The Nature of Mathematics
Mathematics is at the center of history Accuracy – how close a measured value is to the
and development of culture. It helps an
individual develop reasoning, analytical
thinking, and critical thinking.
Analytical thinking – ability to investigate and
determine the truth around him of her
Mathematics → Gk. Word “mathema” (which in
the Ancient Greek means “that which is learnt”
or “lesson” in Modern Greek)
Mathema → “Manthano”, while the modern
Greek equivalent is “Mathaino” which means
“to learn”
Characteristics of Mathematics:
• Classification – first step towards
learning more complex mathematical
concepts
- generates a series of mental
relations through which objects are
grouped according to similarities
and differences depending on
specific criteria
• Logical Sequence – each step can be
derived logically from the preceding
steps
- Ideas in Mathematics need to flow
in an order that makes sense
• Structure – will allow mathematicians
to study the set further and find its
relationship with other objects
• Precision and Accuracy
actual (true) value
Precision – how close the measured values are
to each other
• Abstractness - It is the process of
extracting the underlying essence of a
mathematical concept.
- The process involves taking away
any dependence on real world
objects thus generalizing the
concept.
• Symbolism - The language of
mathematics is the system used by
mathematicians to communicate
mathematical ideas among themselves
• Applicability - can lie anywhere on a
spectrum from the completely simple
(trivial) to the utterly complex
• Generalizations - the process of “finding
and singling out [of properties] in a
whole class of similar objects.
- fundamental to mathematics and a
skill that must be developed among
students that is of vital importance
in a functioning society
Nature of Mathematics:
o A science of measures - involves
interaction with a concrete system to
represent aspects of that system in
abstract terms, if “concrete” implies
“real”
- integral part of modern science, as
well as of daily life
o Intellectual game - discovering patters
in mathematics needs patterns of
intellectual skills that make one
mathematical abstraction a reality
- require significant intelligence and
cognitive effort
o The art of drawing conclusions
Reasoning is a way to use mathematical
knowledge and to generate and solidify
mathematical ideas that are new to us
o A tool subject
In many fields of human activity, mathematics is
undeniably a highly powerful instrument of
investigation
o A system of logical procedure
Problem solving is an important component of
mathematics. It’s more than a vehicle for
teaching and reinforcing mathematical
knowledge and helping to meet everyday
challenges.
- a skill which can enhance our logical
reasoning
o An intuitive method
Intuition - Intuition is a way of understanding
proofs and conceptualizing problems
Mathematics as a Science of Patterns:
A pattern is a visible regularity in the world or in
a man-made design.
▪ Logic Patterns - deals with the
characteristics of various objects. Some
patterns appear in sequence while
some possess similar attributes.
▪ Number Patterns - list of numbers that
follow a certain sequence or pattern.
▪ Word Patterns – found in languages and
are used in decoding
▪ Patterns in Nature
Patterns in Nature:
⬧ Symmetry – one shape becomes exactly
like another shape when you move it in
some way
⬧ Trees – more specifically in graph
theory, are undirected graph in which
any two vertices are connected by
exactly one path
⬧ Tessellation of tilling – pattern of
shapes that fit perfectly together;
shapes without overlaps or gaps
⬧ Wallpaper symmetry – when a pattern
is repeated until it covers a plane
⬧ Radial Symmetry – type of numerical
symmetry known in mathematics as the
Fibonacci sequence
 ⬧ Fractal Symmetry - possess “self-
similarity.” Self-similar objects appear
the same under magnification.
⬧ Spiral – a curve which starts from a
point, moving farther away as it
revolves around the point
Inferences can be done in four stages:
1. Observation – collecting facts without
bias
2. Analysis – classifying the facts;
identifying patterns of regularity
3. Inference – from the patterns, making
generalizations about the relations
between the facts

Problem Solving in Mathematics: 4. Confirmation – testing the inference

through further observation
Problem solving refers to mathematical tasks
that have the potential to provide intellectual
challenges for enhancing your mathematical
understanding and development. It refers to
finding solutions and answers to problem using Problem- solving Strategies
different methods
1. Clarify the problem. Read the problem
Three basic functions: carefully.
1. Seeking information 2. Identify the key elements. Determine
the necessary information to solve the
2. Generating new knowledge
problem.
3. Making decisions
3. Visualize the problem and draw a
Four stages of Problem Solving: (According to picture or diagram.
George Polya)
4. Create a model of the problem
1. Understanding the problem
5. Look for a pattern.
2. Devising a plan
6. Separate or divide the problem into
3. Carrying out the plan smaller parts.

