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Contemporary Mathematics

Key Concepts

Contemporary MathematicsKey Concepts
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Key Concepts

13.1 Math and Art

  • The golden ratio, ϕ, can be found in nature, and the relationship is often associated with beauty and balance.
  • The Fibonacci sequence reflects a pattern of numbers that can be found in various places in nature. The sequence can be used to predict other values that follow the Fibonacci pattern.
  • State some naturally occurring applications of the Fibonacci sequence.
  • State some naturally occurring applications of the golden ratio.
  • Determine if a rectangle is golden.
  • State some artistic applications of the golden rectangle.

13.2 Math and the Environment

  • Recognize how water conservation by one person, family, community, or nation can positively impact the world’s freshwater supply.
  • Recall components from the history of solar use by mankind.
  • Calculate electrical demand given watts.
  • Recognize advantages of residential solar power.

13.3 Math and Medicine

  • Compute volumes of prescription drugs in liquid and pill form.
  • Validate the effectiveness of a new drug.
  • Mathematical modeling can be used to describe and track the spread of a virus.

13.4 Math and Music

  • As frequency of a sound increases, the pitch of the sound increases.
  • Hertz is a unit of measurement for frequency.
  • Decibel is a unit of measurement for the intensity of sound.
  • Half-steps and whole-steps describe one type of movement between two notes on a keyboard.
  • Octaves are a collection of any 12 consecutive notes, which is a foundation in music theory.

13.5 Math and Sports

  • Describe how a round-robin tournament is organized.
  • Compute the number of games played in a round-robin tournament.
  • Describe how a single-elimination tournament is organized.
  • Compute the number of games played in a single-elimination tournament.
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