FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

NATURE OF MATHEMATICS

SEQUENCE
Is an ordered list of numbers called terms that may have repeated values. The arrangement of
these terms is set by a definite rule

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

 Is a set of numbers that starts with a one or a zero, followed by a one, and proceeds
based on the rule that each number (called a Fibonacci number) is equal to the sum of
the preceding two numbers. If the Fibonacci sequence is denoted F (n), where n is the
first term in the sequence, the following equation obtains for n = 0, where the first two
terms are defined as 0 and 1 by convention

 It is named after the Italian mathematician, Leonardo of Pisa, who was better known by
his nickname Fibonacci.

 The order goes as follows: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 and on to infinity. Each
number is the sum of the previous two. This series of numbers is known as the Fibonacci
numbers or the Fibonacci sequence. The ratio between the numbers (1.618034) is
frequently called the golden ratio or golden number.

 At first glance, Fibonacci's experiment might seem to offer little beyond the world of
speculative rabbit breeding. But the sequence frequently appears in the natural world --
a fact that has intrigued scientists for centuries.
 The Fibonacci sequence can be written as a "Rule"

First, the terms are numbered from 0 onwards like this:

n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 ...

So term number 6 is called x6 (which equals 8).

Example: the 8th term is

the 7th term plus the 6th term:

x8 = x7 + x6

So we can write the rule:

The Rule is xn = xn-1 + xn-2

where:

 xn is term number "n"

 xn-1 is the previous term (n-1)
 xn-2 is the term before that (n-2)
Example: term 9 is calculated like this:
x9= x9-1 + x9-2
= x8 + x 7
= 21 + 13
= 34
 Here is the Fibonacci sequence again:

n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ...
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 ...

There is an interesting pattern:

 Look at the number x3 = 2. Every 3rd number is a multiple of 2 (2, 8, 34, 144,
610, ...)
 Look at the number x4 = 3. Every 4th number is a multiple of 3 (3, 21, 144, ...)
 Look at the number x5 = 5. Every 5th number is a multiple of 5 (5, 55, 610, ...)

And so on (every nth number is a multiple of xn).

We can see two kinds of spirals here. (One of each

is highlighted below.) Try counting how many of
each spiral are in the flower – if you’re careful,
you’ll find that there are 8 in one direction and 13 in
the other.