4. Looking back

Deductive Reasoning is sometimes referred to Nature of Statistics:

as top-down logic. It starts with a general case
The word statistics originated from the
and deduces special instances.
Latin word “status” meaning “state”.
Inductive Reasoning is sometimes referred to as
Formally, statistics is the science that
bottom-top logic. It is a reasoning from a
deals with the collection, classification, analysis,
specific case or cases to derive a general rule. It
and interpretation of numerical facts or data, in
draws inferences from observations to make
such a way that valid conclusions and
generalizations.
meaningful predictions can be drawn from
them.
Descriptive statistics – involves the collection
and classification of data.
Inferential statistics – analysis and interretation
of data
In any statistical study, the interest is
always centered on a target group of objetcs or
people.
Population – is a set of measurements
corresponding to the entire collection of units
about which the information is sought. It
represents the target of an investigation.
Sample – set of measurements that is collected
in the course of investigation. It is the subset of
objects/subjects drawn from the population.
Levels of Measurement:
When you collect data from the sample, the
particular characteristic of the object or the
individual is called a variable.
Quantitative variable – has a value or numerical
measurement for which operation can be
applied.
Qualitative variable – describes an object or
individual by placing it into category or group.
Different Levels of Measurement:
1. Nominal – the numbers in the variable are
used only to classify the data
2. Ordinal – numbers indicate an order
3. Interval – numbers tell the distances between
the measurements in addition to the
classification and ordering
4. Ratio – most informative scale; interval scale
with the additional property that its zero
position indicates the absence of the quantity
being measured
Frequency Distributions and Graphs:
When dealing with large set of
quantitative data, it is very useful to organize it
into smaller intervals or classes and count how
many data values fall into each class
• Bar graph – displays a bar (rectangle)
for each category with the length of
each bar representing the frequency of
that category
• Pareto chart – a bar graph ordered from
highest to lowest frequency
• Pie chart – circle with wedges cut of
varying sizes representing the relative
frequencies of each category
• Line graphs – used to track changes
over short and long periods of time; can
also be used to compare changes over
the same period of time for more than
one group
• Time series graphs – data collected over
a period of time; purposely used to
show trends
- Secular trends → drawn over a long
period of time
- Cynical trends → refer to the
business cycle, where a business
opportunity generates new
companies of products that reap
good profits
 - Seasonal trends → shows the value
of a commodity for a short period
of the year
Measures of Central Tendency:
Mean – most popular measure of center; to a
layman, this is called the “average”; statisticians
call it “arithmetic mean”
Median – The meadian of a set of data arranged
according to size (ascending or descending) is
the value of the middle data point
Mode – the value in the data set that occurs
with the highest frequency and more than once.
It is possible that in a set of data, there is no
mode, or more than one mode.
Measures of Variation:
A measure of variation or dispersion
indicates to what degree the individual
observations are dispersed or spread out
around their mean.
Range – simplest, but not very useful measure
of dispersion; considers 2 extreme values in a
data set, it doesn’t really give you a real picture
of variation
Interquartile Range – is the difference between
the third and first quartiles. One half of the
distribution lies within this range
Variance – is the mean of the standard
deviations from the mean
Standard Deviation – by far the most generally
useful measure of variation; it is simply the
square root of the variance
𝒔 = √𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Coefficient of Variation – used when comparing
two or more sets of variables especially when
units of measurements are different
Measures of Relative Standing (Position)
The measure of position or relative
standing is used to describe the position of a
single data point relative to the others.
Z-scores
The mean and the standard deviation of
a set of data can be used to calculate the z-
score
Percentiles
The common measures of relative
standing or location are quartiles and
percentiles.
A percentile is a measure used in
statistics indicating the value below which a
given percentage of observations in a group of
observations fall. Pk
𝑘
𝑃𝑘 = × (𝑛 + 1)
100
Outliers Linear Regression

An outlier is a data point in the data set
that appears very big or very small compared to
the rest of the data points.
If a scatter diagram is drawn and the
line which nearly indicates the trend of the
coordinates is then drawn, this line is called the
regression line. One method of obtaining an
equation or regression model associated with
regression analysis is to draw the “line of best
fit” – the line that best represents the data – on
a scatter diagram

Linear Correlation

Linear correlation is an investigation

into the degree of the relationship between two m
variables. When two variables are being
investigated, the location of the coordinates on
a rectangular coordinate system is called a
scatter plot

One of the measures of the degree of a

linear correlation between two variables is
called the coefficient of correlation, denoted by
rxy or simply r. It can lie between -1 and 1.