UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

Alfredo M. Velayo – College of Accountancy

A Research Project about

Patterns in Objects, Plants, and Animals and their Mathematical Models

Prepared by:

Arellano, Gail Anne April E.

Dioso, Lianne Marie B.
Libiran, Martina M.
Pronto, John Marco D.

1A24

Submitted to:

Prof. Arnold Distor

Lecturer
Math in the Modern World

August 28, 2018

Tuesday
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Objects 1
A. Spiral Bevel Gear 1
B. Staircase 2
C. Snowflakes 4
II. Plants 7
A. Spiderwort Flower and Clematis 7
B. Iris, Buttercup, Delphinium, Ragwort, Aster, Pyrethrum, Michaelmas Daisy 8
C. Coneflower and Sunflower 9
D. Leaves 9
III. Animals 10
A. Tiger and Moth (Saturnia Pavonia) 10
B. Starfish 11
C. Snail 11
D. Honey Bees 12
E. Dolphin 12
IV. References i
 OBJECTS

Spiral Bevel Gear

A spiral bevel gear (SBG) is a bevel gear with helical teeth. The primary utilization of this
is in a vehicle differential, where the direction of drive from the drive shaft must be swiveled 90
degrees to drive the wheels. The helical pattern generates less vibration and noise than standard
straight-cut or spur-cut gear with straight teeth. The mathematical model behind this object does
not only help in analyzing and building the tooth surface model but also aid in probing the design
principles and manufacturing process. It can be modeled using either the matrix method or vector
method.

The matrix method is a mathematical tool used to induce spatial transformation in varying
coordinate systems. Litvin was the first to make use of the matrix method to particularly formulate
a mathematical model of a Spiral Bevel Gear. Although complicated, the matrix method is a clear

1
spatial transformation process that yields a universal mathematical model adopted by most existing
cutting systems.
On the other hand, the vector method, proposed by Di Puccio, is an alternative formulation
of gear theory; this formulation of the mathematical model of Spiral Bevel Gears is clearer and
more compact. Its advantage is that only vector formulation is used to demonstrate the surface
model. The spatial transformation of the vector method complies with the principle of revolving
vectors. It also avoids using the reference coordinate system in building mathematical models of
Spiral Bevel Gears (Wang et al., 2014).

Staircase

One strategy that can be used in order to formulate the mathematical model of a staircase
is through representing the figure as tiles in a rectangle.

1 2 3 4
Fig. 1

tile representing a portion of the staircase

tile representing a portion of the rest of the rectangle

2
 Based on the Fig. 1, the number of tiles that make up the rectangle is essentially the area.

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = (𝑙)(𝑤)

According again to Fig. 1, the length is represented by the number of tiles on the length
dimension plus one while the width is represented by the number of tiles on the width dimension
only.

𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝑛 + 1
𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑑ℎ = 𝑛

Thus giving an area for the entire shape:

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = (𝑛 + 1)(𝑛)

But since only half of the shape is needed in order to obtain the number of tiles in a staircase
pattern, the equation must be divided into two.

(𝑛 + 1)(𝑛)
𝐴1𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 =
2 2

If the mathematical model above is tested on one of the figures from Fig. 1, the number of
tiles representing a portion of the staircase will be obtained.

(𝑛 + 1)(𝑛)
𝐴1𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 =
2 2
(4 + 1)(4)
=
2
(5)(4)
=
2
20
=
2
𝐴1𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 10
2
n=4

3
 Snowflakes

Snowflakes reflect a six-fold symmetry due to its hexagonal structure of ice-crystal lattice.
Among the different models that capture the essential features of snow crystal growth, Reiter’s
model mostly made use of mathematical expressions.

In Reiter’s model, the plane is tessellated into hexagonal cells. The state of cell x is
characterized by state variable st(x) (the amount of water in the cell at time t). If st(x) ≥ 1, cell x is
frozen. Cells are divided into three types:
 Boundary cell - not frozen itself but at least one of the nearest neighbors is frozen
 Receptive cell - union of frozen and boundary cell
 Nonreceptive cell - cell that is neither frozen nor boundary

Frozen Cells
Boundary Cells

Nonreceptive Cells

The growth model starts from a single ice crystal at the origin cell, which represents a thin
hexagonal prism.
1 for 𝑥 = 0
s0(x) ∶= { ,
𝛽 for x ≠ 0
where β = constant background vapor density.

The states of the cells evolve as a function of the states of their nearest neighbors according
to local update rules which are the underlying mathematical models.

