is a butterfly's wings or the symmetry of some flowers. Encourage students to provide a list of twenty examples of symmetry in nature.
Another example which was highlighted this week was the connection of mathematics to nature through the Fibonacci Spiral. The Fibonacci Spiral is a series of squares with lengths that match the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. When a line is drawn through the diagonals of each square, a spiral is formed. Examples of this in nature can be observed by looking at the shell of a snail or pine cones.
Frightening Spider Web. Havana 1234. September. 8, 2013. Sourced from:
http://istockpho.to/2ivi200
Geometry is the study of shapes and their properties. An example of this that can be observed in nature is a spiders' ability to spin a web. When a spider is born, it has the innate instinct and knowledge to build a web. Every specie of spider spins a unique web design. An interesting activity to present to students would be to have them analyze the process by which a spider spins a web while further identifying the geometrical parts of a spider web design.
Until next week!
Ashley
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