[PDF] A Mathematical Nature Walk eBook

Author : John Adam
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 32,84 MB
Release : 2011-09-12
Category : Nature
ISBN : 140083290X

GET BOOK

How heavy is that cloud? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? Why are the droplets on that spider web spaced apart so evenly? If you have ever asked questions like these while outdoors, and wondered how you might figure out the answers, this is a book for you. An entertaining and informative collection of fascinating puzzles from the natural world around us, A Mathematical Nature Walk will delight anyone who loves nature or math or both. John Adam presents ninety-six questions about many common natural phenomena--and a few uncommon ones--and then shows how to answer them using mostly basic mathematics. Can you weigh a pumpkin just by carefully looking at it? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? What causes the variations in the colors of butterfly wings, bird feathers, and oil slicks? And why are large haystacks prone to spontaneous combustion? These are just a few of the questions you'll find inside. Many of the problems are illustrated with photos and drawings, and the book also has answers, a glossary of terms, and a list of some of the patterns found in nature. About a quarter of the questions can be answered with arithmetic, and many of the rest require only precalculus. But regardless of math background, readers will learn from the informal descriptions of the problems and gain a new appreciation of the beauty of nature and the mathematics that lies behind it.

Author : John Adam
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 40,8 MB
Release : 2011-10-02
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 1400841011

GET BOOK

From rainbows, river meanders, and shadows to spider webs, honeycombs, and the markings on animal coats, the visible world is full of patterns that can be described mathematically. Examining such readily observable phenomena, this book introduces readers to the beauty of nature as revealed by mathematics and the beauty of mathematics as revealed in nature. Generously illustrated, written in an informal style, and replete with examples from everyday life, Mathematics in Nature is an excellent and undaunting introduction to the ideas and methods of mathematical modeling. It illustrates how mathematics can be used to formulate and solve puzzles observed in nature and to interpret the solutions. In the process, it teaches such topics as the art of estimation and the effects of scale, particularly what happens as things get bigger. Readers will develop an understanding of the symbiosis that exists between basic scientific principles and their mathematical expressions as well as a deeper appreciation for such natural phenomena as cloud formations, halos and glories, tree heights and leaf patterns, butterfly and moth wings, and even puddles and mud cracks. Developed out of a university course, this book makes an ideal supplemental text for courses in applied mathematics and mathematical modeling. It will also appeal to mathematics educators and enthusiasts at all levels, and is designed so that it can be dipped into at leisure.

Author : John Adam
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 47,73 MB
Release : 2012-05-27
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 1400841690

GET BOOK

What mathematical modeling uncovers about life in the city X and the City, a book of diverse and accessible math-based topics, uses basic modeling to explore a wide range of entertaining questions about urban life. How do you estimate the number of dental or doctor's offices, gas stations, restaurants, or movie theaters in a city of a given size? How can mathematics be used to maximize traffic flow through tunnels? Can you predict whether a traffic light will stay green long enough for you to cross the intersection? And what is the likelihood that your city will be hit by an asteroid? Every math problem and equation in this book tells a story and examples are explained throughout in an informal and witty style. The level of mathematics ranges from precalculus through calculus to some differential equations, and any reader with knowledge of elementary calculus will be able to follow the materials with ease. There are also some more challenging problems sprinkled in for the more advanced reader. Filled with interesting and unusual observations about how cities work, X and the City shows how mathematics undergirds and plays an important part in the metropolitan landscape.

Author : Deanna Pecaski Mclennan
Publisher :
Page : 50 pages
File Size : 28,88 MB
Release : 2019-11
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781703937244

GET BOOK

There is beautiful mathematics in the natural world. In this book two children take an autumn math walk in search of interesting treasures. Colourful photos and an easy to access text invite both children and adults to explore the wonders of the autumn world. This book can spark mathematical conversations with children, and be used as a guide for discovering the rich math that exists in nature. Photos can also be used to engage children in math talks as they observe and discuss what they see. Mathematical facts for each photo are provided that can be used to prompt readers in learning more about how math shapes our natural world.

