FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

What is the Fibonacci Sequence?

Nothing can beat the beauty of nature. Finding Mathematics in nature at first glance may seem less obvious.
However, if one does take time to examine nature, then one can describe its beauty mathematically.
The Fibonacci sequence is one of the most famous sequences in mathematics.
Each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. So, the sequence goes: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5,
8, 13, 21, 34, and so on. The mathematical equation describing it is,
F n=F n−1+ F n−2

where: F n=Fibonacci number

F n−1=the previous term
F n−2=theterm before F n−1
A mainstay of high-school and undergraduate classes, it's been called "nature's secret code," and "nature's universal
rule."
Makes a Spiral
When we make squares with those widths, we get a nice spiral:

History of the Fibonacci Sequence

Many sources claim it was first discovered or "invented" by Leonardo Fibonacci. The Italian mathematician, who was
born around A.D. 1170, was originally known as Leonardo of Pisa, said Keith Devlin, a mathematician at Stanford University.
Only in the 19th century did historians come up with the nickname Fibonacci (roughly meaning, "son of the Bonacci clan"), to
distinguish the mathematician from another famous Leonardo of Pisa.
But Leonardo of Pisa did not actually discover the sequence. Ancient Sanskrit texts that used the Hindu-Arabic
numeral system first mention it, and those predate Leonardo of Pisa by centuries.
However, in 1202 Leonardo of Pisa published the massive tome "Liber Abaci," a mathematics "cookbook for how to
do calculations,”. Written for tradesmen, "Liber Abaci" laid out Hindu-Arabic arithmetic useful for tracking profits, losses,
remaining loan balances and so on, Devlin said.
In one place in the book, Leonardo of Pisa introduces the sequence with a problem involving rabbits. The problem
goes as follows: Start with a male and a female rabbit. After a month, they mature and produce a litter with another male and
female rabbit. A month later, those rabbits reproduce and out comes — you guessed it — another male and female, who also
can mate after a month. (Ignore the wildly improbable biology here.) After a year, how many rabbits would you have? The
answer, it turns out, is 144 — and the formula used to get to that answer is what's now known as the Fibonacci sequence.
"Liber Abaci" first introduced the sequence to the Western world. But after a few scant paragraphs on breeding
rabbits, Leonardo of Pisa never mentioned the sequence again. In fact, it was mostly forgotten until the 19th century, when
mathematicians worked out more about the sequence's mathematical properties. In 1877, French mathematician Édouard
Lucas officially named the rabbit problem "the Fibonacci sequence,".
About Fibonacci
His real name was Leonardo Pisano Bogollo, and he lived between 1170 and 1250 in Italy.
"Fibonacci" was his nickname, which roughly means "Son of Bonacci".
As well as being famous for the Fibonacci Sequence, he helped spread Hindu-Arabic
Numerals (like our present numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) through Europe in place of
Roman Numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, etc). That has saved us all a lot of trouble!
Golden Ratio

And here is a surprise. When we take any two successive (one after the other) Fibonacci Numbers, their ratio is very
close to the Golden Ratio "φ " which is approximately 1.618034...

In fact, the bigger the pair of Fibonacci Numbers, the closer the approximation. Let us try a few:

B
A B
A
2 3 1.5
3 5 1.666666666…
5 8 1.6
8 13 1.625
… … …
144 233 1.618055556…
233 377 1.618025751…
… … …

Using Golden Ratio to Calculate Fibonacci Numbers

What is the 80th term of the Fibonacci sequence? It may take you an hour or more to find it. However, one may
calculate the Fibonacci number using the Golden Ratio. It is usually denoted by the Greek letter “ phi ”φ .

The Golden Ratio is a special number which is approximately equal to 1.618034 and may be used to find the nth
term of a Fibonacci Sequence using the Binet’s Formula.
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5

F n=
2 (− ) (
2 )
√5
Find the following terms of the Fibonacci Sequence.
a. 34th term
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5
Solution:
F n=
( 2
− ) (2 )
√5
34 34
1+ √ 5 1−√5

F 34=
( 2 ) (
−
2 )
√5
12,752,043−0.00000007823
F 34=
√5
F 34=5,702,887
b. 10th term
n n
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5
Solution:
F n=
( 2
− ) (2 )
√5
10 10
1+ √ 5 1−√ 5

F 10=
( 2 ) (
−
2 )
√5
122.9919−0.0081
F 10=
√5
F 10=55
References
Ghose, T. (2018, October 24). What Is the Fibonacci Sequence? Retrieved November 11, 2020, from
https://www.livescience.com/37470-fibonacci-sequence.html
Manlulu, E. A., & Hipolito, L. M. (2019). Mathematics in the Modern World (First Edition ed.). Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines:
Rex Book Store, Inc (RSBI).
Fibonacci Sequence. Retrieved from https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fibonacci-sequence.html