Mathematics is the science that deals with the logic of shape, quantity and arrangement.
livescience.com
I like to tell my children that there is math all around us. We just need to open our eyes to see it. Our world is full of beauty and order. Sea shells are just one example. From their exquisite markings to their majestic spirals, they are beautiful evidence of mathematical laws operating in nature.
Looking at a spiral sea shell helps us to understand logarithmic spirals. Albrecht Dürer called logarithmic spirals an “eternal line”. These spirals are curves that grow. They grow to a measurable pattern. Because of their order and predictability, they are also beautiful to look at. The Nautilus Shell is often used to show how the intricate design and consistency of the Fibonacci (or Golden Ratio) Spiral appears in nature.
While we may not be able to wrap our heads around the complex formulas that determine the forms of some shapes, we can appreciate those who have taken the time to work out the math and share it with us. This video gives us a beautiful pictorial demonstration of how playing with the parameters of complex formulas can produce a variety of spectacular shells.
While the numbers and equations might be daunting, I wonder if you would feel more comfortable with some beautiful illustrations and exploration of words and their meanings. One of the things that I have been focusing on this year with my children is building their mathematical vocabulary. If you have been following the free resources that I have created for 2024, you’ll know that each week we have been introducing a new word to explore. After all, mathematics is a language, and if you want to understand what you are learning you need to understand the language of that subject.
All of us are probably familiar with studying vocabulary in language arts, but how many of us spend the time teaching the vocabulary of math to our children? I challenge you to come alongside us as we learn more math words. I have created a little math vocabulary booklet to go alongside your nature study this month, I hope you enjoy using it with your children as we consider the mathematics in a sea shell!
You can download your copy below, you might need to trim the edges before folding. To fold follow the instructions here
Before you go just something you might like to ponder
“…In a chance universe why would nature obey mathematical patterns?”
christian evidence
If you have ever questioned why our universe is structured and ordered take a moment to watch this video.
