What are Fibonacci Numbers?

Fibonacci sequence

The Fibonacci sequence is a set of numbers that starts with a one or a zero, followed by a
one, and proceeds based on the rule that each number (called a Fibonacci number) is equal
to the sum of the preceding two numbers. If the Fibonacci sequence is denoted F (n), where
n is the first term in the sequence, the following equation obtains for n = 0, where the first
two terms are defined as 0 and 1 by convention:

F (0) = 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 ...

In some texts, it is customary to use n = 1. In that case, the first two terms are defined as 1
and 1 by default, and therefore:

F (1) = 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 ...

The Fibonacci sequence is named for Leonardo Pisano (also known as Leonardo Pisano or
Fibonacci), an Italian mathematician who lived from 1170 - 1250. Fibonacci used the
arithmetic series to illustrate a problem based on a pair of breeding rabbits:

"How many pairs of rabbits will be produced in a year, beginning with a single pair, if in every
month each pair bears a new pair which becomes productive from the second month on?"
The result can be expressed numerically as: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 ...

Fibonacci numbers are of interest to biologists and physicists because they are frequently
observed in various natural objects and phenomena. The branching patterns in trees and
leaves, for example, and the distribution of seeds in a raspberry are based on Fibonacci
numbers.

The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it.

The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1)

The 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2),
And the 5 is (2+3),
and so on!

The first 50 Fibonacci numbers

n : F(n)=factorisation
0:0
1:1
2:1
3:2
4:3
5:5
6 : 8 = 23
7 : 13
8 : 21 = 3 x 7
9 : 34 = 2 x 17
10 : 55 = 5 x 11
11 : 89
12 : 144 = 24 x 32
13 : 233
14 : 377 = 13 x 29
15 : 610 = 2 x 5 x 61
16 : 987 = 3 x 7 x 47
17 : 1597
18 : 2584 = 23 x 17 x 19
19 : 4181 = 37 x 113
20 : 6765 = 3 x 5 x 11 x 41
21 : 10946 = 2 x 13 x 421
22 : 17711 = 89 x 199
23 : 28657
24 : 46368 = 25 x 32 x 7 x 23
25 : 75025 = 52 x 3001
26 : 121393 = 233 x 521
27 : 196418 = 2 x 17 x 53 x 109
28 : 317811 = 3 x 13 x 29 x 281
29 : 514229
30 : 832040 = 23 x 5 x 11 x 31 x 61
31 : 1346269 = 557 x 2417
32 : 2178309 = 3 x 7 x 47 x 2207
33 : 3524578 = 2 x 89 x 19801
34 : 5702887 = 1597 x 3571
35 : 9227465 = 5 x 13 x 141961
36 : 14930352 = 24 x 33 x 17 x 19 x 107
37 : 24157817 = 73 x 149 x 2221
38 : 39088169 = 37 x 113 x 9349
39 : 63245986 = 2 x 233 x 135721
40 : 102334155 = 3 x 5 x 7 x 11 x 41 x 2161
41 : 165580141 = 2789 x 59369
42 : 267914296 = 23 x 13 x 29 x 211 x 421
43 : 433494437
44 : 701408733 = 3 x 43 x 89 x 199 x 307
45 : 1134903170 = 2 x 5 x 17 x 61 x 109441
46 : 1836311903 = 139 x 461 x 28657
47 : 2971215073
48 : 4807526976 = 26 x 32 x 7 x 23 x 47 x 1103
49 : 7778742049 = 13 x 97 x 6168709
50 : 12586269025 = 52 x 11 x 101 x 151 x 3001
HISTORY!
The Fibonacci sequence was invented by the Italian Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (1180-1250),
who is known in mathematical history by several names: Leonardo of Pisa (Pisano means
"from Pisa") and Fibonacci (which means "son of Bonacci").

Bigollo’s Personal Life

The details of Fibonacci’s childhood and upbringing are almost completely unknown, and
what has been deduced has been worked out largely from notes he placed in his own works.
There are no contemporary drawings of him, all portraits having been produced after his
death.

However, he is thought to have been born in the Italian city of Pisa, the son of a prosperous
merchant who may have been the Pisan consul in modern-day Algeria. For this reason, he is
often said to have received an education somewhere in northern Africa.

