Audrey Parcell

Perspectives 3370

Fibonacci

Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci was born in 1170 in Pisa, the name Fibonacci comes from

him being of the family of Bonacci. His father was the Secretary of the Republic of Pisa, a part

of the Holy Roman Empire, because of his position Fibonacci was given many great

opportunities in his early life (O’Neill). Growing up, Fibonacci spent his childhood in North

Africa because his father was a customs officer who would travel often. This meant that

Fibonacci was able to be educated by the Moors and all over Algeria (Knott). After his many

years of travel he began to write his book, Liber Abaci (The Book of Calculations), which

covered the topic of the decimal number system, which had not yet been introduced to the Latin

speaking world yet. “The first chapter of Part 1 begins: "These are the nine figures of the

Indians: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”” from this discovery he went on to discuss how with those nine

numbers any number could be written, which was very different from the Roman numerals

system that they were all accustomed to (Knott). Italy was also separated into independent towns

and regions at the time so that meant that they all had different kinds of currency and weights for

things, which took a great deal of conversion when trades were taking place. Through his book

he worked out examples of using these numbers and expressed the practicality of using them for

the merchants (Knott). This was known as his greatest mathematical achievement because it

brought on the wide spread use of the decimal number system.

The Rabbits
 The biggest Mathematical problem that Fibonacci investigated in Liber Abaci was about

rabbits breeding and reproducing. To set up this problem he stated that rabbits are able to mate at

one month old, and the pregnancy lasts one month, so at the end of the second month a female

could produce a pair of rabbits (Reich). If the rabbits were to never die, and a pair of a female

and male rabbit were produced every month from the mating pairs, then the question is posed,

how many rabbits would there be at the end of a year if we started with a new pair from birth at

the beginning. Though his restrictions he made for the problem might not be realistic for the case

of rabbits, it is the best way to view the problem. The problem goes on to state that two rabbits

are placed together, at the end of the first month they mate, but there is still only one pair, but at

the end of the second month a new pair is produced. This cycle continues such that, at the end of

the third month another pair is produced, and the following month two pairs are produced.

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pairs 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144

From this we gather that the number of pairs that exist at the end of a month is equivalent to the

equation xn+1=xn+xn-1, where xn is the pairs of rabbits after n months, so the number of pairs in

month n+1 will be xn, and taking in all the other factors results in the equation (Knott). This is

simply known as the Fibonacci Sequence of numbers, which requires one to add the last two

numbers to get the next. Thus, 3+5=8, 5+8=13, and so on.

The Sequence

Fibonacci did not know at the time of this discovery the real importance that these numbers

would have in mathematics. The sequence is infinite and continues on forever, for example:

222232244629420445529739893461909967206666939096499764990979600 is the 300th

number in the sequence (Knott), but to find numbers of this magnitude takes more rigorous

mathematical work, then the more simple process of finding the first two and adding to the next.

Thus, the given formula has limitations on its application to solving for larger Fibonacci

numbers. This is why most people only know the first 12 or so numbers; 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,

34, 55, 89, 144.

The great scale that these numbers could be applied to has not been fully discovered, and

many new ideas, theories and applications are being found all the time (Scott). The sequence can

be found in a number of different Mathematical configurations, such as in Pascals Triangle

(Reich). In Pascal’s triangle, if the triangle is drawn left-justified, and the numbers are added up

on the diagonals, then the Fibonacci sequence is found. The most interesting part of this is that

Fibonacci could not have known about the connection between the rabbit problem and the

probability theory found in Pascals Triangle, because that theory was not found until years later.

Over the years many connections have been to the Fibonacci Sequence in nature and in other

mathematical theories.

Application

The Fibonacci Numbers sometimes defined as “a group of numbers that mysteriously appear

over and over again in nature”. This is because those simple numbers seen above can be found in

the number of petals on a flower, in spirals, proportions of the human body, and even in fruits

and vegetables structures (Gardiner). One of the best examples of the Fibonacci numbers in

nature is in sunflowers, this is because not only do they have petals, but they also have two

spirals in the center of the flower. So if you were to count the many petals, one is most likely to

count exactly 21, 34, or 55 petals, and the spirals in the center can be counted as well, resulting
in one of the Fibonacci numbers in one direction, and an adjacent Fibonacci number in the other

direction (Bohannon). Pine cones are another part of nature that show Fibonacci spirals, and

small pine cones will typically have 8 spirals in one direction and 13 in the other (Reich). A

Fibonacci triple can be found in pineapples, having an adjacent hexagonal pattern, “8 hexagons

can be seen to the right, 13 to the left and 21 vertically” (Reich). There has been no real answer

found as to why this happens in nature, and it is constantly being questioned by mathematicians.

The only thing that mathematicians are certain about is that spirals have a deep

connection to the Fibonacci sequence and could be a part if the reason that they are found in

nature (Reich). To better view this concept a basic spiral can be built out of the Fibonacci

numbers. To start two squares of size 1 are drawn next to each other and then atop that a square

of size 2 is drawn followed by 3, 5 8, etc. Then within these squares a quarter of a circle can be

drawn in each square which will result in a natural spiral (Knott). This type of spiral is often seen

in sea shells and snail shells. This type of spiral keeps its shape as it grows infinitely.

Other Accomplishments

Fibonacci is known for the Fibonacci sequence, but that was not his most notable

achievement at the time that he was working with mathematics. In his first book, Liber Abaci, he

included a number of complex problems and had rational for the majority of them, this book was

primarily over basic level arithmetic and algebra, that wasn’t widely known. He included basic

computations and used Roman numerals, but he also introduced the use of the Indian numerals

(9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1), along with the use of the Arabic 0. The way the numbers were computed

is not a way that is commonly used anymore, but it was a very needed achievement at the time

(Reich). His first book also covered root extractions, word problems and indeterminate analysis
(O’Neill). In his following books and Mathematical life he made a number of other notable

achievements. Such as proving that there is no pair x and y such that x2+y2 and x2-y2 are both

perfect squares, he also showed that x^4-y^4 can not be a square (O’Neill). Along with a number

of other big Mathematical achievements, especially in number theory. The Fibonacci Sequence

was really only a minor importance in his work but is so famous because of its wide applications

that most people know nothing of his other works.

Conclusion

Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci was a great mathematician that was beyond his time and

brought mathematics to the common merchants at the time, which was a great achievement in its

self. Through the Fibonacci sequence many lessons can be taught and learned, such that

mathematics is everywhere and in everything. The leaves on a tree, the petals on flowers and

even the mating habits of animals have Mathematical applications that can be studied and seen in

daily life.
Bibliography Fibonacci Number Sequence Audrey Parcell

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