CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS TO OTHER SCIENCES

“Mathematics is the gateway and key to all sciences” >Bacon

“We cannot overstress the importance of mathematics in relation to science education and research. This has always been so, but at no time has the significance of mathematics been greater than today” >Kothari Commission

CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS WITH PHYSICS

All laws and principles in physics are expressed as equations and formulae using mathematical language and symbols.A few examples are given below. V u + at

S ut + (Laws of Motion) F ma(Newton’s Second Law) D(Density Quantified) PV RT(Boule’s Law)In order to understand the above mentioned laws and principles, a student needs a thorough understanding of equations, direct variations, inverse variations and so on.

A teacher of mathematics, while teaching equations and variations can make use of examples from physics. Such an approach will make mathematics learning more significant.The quantitative measurements and their manipulations are very essential for understanding physics. For example, a mere knowledge of facts like ‘steam can generate power’ or ‘light changes its directions in going from a rarer to a denser medium’ are meaningless till they are quantified and applied to practical situations. This is possible only through applying mathematics.

CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS WITH

CHEMISTRY

Mathematics is an indispensible tool for a better understanding of chemistry. In the words of J W Mellor, “it is almost impossible to follow the latest developments of physical or general chemistry without a working knowledge of higher mathematics”. Mathematics gives form , shape and definiteness to the properties of matter. All chemical combinations are governed by certain mathematical laws.In chemical compounds, the constituent elements are combined in a definite ratio.

In chemical reactions, the chemical equations are balanced by balancing the number of atoms on either side of the equation.The structure of an atom, the atomic weight, the valences of an element are all mathematically based.The amount of heat generated or required in various chemical reactions are not empirical but mathematically based.

CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS WITH BIOLOGY

John Perry has correctly estimated the value of mathematics in the study of Natural sciences by saying “in these days, all men ought to study natural sciences, such a study is practically impossible without the knowledge of higher mathematical methods”.The Indian Education Commission has also emphasized the importance of mathematics in the development of biological sciences in the following lines.“apart from its (mathematics) role in the growth of physical sciences it is now playing an increasingly important part in the development of biological sciences.”Thus biology and medicine which seemed to have practically no use for advanced mathematics at the beginning of the last century, are benefiting immensely from the intervention of sophisticated mathematical tools.

Statistical methods and techniques are widely used for analyzing complex problems relating to physiology, genetics, heredity, metabolism and so on.Bacterial growth is expressed as an exponential function.It is now thought that the area of topology can be used in describing the surface of the living cell.A new kind of algebra to represent the thinking process is being sought by neurophysiologists.

CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS WITH ENGINEERING

Mathematics forms the basis for all engineering courses. A great deal of mathematics used in engineering is in the area of differential equations, an off shoot of the calculus. Probability theory is another area with profound applications to engineering problems.

CORRELATION OF MATHEMATICS WITH SOCIAL SCIENCES

Economics, psychology and many other subjects are mathematically oriented.In economics, mathematical language and methods are frequently used to interpret social phenomena, generalize laws governing economic policy and predict economic growth.The theory of probability is applied to many of the economic issues to draw inferences and predict outcomes.Statistical analysis is the only scientific method to deal with social and psychological phenomena.

History and Geography are also correlated to mathematics. The history of mathematicians and their contributions provide useful background for the teaching of mathematics and history,Mathematics helps in calculating the dates and days of various historical events and in predicting the future based on the past events.Mathematics helps in drawing the maps to the scale and locating the distance between places.Mathematics provides the basis for computing the longitude and latitude, in predicting the weather conditions and climatic changes, and planning the transportation system and so on.