4
 Notation: ◦ and ‘ to denote variables before/after a step is completed. At time t, define two
intermediate variables u(x), v(x) for cell x.
u(x) := 0, v(x):= 𝑠𝑡 (x), if cell x is receptive;
u(x) := 𝑠𝑡 (x), v(x):= 0, otherwise.

For any receptive cell x, let

v'(x) := v◦(x)+γ,
where γ is a positive constant representing
water added to the receptive cell from an outside source.

The water in a receptive cell is assumed to permanently stay in that cell.

For any cell x, let

1 1
u'(x) := u◦(x) + (u◦(𝑦1 ) + . . . + u◦(𝑦 6 )).
2 12

More generally,

𝜕𝑢
The underlying physical principle is the diffusion equation = a𝛻 2 u, where a is a
𝜕𝑡
∂2 𝑢 ∂2 𝑢
constant and 𝛻 2 u = ∂x2 + ∂y2 is the Laplacian, which can be approximated on the hexagonal
2
lattice as 𝛻 2 u = 3 (−6𝑢𝑜 (𝑥) + ∑𝑦𝜖𝑁𝑥 ,𝑦≠𝑥 𝑢𝑜 (𝑦)) Here, α = 8a.

Combining the two intermediate variables, the state variable becomes 𝑠𝑡+1 (x) = v’(x)+u’(x)
as time reaches t + 1.

Divide into nonreceptive cells and receptive cells:

Frozen Cells
Boundary Cells
Nonreceptive Cells

Nonreceptive Cells

Receptive Cells

5
 Constant addition for receptive cells:
Receptive Cells

γ = 0.01

Diffusion for all cells:

Nonreceptive
Cells

𝜶=𝟏

At edge cells
s(x)=β
Combine addition and diffusion:

6
 By varying parameters α, β, γ, the Reiter’s model generates several geometric forms of
snow crystals observed in nature (Schaposnik 2014).

PLANTS

Spiderwort Flower and Clematis

Spiderwort Flower Clematis

A shape with rotational symmetry is a shape that looks the same even if you turn the shape
around a little bit. The angle of rotation of a symmetric figure is the smallest angle of rotation that
preserves the figure.

7
 The Spiderwort flower has three leaves arranged around the center of the flower. The
Spiderwort has 3-fold rotational symmetry which means that its angle of rotation is 120 degrees.
The Clematis shown has 8-fold rotational symmetry that shows and angle of rotation of 45 degrees.
It has 8 flower petals arranged around the center of the flower (Rotational Symmetry, n.d.).

Iris, Buttercup, Delphinium, Ragwort, Aster, Pyrethrum, Michaelmas Daisy

Iris Buttercup Delphinium

Ragwort Aster Pyrethrum Michaelmas Daisy

Different flowers have different number of petals. Lilies and iris have 3 petals; buttercups,
wild rose, larkspur, columbine (aquilegia), and pinks have 5 petals; some delphiniums have 8;
ragwort, corn marigold, cineraria, and some daisies have 13 petals; some asters, black-eyed susan,
and chicory have 21 petals; plantain, and pyrethrum can be found with 34, whereas michaelmas
daisies and the asteraceae family have 55 or even 89 petals (Knott, n.d.).

On many plants, these numbers of petals are all Fibonacci numbers.

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 Coneflower and Sunflower

Coneflower Sunflower

Fibonacci numbers can also be seen in the arrangement of seeds on flower heads. In the
coneflower, the "petals" seem to form spirals curving both to the left and to the right. There are 55
spirals if you count those spiralling to the right as you go outwards. A little further towards the
centre and you can count 34 spirals. These pair of numbers (counting spirals in curving left and
curving right) are neighbours in the Fibonacci series.

This arrangement forms an optimal packing of the seeds so that, no matter how large the
seed head, they are uniformly packed at any stage, all the seeds being the same size, no crowding
in the centre and not too sparse at the edges (Knott, n.d.).

Leaves

Numerous plants demonstrate the Fibonacci numbers in the arrangement of the leaves
around their stems. In the event that we look down on a plant, the leaves are frequently arranged
so leaves above don't cover leaves underneath. This implies that every leaf get a decent offer of

9
sunlight and catches the most rain to channel down to the roots as it keeps running down the leaf
to the stem.

The Fibonacci numbers happen when counting both the number of times we go around the
stem, going from leaf to leaf, as well as counting the leaves we meet until we encounter a leaf
directly above the starting one. If we count in the other direction, we get a different number of
turns for a similar number of leaves. The number of turns in each direction and the quantity of
leaves met are three consecutive Fibonacci numbers.

