Prime Numbers in Nature

Prime numbers are one of the easiest concepts to understand and learn in Maths. But some of the complex problems in Maths belong to this branch. Never would have imagined an application of prime numbers in nature. Thanks to the book 'Weird Maths: At The Edge of Infinity and Beyond' which introduced me to this along with other weird applications of Maths.

There's a particular species type of cicadas found in the US called the Magicicada or the 'periodical cicadas' who stay in their larva for 13 or 17 years. Imagine staying inside for over a decade with no connection to the outside world and coming out in the year 2021. People wearing masks walking all around you, smartphones, oh, the shock!🤯

It is the primality of these numbers which interest the mathematicians. The reasons are quite interesting. As the lifecycle of the prey changes, the population cycle (pattern in the population for a period of time) of their predators also vary due to the change in the availability of their food. So, if the Magicicada's lifecycle was a composite number say, 16 years, then predators whose population cycles are factors of 16 which are 1,2,4,8 and 16 will have a chance to feast on these cicadas as soon as they come out of their larva, even before they have a chance to mate and produce the next generation. This can lead to their extinction. But if it is a prime number, like 13 then the cicadas only need to worry about predators whose population cycles sync with theirs every 13 years, which is much low in number. So, prime numbers are actually protecting these species from the verge of extinction.

The surprises math and nature give us at every corner is countless and this was just the tip of the iceberg.

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Day 30 of Online Classes

Today the day began with Joju sir's class and the physical science association continued with their seminar. We were introduced to the software 'Hot Potatoes', which can be used to make online quizzes. If I had known this earlier I would have used it for 'Mathletics'. The topic was handled by Ancy and Gayathri of Physical science association and they did a great job. Later we had Ancy ma'am's class where we discussed about social change. Ma'am made us switch on our cameras to take a group photo. It felt good too see many faces after a long time.

Day 26 and 27 of Online Classes

On 19th May 2021 the first class was Deepthi ma'am's and we discussed about 'Pedagogy'. Later we had Maya ma'am's class where the social science association continued their seminar presentations via Whatsapp. On 20th May 2021, the first hour was Joju sir's, where the physical science association started their presentation on Open educational resources which is the continuation of my seminar topic CC license. Sir, ended the class with the story of the Dodo bird found on the islands of Mauritius and the dodo tree or tambalacoque. Later, we had Ancy ma'am's class where we discussed the role of education in democracy.

A New Phase

This week marked the beginning of teaching practice. St Mary's, Pattom is the school assigned for me. It's going to be a great opportunity and experience for all of us.The internship was supposed to start on 5th January but it was delayed by a day due to an unexpected holiday. 6th Jan 2022, It was the first day of our internship and to be honest I was excited and nervous at the same time. I had the first hour at 9J1 which was utilised to show a video on 'Social Media and its Effects'. The video was shot and shown as a part of a government initiative to create awareness of the positive and negative effects of social media. I couldn't take a class, but I got to be the tech support for the teachers. This helped me get rid of that unnecessary stress. But I had another period at 9I1 and I used this period to get to know the students, their previous knowledge etc. and also brushed some of the previously taught topics. 7th Jan 2022, Today the second batch attended school...

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