Bigollo’s Mathematical Works

During the last few years of the 12th century, Fibonacci undertook a series of travels around
the Mediterranean. At this time, the world’s most prominent mathematicians were Arabs, and
he spent much time studying with them. In about 1200, he returned home to Italy, and two
years later he published his book, Liber Abaci.

This work, whose title translates as the Book of Calculation, was extremely influential in that
it popularized the use of the Arabic numerals in Europe, thereby revolutionizing arithmetic
and allowing scientific experiment and discovery to progress more quickly.

In Liber Abaci, Fibonacci used as an example a problem regarding the growth of a rabbit
population. The sequence of numbers which he used to solve the problem was that which
later became known as the Fibonacci sequence. However, it had been known in India
several centuries earlier; this was merely the first time that it had been seen in Western
mathematics.

Bigollo’s Other Works

Fibonacci published several other mathematical works, although not all have survived.
These include a compendium of surveying, works focusing on geometrical problems, and a
commentary on the Elements of Euclid.

He also wrote extensively on commercial arithmetic, although these writings have been lost.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, was interested in science and mathematics, and
Fibonacci stayed with him for a while. By 1240, the mathematician’s standing was such that
he was granted a salary by the Pisan Republic.
DEATH
Fibonacci died in his home city at some point no later than 1250, although the precise date
and circumstances of his death are unknown.

ENTERTAINMENT
7 Beautiful Examples Of The Fibonacci Sequence In Nature
Victoria McGraw 28 March 2016 // At Elmira College

Yes, the math major is indeed doing a math-related post. What are the odds? Hold on, I will
have to calculate it later. Many people have probably learned about Fibonacci in their high
school math classes. However, I thought I would just refresh everyone's memories and show
how math can be beautiful and apply to physical things everywhere around us. Math doesn't
have to be anxiety-inducing or tax calculating; it can be cool and amazing too. For those who
are unfamiliar, Fibonacci (real name Leonardo Bonacci) was a mathematician who
developed the Fibonacci Sequence. The sequence is found by adding the previous two
numbers of the sequence together. It looks like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34... And on it
goes. This pattern can also be seen as:

The Fibonacci Sequence is found all throughout nature, too. It is a natural occurrence that
different things develop based upon the sequence.

1. Shells

As you may have guessed by the curve in the box example above, shells follow the
progressive proportional increase of the Fibonacci Sequence. Shells are probably the most
famous example of the sequence because the lines are very clean and clear to see. They
are also fun to collect and display. And then, there you have it! You're own little piece of
math.

2. Trees

Tree -- we see them everywhere, but do you look and analyse the structure of how the
branches grow out of the tree and each other? No, because you're normal and have better
things to do. But if you did, you would see the Fibonacci Sequence evolve out of the trunk
and spiral and grow the taller and larger the tree becomes. Some truly majestic trees are in
existence today, utilizing this pattern.

3. Flower Pistils
The part of the flower in the middle of the petals (the pistil) follows the Fibonacci Sequence
much more intensely than other pieces of nature, but the result is an incredible piece of art.
The pattern formed by the curve the sequence creates used repeatedly produces a lovely
and intricate design.

4. Flower Petals

Flowers of all kinds follow the pattern, but roses are my favorite kind to use as an example of
the Fibonacci Sequence. I like it because the petals aren't spread out and the spiral is more
obvious and clear, like with the shell. The petals unfold more and more and the sequence
increases. Roses are beautiful (and so is math).

5. Leaves

Leaves follow Fibonacci both when growing off branches and stems and in their veins. I,
personally, find the veins much more interesting and amazing to look at. Similar to a tree,
leaf veins branch off more and more in the outward proportional increments of the Fibonacci
Sequence.

6. Storms

Specifically hurricanes and tornadoes, many storm systems follow the Fibonacci Sequence. I
suppose this is not beautiful, but more interesting. On a map, at least, hurricanes look cool. I
guess we could say this example proves math can be beautiful and destructive.

7. You!

Yes! You are an example of the beauty of the Fibonacci Sequence. The human body has
various representations of the Fibonacci Sequence proportions, from your face to your ear to
your hands and beyond! You have now been proven to be mathematically gorgeous, so go
forth and be beautiful! ...and maybe think math is a little bit better than you first thought?
8. Rabbits

1.1 Fibonacci's Rabbits

The original problem that Fibonacci investigated (in the year 1202) was about how fast
rabbits could breed in ideal circumstances.
Fluffy bunnies
Suppose a newly-born pair of rabbits, one male, one female, are put in a field. Rabbits are
able to mate at the age of one month so that at the end of its second month a female can
produce another pair of rabbits. Suppose that our rabbits never die and that the female
always produces one new pair (one male, one female) every month from the second month
on. The puzzle that Fibonacci posed was...

