FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
The human mind is hard wired to
recognize patterns
About Fibonacci, The Man
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".
Being famous for the Fibonacci Sequence, he helped spread
Hindu-Arabic Numerals through Europe in place of Roman
Numerals.
Fibonacci Day is November 23rd, as it has the digits "1,
1, 2, 3" which is part of the sequence.
The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, .....
Can you identify the next 5 terms in the sequence?
A SEQUENCE is an ordered list of numbers, called terms, that
may have repeated values. The arrangement of these terms is set
by a definite rule.
Test Yourself
Analyze the given sequence for its rule and identify the next
three terms.
a.1, 10, 100, 1000, ____, ____, ____
b.2, 5, 9, 14, 20, ____, ____, ____
c. 16, 32, 64, 128, ___, ___, ___
Starting with 0 and 1, the succeeding terms in the sequence can be generated
by adding the two numbers that came before the term:
0+1=1 0, 1, 1
1+1=2 0, 1, 1, 2
1+2=3 0, 1, 1, 2, 3
2+3=5 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5
3+5=8 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
5 + 8 = 13 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
……….. ………….
……….. ………….
As previously mentioned this sequence is widely known as Fibonacci
sequence of which this pattern is said to have been discovered in India
hundreds of years before. Hence, Fibonacci was not the first to know about
the sequence.
Significance of Fibonacci Sequence
Has many interesting properties that are visible in
nature which contain Fibonacci numbers
spiral arrangement of sunflower seeds
number of petals in a flower
shape of a snail shell
sunflower seeds
The Petals
The Snail Shell
The Storm
Your face
The Leaf
Cactus Plant
Cactus Plant
Cactus Plant
It is also interesting to note that the ratios of successive
Fibonacci numbers approach the number Φ (Phi) also known as
the Golden Ratio which is approximately equal to 1.618.
Geometrically, it can also be visualized as a rectangle perfectly
formed by a square and another rectangle, which can be
repeated infinitely inside each section.
Shapes and figures that bear this proportion are
generally considered to be aesthetically pleasing, as
this ratio is visible in many works of art and
architecture such as in the MONA LISA, the NOTRE
DAME CATHEDRAL, and the PARTHENON, the HUMAN
DNA MOLECULE also contains Fibonacci numbers, being
34 angstroms long by 21 angstroms wide for each full
cycle of the double helix spiral. All these
approximates the Golden Ratio at a value of about
1.619 ( 1angstrom =
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
Monalisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Parthenon
Human DNA Molecule
nth Fibonacci Number
Fib(n)=
It involves the golden number Phi and its reciprocal phi
Fib(n)=
That is: P = p and –n becomes n
From the previous discussion, the golden rule
Phi=1.61803… = Phi =. and
phi = Phi – 1 =
The next version uses just one of the golden section
values: Phi and all the powers are positive, that is:
Fib(n) =
Now, since phi = , we can remove the fraction in the numerator
and write it in terms of square root of 5.
Then:
That is:
Fib(n) =
Which involves the square root
and power of Phi
Example: Find Fib(6)
Using The Golden Ratio to Calculate
Fibonacci Numbers
=8
The answer always comes out as a whole number
Determining the number of digits has Fib(n)
Formula:
log
Which is the same as
or:
n log Phi – (log 5)/2
Example: How many digits has Fib (9)?
Solution:
More of Fibonacci Numbers
Detecting when N is a Fibonacci Number
N is a Fibonacci number if and only
if 5 N2 + 4 or 5 N2 – 4 is a square
number.
Calculating the next Fibonacci number directly
F(n+1) = round( F(n) Phi )
Note: The formula only applies when n is
bigger than 1
That is:
F(n+1) = round( F(n) Phi ) for all n > 1
The Golden Ratio
Taking any two
successive (one after the
other) Fibonacci Numbers,
their ratio is very close to the
Golden Ratio"φ" which is
approximately 1.618034...
The bigger the pair of Fibonacci
Numbers, the closer the
approximation
FN also works when we pick two
random whole numbers to begin
the sequence
Some Interesting Things about Fibonacci Numbers
Here is the Fibonacci sequence again:
n = 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55
There is an interesting pattern:
Look at the number x3 = 2. Every 3rd number is a multiple of 2 (2,
8, 34, 144, 610, ...)
Look at the number x4 = 3. Every 4th number is a multiple of 3 (3,
21, 144, ...)
Look at the number x5 = 5. Every 5th number is a multiple of 5 (5,
55, 610, ...)
And so on (every nth number is a multiple of xn).
Terms Below Zero
The Fibonacci sequence works below zero also, like this:
n = ... -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 …
xn = ... -8 5 -3 2 -1 1 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 …
The sequence below zero has the same numbers as the sequence
above zero, except they follow a +-+- ... pattern. It can be written
like this:
x−n = (−1)n+1 xn
(Prove to yourself that each number is found by adding up the two
numbers before it!)
More of Fibonacci Numbers
Square the number
12 = 1 32 = 9 132 = 169
12 = 1 52 = 25 212 = 441
22 = 4 82 = 64 342 = 1156
Adding consecutive term gives:
1+1=2 9 + 25 = 34 169 + 441 = 610
` 1+4=5 25 + 64 = 89 441 + 1156 = 1597
4 + 9 = 13 64 + 169 = 233
Adding longer strips, then factor
1+1+4=6 =2^3
1 + 1 + 4 + 9 = 15 =3^5
1 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 25 = 40 =5^8
1 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 25 + 64 = 104 = 8 ^ 13
1 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 25 + 64 + 169 = 273 = 13 ^ 21
We got these numbers because we
have squared numbers.
When you draw some of these squares, then:
It will look like this, a spiral Fibonacci numbers-sequence
Try to answer the following:
How many digits are there in Fib(n)?
1.F(100)?
2.F(15)?
3.F(70)
4.F(38)
5.F(10)?
Find the nth term of the Fibonacci sequence.
1.Fib (12)
2.Fib (21)
3.Fib (34)
4.Fib (80)
5.Fib (95)
More Exercises
Let Fib (1) = 1, Fib (2) = 1, and Fib (3) = 2, and so on. Find the
following:
a. Fib (1) + Fib (2) + Fib (3) = __________
b. Fib (1) + Fib (2)+…+ Fib (9) = _________
c. 2 Fib (8) = __________
d. If Fib (22) = 17, 711 and Fib (24) = 46, 368, what is Fib (23)?
e. Fib (5) + Fib (6) = _________
