This article will launch my new series in the Why Study Math?
category. This will be the start of a fascinating series which
show that mathematics is more than just a pain in the neck;
indeed these essays will permit a fascinating peek into the
world of this curiously strange discipline. We start in the land
of geometry, where shapes and figures and their many properties
drive students to the breaking point of insanity. Each article
will feature a specific aspect of a particular branch of
mathematics, such as algebra, trigonometry, and calculus; and
each will endeavor to shed some light on how these fields are
used in the real world. So come on board and enjoy the ride.
In the field of geometry, particularly as pertains to the high
school geometry course, a student is introduced for the first
time to the wonderful world of mathematical proofs. Often times
students will be scratching their heads wondering why in the
world they would be learning things as proving two triangles
congruent or about the different properties of shapes such as
trapezoids, parallelograms, or even those solid figures called
polyhedrons. What is not understood or even seen is that such
shapes play a fundamental role in many areas of science and
indeed nature.
For example, the helix structure--that winding pattern best
typified by a spiral staircase--is the structure most abundant
in nature. Watson and Crick, the scientists who won a Nobel
Prize for their groundbreaking work with DNA, the genetic
material responsible for heredity, showed that the very
structure of the DNA molecule exhibited a double helix
structure. Running a close second to the helix structure, we
have those solids which are formed by regular pentagons and
hexagons, those five and six sided figures. Because it is
impossible to enclose space (in other words form a "polyhedron
ball") with just hexagons, it is necessary that pentagons be
added to the mix. In fact 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons form the
recipe for a nice type of polyhedron ball, which has come to be
called a truncated icosahedron.
The soccer ball is the perfect real-life example of the
truncated icosahedron. What is even more, many viruses--those
potentially deadly nuisances--exhibit this structure. Viruses
have outer shells called capsids that are often in the form of
an icosahedron. And for those of you who are not familiar with
chemistry, the eponymous buckey ball, is an organic molecule
made mostly of carbon, which exhibits the soccer ball structure.
In fact, chemists have now discovered a whole family of these
"soccer-ball-like" molecules, which are called fullerenes. New
and interesting discoveries are being made with these molecules
and fascinating applications for their use in diverse fields as
medicine and pharmacology are being researched.
Thus understanding geometry--shapes, figures, and their related
properties--has profound implications for all of us. Just
remember this the next time you go to fill a prescription for
that drug which is going to kill that buckey-ball shaped virus
that is wreaking havoc on your insides. For without
understanding the very nature of the shapes of these viruses,
chemists and pharmacologists would be at a loss in their attempt
to battle these viral parasites. Stay tuned for more in my Why
Study Math? series...
About the author:
Joe is a prolific writer of self-help and educational material.
Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored the classic of
mathematical ABC's Arithmetic Magic. Joe is also author of the
charmingly pithy and popular ebook, Make a Good Impression Every
Time: The Secret to Instant Popularity; the seminal collection
of verse, Poems for the Mathematically Insecure. For more
information, visit his website at
www.mathbyjoe.com.
