Lesson 2: THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

Why study Fibonacci sequence?

 This sequence is a big help to the mathematics world, as of today they are most often applied within
computers as search algorithms.
 They can also occur naturally, the stems of leaves, the branching of trees, the flowering of a sunflower
etc.
 Aside from the Golden ratio of 1.618, this sequence is very important to mathematicians, scientists, and
naturalists for centuries is derived from the Fibonacci sequence.

Fibonacci sequence is the series of numbers

 Numbers are such that each number is the sum of two preceding numbers, starting from zero. The
sequencing goes like this: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144…

Fibonacci (Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci (1170–1240 or 1250)) discovered that numbers of pairs of
rabbits of any months after the first two months can be found by adding the numbers of pairs of the rabbits in
each of the two previous months.

“If a pair of baby rabbits are put into a field, how many pairs will there be: a) at the end of each month, and b)
at the end of one year? Criteria: Rabbits are fully-grown at 1 month and have another pair of bunnies at 2
months. Each pair is comprised of 1 male and 1 female and no rabbits die or leave the field.”

See figure to understand better the pattern.

No. of
Months

1st

2nd

3rd

4rth

5th

Other example.
Find the 12th term of the Fibonacci sequence if the 10th and 11th terms are 34 and 55 respectively.
= 34 + 55
= 89
Answer: The 12th term is 89.
The recursive definition of Fibonacci sequence:
Let the notation (symbol) represent the (nth) Fibonacci number, then the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence are
given by the following:
Formula of recursive: Fn = Fn-1 + Fn-2, where n > 1
Example:
Find the 6th term
.=
.= +
.=5+3
.=8
Therefore, the Fibonacci number is 8.

Fibonacci series and Golden ratio are closely connected, when we take any two successive (one after the other)
Fibonacci Numbers, their ratio is very close to the “phi”. In fact the bigger the pair of Fibonacci numbers, the
closer the approximation. (233/144 = 377 = 1.618025751…)
Using Golden ration to calculate Fibonacci numbers
Formula:
Example: Find the Fibonacci number using the golden ratio when n=6.

*The Fibonacci number in the sequence is 8.