For this plant, we have 5 clockwise rotations passing 8 leaves, or just 3 rotations in the
anti-clockwise direction. This time 3, 5 and 8 are consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence.
This can be written as 5/8 clockwise rotations per leaf (or 3/8 for the anticlockwise direction).
(Knott, n.d.)

ANIMALS

Tiger and Moth (Saturnia Pavonia)

Tiger Moth

The pattern shown in these animals is Bilateral Symmetry. In bilateral symmetry (also
called plane symmetry), only one plane, called the sagittal plane, divides an organism into roughly
mirror image halves. Thus, there is approximate reflection symmetry. Internal organs are however
not necessarily symmetric.
Animals that are bilaterally symmetric have mirror symmetry in the sagittal plane, which
divides the body vertically into left and right halves, with one of each sense organ and limb group
on either side. At least 99% of animals are bilaterally symmetric, including humans where facial
symmetry influences people's judgements of attractiveness (Jereb, Roper, Norman, Finn, 2016).

10
 Starfish

Echinoderms like starfish have fivefold symmetry.

A shape is said to have rotational symmetry if it can be mapped onto itself through rotation
2𝜋
about a central point by some angle less than 2π. If the rotation angle is 𝑛 , then the shape is said
to have n-fold symmetry. All regular polygons have rotational symmetry. In fact, an n-sided
regular polygon has n-fold symmetry. For example, a regular pentagon has 5-fold rotational
2𝜋
symmetry and can be mapped upon itself through rotation by an angle of 5 (Jardine, n.d.).

Snail

One example of an animal that has the unique properties of the golden rectangle is the snail,
specifically, its own shell. This shape, a rectangle in which the ratio of the sides a/b is equal to the
golden mean (phi), can result in a nesting process that can be repeated into infinity and which takes
on the form of a spiral. It is called the logarithmic spiral, and it abounds in nature.

Snail shells and nautilus shells follow the logarithmic spiral, as does the cochlea of the
inner ear. The coil of a snail shell can be either right-handed (dextral) or left-handed (sinistral),
based on whether the shell spirals out clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from above
(Dvorsky, 2015).

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 Honey Bees

Honey bees follows Fibonacci in other interesting ways. The most profound example is by
dividing the number of females in a colony by the number of males (females always outnumber
males). The answer is typically something very close to 1.618. In addition, the family tree of honey
bees also follows the familiar pattern. Males have one parent (a female), whereas females have
two (a female and male). Thus, when it comes to the family tree, males have 2, 3, 5, and 8
grandparents, great-grandparents, gr-gr-grandparents, and gr-gr-gr-grandparents respectively.
Following the same pattern, females have 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. And as noted, bee physiology
also follows along the Golden Curve rather nicely (Dvorsky, 2015).

Dolphin

Animal bodies exhibit similar tendencies, including dolphins (the eye, fins and tail all fall
at Golden Sections).

The eye, fins and tail all fall at golden sections of the length of a dolphin’s body. The
dimensions of the dorsal fin are golden sections (yellow and green). The thickness of the dolphin’s
tail section corresponds to same golden section of the line from head to tail (Meisner, 2014).

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 REFERENCES

Bart, A. & Clair, B. (n.d.). Rotational Symmetry. Retrieved from [Link]

escher/[Link]/Rotational_Symmetry

Dvorsky, G. (2015). 15 Uncanny Examples of the Golden Ratio in Nature. Retrieved from
[Link]

Jardine, K. (n.d.). Part 4: Five-fold symmetry. Retrieved from [Link]

Jereb, P., Roper, C., Norman, M., & Finn, J. (2016). Cephalopods of the world. Retrieved from
[Link]

Knott, R. (n.d.). Fibonacci Numbers and Nature. Retrieved from [Link]

uk/hosted-sites/[Link]/Fibonacci/[Link]

Meisner, G. et al. (2014). The Golden Section in Nature: Animals. Retrieved from
[Link]

Schaposnik, L. (2014). On the Geometry and Mathematical Modelling of Snowflakes and

Viruses. Presented at the Fourth Annual MIT PRIMES Conference. Retrieved from
[Link]

Wang, J. et al. (2014). The Mathematical Model of Spiral Bevel Gears - A Review. Strojniski
Vestnik. 60. 93-105. 10.5545/sv-jme.2013.1357.

Youtube. (2016). The Staircase Pattern – Math for Understanding. [Video File]. Retrieved from
[Link]