Fibonacci

Month 0
numbers
1 pair

Month 1
1 pair 16 December 2020

Month 2
2 pairs
Jenny Gage
Month 3
University of Cambridge
3 pairs
Introductions and preliminary task
Humphrey Davy – flowers
Seven Kings – flowers
John of Gaunt – pine cones or
pineapples
Ellen Wilkinson – pine cones or
pineapples
Fibonacci numbers in art and nature
Fibonacci numbers in nature

An example of efficiency in nature.

As each row of seeds in a sunflower or
pine cone, or petals on a flower grows,
it tries to put the maximum number in
the smallest space.
Fibonacci numbers are the whole
numbers which express the golden
ratio, which corresponds to the angle
which maximises number of items in
the smallest space.
Why are they called Fibonnaci numbers?
Leonardo of Pisa, c1175 – c1250
Liber Abaci, 1202, one of the first books to be
published by a European
One of the first people to introduce the decimal
number system into Europe
On his travels saw the advantage of the Hindu-
Arabic numbers compared to Roman numerals
Rabbit problem – in the follow-up work
About how maths is related to all kinds of things
you’d never have thought of
1 1 2 3

Complete the table of

Fibonacci numbers
1 1 2 3 5

8 13 21
 1 1 2 3 5

8 13 21 34 55

89 144
 1 1 2 3 5

8 13 21 34 55

89 144 233 377 610

987
 1 1 2 3 5

8 13 21 34 55

89 144 233 377 610

987 1597 2584 4181 6765

Find the ratio of successive
Fibonacci numbers:
1 : 1, 2 : 1, 3 : 2, 5 : 3, 8 : 5, …
1 : 1, 1 : 2, 2 : 3, 3 : 5, 5 : 8, …
What do you notice?
 2 2÷1=2

1.75 5 ÷ 3 = 1.667
13 ÷ 8 = 1.625
34 ÷ 
21 1.618
= 1.619
1.5 21 ÷ 13 = 1.615
8 ÷ 5 = 1.6
3 ÷ 2 = 1.5
1.25

1 1÷1=1
1÷1=1
0.75 2 ÷ 3 = 0.667
5 ÷ 8 = 0.625 13 ÷ 21 =  0.618
0.619
0.5
21 ÷ 34 = 0.617
3 ÷ 5 = 0.6 8 ÷ 13 = 0.615
1 ÷ 2 = 0.5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 Some mathematical properties
of Fibonacci numbers
Report
back at 1. Find the sum of the
13.45 first 1, 2, 3, 4, … EW
Fibonacci numbers
Try one or more of
these. 2. Add up F1, F1 + F3,
F1 + F3 + F5, … JG
Try to find some
general rule or
pattern. 3. Add up F2, F2 + F4,
Go high enough to F2 + F4 + F6, … SK
see if your rules or
patterns break down 4. Divide each
after a bit! Fibonacci number
Justify your answers by 11, ignoring any HD
if possible. remainders.
Are our bodies based on
What do
Fibonacci numbers? you
notice?
Find the ratio of
Height (red) : Top
of head to
fingertips (blue)
Top of head to
fingertips (blue) :
Top of head to
elbows (green)
Length of forearm
(yellow) : length Report
back at
of hand (purple)
14.00
 Spirals
Use the worksheet,
and pencils,
compasses and rulers,
to create spirals based
on Fibonacci numbers

Display of spirals
at 14.25

Compare your spirals

with this nautilus shell
What have Fibonacci numbers got
to do with:
Pascal’s triangle
Coin combinations Report
back at
Brick walls 14.53
Rabbits eating lettuces
Combine all that you want to say
into one report