Author : Tom Siegfried
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 38,76 MB
Release : 2006-09-21
Category : Science
ISBN : 0309133807

GET BOOK

Millions have seen the movie and thousands have read the book but few have fully appreciated the mathematics developed by John Nash's beautiful mind. Today Nash's beautiful math has become a universal language for research in the social sciences and has infiltrated the realms of evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and even quantum physics. John Nash won the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics for pioneering research published in the 1950s on a new branch of mathematics known as game theory. At the time of Nash's early work, game theory was briefly popular among some mathematicians and Cold War analysts. But it remained obscure until the 1970s when evolutionary biologists began applying it to their work. In the 1980s economists began to embrace game theory. Since then it has found an ever expanding repertoire of applications among a wide range of scientific disciplines. Today neuroscientists peer into game players' brains, anthropologists play games with people from primitive cultures, biologists use games to explain the evolution of human language, and mathematicians exploit games to better understand social networks. A common thread connecting much of this research is its relevance to the ancient quest for a science of human social behavior, or a Code of Nature, in the spirit of the fictional science of psychohistory described in the famous Foundation novels by the late Isaac Asimov. In A Beautiful Math, acclaimed science writer Tom Siegfried describes how game theory links the life sciences, social sciences, and physical sciences in a way that may bring Asimov's dream closer to reality.

Author : Deanna Pecaski McLennan
Publisher :
Page : 50 pages
File Size : 10,71 MB
Release : 2019-11-24
Category :
ISBN : 9781709700620

GET BOOK

There is beautiful mathematics in the natural world. In this book two children take a winter math walk in search of interesting treasures. Colourful photos and an easy to access text invite both children and adults to explore the wonders of the winter world. This book can spark mathematical conversations with children, and be used as a guide for discovering the rich math that exists in nature. Photos can also be used to engage children in math talks as they observe and discuss what they see. Mathematical facts for each photo are provided that can be used to prompt readers in learning more about how math shapes our natural world.

Author : Gary B. Meisner
Publisher : Quarto Publishing Group USA
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 28,6 MB
Release : 2018-10-23
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 076036026X

GET BOOK

This enlightening and gorgeously illustrated book explores the beauty and mystery of the divine proportion in art, architecture, nature, and beyond. From the pyramids of Giza, to quasicrystals, to the proportions of the human face, the golden ratio has an infinite capacity to generate shapes with exquisite properties. Author Gary Meisner has spent decades researching the subject, investigating and collaborating with people across the globe in dozens of professions and walks of life. In The Golden Ratio, he shares his enlightening journey. Exploring the long history of this fascinating number, as well as new insights into its power and potential applications, The Golden Ratio invites you to take a new look at this timeless topic.

Author : Max Tegmark
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 434 pages
File Size : 30,96 MB
Release : 2015-02-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 0307744256

GET BOOK

Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist. Fascinating from first to last—this is a book that has already prompted the attention and admiration of some of the most prominent scientists and mathematicians.

Author : Ian Stewart
Publisher :
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 43,40 MB
Release : 2017-03-29
Category :
ISBN : 9781782404712

GET BOOK

Think of a zebra's stripes, the complexities of a spider's web, the uniformity of desert dunes, or the spirals in a sunflower head ... think of a snowflake. The Beauty of Numbers in Nature shows how life on Earth forms the principles of mathematics. Starting with the simplest patterns, each chapter looks at a different kind of patterning system and the mathematics that underlies it. In doing so the book also uncovers some universal patterns, both in nature and man-made, from the basic geometry of ancient Greece to the visually startling fractals that we are familiar with today. Elegantly illustrated, The Beauty of Numbers in Nature is an illuminating and engaging vision of how the apparently cold laws of mathematics find expression in the beauty of nature.

Author : Leonard Mlodinow
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 26,62 MB
Release : 2008-05-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 0307377547

GET BOOK

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, an intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives that will intrigue, awe, and inspire. “Mlodinow writes in a breezy style, interspersing probabilistic mind-benders with portraits of theorists.... The result is a readable crash course in randomness.” —The New York Times Book Review With the born storyteller's command of narrative and imaginative approach, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how our lives are profoundly informed by chance and randomness and how everything from wine ratings and corporate success to school grades and political polls are less reliable than we believe. By showing us the true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives us the tools we need to make more informed decisions. From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives will intrigue, awe, and inspire.