In mathematics, the Fibonacci sequence is a sequence in which each number is the sum of the two
preceding ones. Numbers that are part of the Fibonacci sequence are known as Fibonacci
numbers, commonly denoted Fn . The sequence commonly starts from 0 and 1, although some
authors start the sequence from 1 and 1 or sometimes (as did Fibonacci) from 1 and 2. Starting from
0 and 1, the first few values in the sequence are:[1]
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144.
The Fibonacci numbers were first described in Indian mathematics,[2][3][4] as early as 200 BC in
work by Pingala on enumerating possible patterns of Sanskrit poetry formed from syllables of
two lengths. They are named after the Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, also known
as Fibonacci, who introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics in his 1202
book Liber Abaci.[5]
Fibonacci numbers appear unexpectedly often in mathematics, so much so that there is an
entire journal dedicated to their study, the Fibonacci Quarterly. Applications of Fibonacci
numbers include computer algorithms such as the Fibonacci search technique and the Fibonacci
heap data structure, and graphs called Fibonacci cubes used for interconnecting parallel and
distributed systems. They also appear in biological settings, such as branching in trees, the
arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruit sprouts of a pineapple, the flowering of an artichoke,
and the arrangement of a pine cone's bracts, though they do not occur in all species.
Fibonacci numbers are also strongly related to the golden ratio: Binet's formula expresses
the nth Fibonacci number in terms of n and the golden ratio, and implies that the ratio of two
consecutive Fibonacci numbers tends to the golden ratio as n increases. Fibonacci numbers are
also closely related to Lucas numbers, which obey the same recurrence relation and with the
Fibonacci numbers form a complementary pair of Lucas sequences.
Definition[edit]
The Fibonacci spiral: an approximation of the golden
spiral created by drawing circular arcs connecting the opposite corners of squares in the
Fibonacci tiling (see preceding image)
The Fibonacci numbers may be defined by the recurrence relation[6]
and
for n > 1.
Under some older definitions, the value is omitted, so that the sequence starts with
and the recurrence is valid for n > 2.[7][8]
The first 20 Fibonacci numbers Fn are:[1]
F F F F F F F F7 F8 F9 F1 F1 F12 F13 F14 F15 F16 F17 F18 F19
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1
1 2 3 14 23 37 61 98 159 258 418
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 55 89
3 1 4 4 3 7 0 7 7 4 1
