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For the final activity in this session, we'll look at an interesting application of ratios that again demonstrates the amazing patterns that emerge when we examine mathematics.
Fibonacci was the nickname of Leonardo de Pisa, an Italian mathematician. He is best known for a sequence of numbers that bears his name. The Fibonacci sequence begins with 1, 1. Each new number is then found by adding the two preceding numbers:
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Fibonacci Number | |
1 | |
1 | |
2 | |
3 | |
5 | |
8 | |
13 | |
21 | |
34 | |
55 | |
... |
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Index of Numbers |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
... |
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The Fibonacci numbers are found in art, music, and nature. You can find them in the number of spirals on a pine cone or a pineapple. The numbers of leaves or branches on many plants are Fibonacci numbers. The center of a sunflower has clockwise and counterclockwise spirals; the numbers of these spirals are consecutive Fibonacci numbers.
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