Mathematics is the foundation of
all sciences, technology and modern development, and for any nation to survive and
develop, that nation has to improve its technology which could only be achieved
through effective teaching and learning of mathematics.
IMPORTANCE OF MATHEMATICS TO
SCIENCE
Science is concerned with the
acquisition of knowledge and explanation of phenomenon in man’s physical
environment while mathematics is the backbone of all sciences Mathematics is a
subject that exists in all other subjects either partially or fully.
Science subjects depend on
Mathematics, because without mathematics science cannot stand on its own
because of the calculations involved in science subjects. Science subjects like
chemistry, physics, biology, geography, agriculture and so on solemnly depend
on mathematics.
BIOLOGY
Mathematics concepts such as
measurement, graphs, ratio, percentage and probability are applied in biology
for example graphs are used to determine the ratio of growth of organisms under
different environmental conditions. When rainfall and temperature requirements
of a given plant are compared, graph is used to represent the result of the
experiment. The calculations of Mendelian laws are a clear example of
mathematical application in Biology.
Mendelian mathematical
representation of some biological phenomena was
registered by the anti
mathematical preconceptions of the botanist. Epidemiological problems in medicine
can be solved using data analysis.
CHEMISTRY
Chemistry is another area where
mathematics governs its study. Most of the topics treated in chemistry needs
idea of mathematics for better understanding of the topic. In the aspect of chemistry,
which involves the balancing of chemical equation, one need to weigh or
consider the member of reacting substances and relate them to the number of
products with an idea of simple equation from mathematics. Physical chemistry
and organic chemistry cannot be tackled without good foundation of calculus and
mathematical analysis in practical chemistry. Radioactivity, thermodynamics,
calculation of empirical formula, volumetric analysis and so on depends on mathematics
ideas for better understanding of the topics.
Some of the basic skills in
mathematics which are usually used in chemistry include logarithms, ratio variations,
percentage, decimals, proportion, graph and many others. Group theory in
mathematics Mathematics is used in chemistry to study spectroscopy,
crystallography. Theory of algebra and topology is used in the study of large
molecules.
PHYSICS
Physics is a very important and
useful subject for technology and manpower development of every nation. Physics
as the subject implies has a great relationship with mathematics because
without mathematics physics cannot stand on its own and vice versa. Therefore
physics and mathematics are subjects that depended solely on each other.
Newton’s law of motion,
Archimedes principles, Lenz law, Ohms law and many others are expressed in
Mathematical form. The physics teachers make use of mathematics in most of
their calculations. The development of mathematical physics is really the handwork
of the mathematicians. Most experiment in physics is represented in graphs,
which illustrate fully the results of the application of geometry. Most of the
geometrical shapes like triangles, squares, circles, rectangles and so on used in
mathematics are also used in physics.
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
Mathematics has been very useful
in agricultural developments. There is every incentive to the farmer to
increase the quantity, quality and variety of his input. A farmer may try to
improve his production by looking for more efficient ways of cultivating the land,
seeking means of protecting his crops against pest and diseases. A pottery
farmer will want to known the number of birds that a certain portion can freely
carry. In solving these and many other problems, the farmer needed mathematical
knowledge.
The application of fertilizer and
other chemical to farm requires the knowledge of measurement and calculations.
Agricultural science and Agricultural engineering
depends solely on mathematics.
All measurements of land and average investment and preservation of
agricultural products is another example of application of mathematics in
Agricultural science.
GEOGRAPHY
Mathematics permits better
formulation of geographical and astronomical information. The invention of
navigational table to calculate longitude and latitude during mathematics
renaissance period makes people to be interested in Astronomy. Through the knowledge
of coordinate geometry scientists were able to travel in space and determine
the radius of the earth and know about the eclipse of the moon and sun.
Construction is also aspect of survey, architecture and town planning which
involves geometry that can better be understood in mathematics
IMPORTANCE OF MATHEMATICS TO
TECHNOLOGY
Technology is a means or ability by
which man seeks to change or manipulates his environment. It is the systematic
study of techniques for making and doing things. The history of technology is
in a sense of history of man essentially. Techniques and methods of creating
new tools, products of tools and the capacity for constructing them all solely
depend on mathematics principles.
A great deal of mathematics is
required in manufacturing industries. Most of the machineries are constructed
and build by using a lot of mathematical ideas. Some scientific equipment such
as screw gauge, calipers and other measuring instruments are calibrated with
numerical figures designed by mathematicians. A great deal of operation
research is required if an industry is to function effectively. A lot of
mathematical calculations are made in manufacturing companies to enable the companies
to maximize their profit. A great knowledge of calculus, analysis, geometry,
quantum mechanics and some other areas of mathematical knowledge are required
in designing bridges, buildings and other architectural works.
COMPUTER
The history of computer was dated
back to 1617 when John Napiers (the inventor of logarithms) produced a device
known as Napiers Bones which was used in the principle of logarithms.
Computational mathematics is an
integral part of mathematics which has become a powerful tool in the solution
of many sensitive non-linear equations. There are three important observations
worthy of emphasis about this relatively new branch of core mathematics. It
consists of three basic operations, computation, construction and
generalization. Recent mathematics has focused more on concrete problems than
on obstructions.
Computational methods persuade
almost all aspects of science and technology. Mathematics is the foundation of
these methods. However, complex problems involving computational solutions
range from the design of computer architecture found itself through mathematical
modeling of physical, chemical, biological and engineering processes.
Therefore, mathematics which is
the intellectual basis of computational science has been the key to the dynamic
revolution being created by the computer in science and engineering.
Computational results produce the
insight for the development of mathematical theory, for example, the Matrix
theory which was first discovered numerically from concrete examples. The
mathematical theory in turn provides deeper understanding of the models revealing
the phenomena that enable people to analyses and test previous computational
results and conceive of new computations that will facilitate further theory.
One can see that all science
subjects depend on mathematics. A study of relationship between science and
mathematics revealed that all science subjects geography, biology, chemistry,
physics require some aspects of mathematics particularly ratio, proportion
scale
factors, geometry, trigonometry,
statistics, probability and graphs for effective understanding, representation
and communication of results and data.
Mathematics has its way of
communication that is universally accepted as a medium for expressing, formulating,
communicating and perpetuating scientific ideas and theories. Mathematics
specifies, clarifies and establishes concepts and laws for the science.
It is not just a subject, it is a
language through which scientist express their ideas, laws and principles.
No comments:
Post a Comment