How many pairs will there be in one year?

At the end of the first month, they mate, but there is still one only 1 pair.
At the end of the second month the female produces a new pair, so now there are 2 pairs of
rabbits in the field.
At the end of the third month, the original female produces a second pair, making 3 pairs in
all in the field.
At the end of the fourth month, the original female has produced yet another new pair, the
female born two months ago produces her first pair also, making 5 pairs.
Fluffy bunnies family tree

The number of pairs of rabbits in the field at the start of each month is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,
34, …

9. Flowers, Fruit and Leaves

On many plants, the number of petals is a Fibonacci number:

buttercups have 5 petals; lilies and iris have 3 petals; some delphiniums have 8; corn
marigolds have 13 petals; some asters have 21 whereas daisies can be found with 34, 55 or
even 89 petals.
The links here are to various flower and plant catalogues:

the Dutch Flowerweb's searchable index called Flowerbase.

The US Department of Agriculture's Plants Database containing over 1000 images, plant
information and searchable database.
fuchsia has 4 sepals
Fuchsia 5 petals on a pink
Pinks lily
Lily Mike Bentley - Four Daisies
Daisies
available as a
poster at AllPosters.com
3 petals: lily, iris
 Mark Taylor (Australia), a grower of Hemerocallis and Liliums (lilies) points out that
although these appear to have 6 petals as shown above, 3 are in fact sepals and 3 are
petals. Sepals form the outer protection of the flower when in bud. Mark's Barossa Daylilies
web site (opens in a new window) contains many flower pictures where the difference
between sepals and petals is clearly visible.
4 petals Very few plants show 4 petals (or sepals) but some, such as the fuchsia above, do.
4 is not a Fibonacci number! We return to this point near the bottom of this page.
5 petals: buttercup, wild rose, larkspur, columbine (aquilegia), pinks (shown above)
The humble buttercup has been bred into a multi-petalled form.
8 petals: delphiniums
13 petals: ragwort, corn marigold, cineraria, some daisies
21 petals: aster, black-eyed susan, chicory
34 petals: plantain, pyrethrum
55, 89 petals: michaelmas daisies, the asteraceae family.
Some species are very precise about the number of petals they have - e.g. buttercups, but
others have petals that are very near those above, with the average being a Fibonacci
number.

10.Fibonacci Fingers?

Look at your own hand:

handYou have ...

2 hands each of which has ...
5 fingers, each of which has ...
3 parts separated by ...
2 knuckles
Is this just a coincidence or not?????

However, if you measure the lengths of the bones in your finger (best seen by slightly
bending the finger) does it look as if the ratio of the longest bone in a finger to the middle
bone is Phi?
What about the ratio of the middle bone to the shortest bone (at the end of the finger) - Phi
again?
Can you find any ratios in the lengths of the fingers that looks like Phi? ---or does it look as if
it could be any other similar ratio also?
Why not measure your friends' hands and gather some statistics?
NOTE: When this page was first created (back in 1996) this was meant as a joke and as
something to investigate to show that Phi, a precise ratio of 1.6180339... is not "the Answer
to Life The Universe and Everything" -- since we all know the answer to that is 42 :-).
The idea of the lengths of finger parts being in phi ratios was posed in 1973 but two later
articles investigating this both show this is false.
Although the Fibonacci numbers are mentioned in the title of an article in 2003, it is actually
about the golden section ratios of bone lengths in the human hand, showing that in 100 hand
x-rays only 1 in 12 could reasonably be supposed to have golden section bone-length ratios.
Research by two British doctors in 2002 looks at lengths of fingers from their rotation points
in almost 200 hands and again fails to find to find phi (the actual ratios found were 1:1 or
1:1.3).
On the adaptability of man's hand J W Littler, The Hand vol 5 (1973) pages 187-191.
The Fibonacci Sequence: Relationship to the Human Hand Andrew E Park, John J
Fernandez, Karl Schmedders and Mark S Cohen Journal of Hand Surgery vol 28 (2003)
pages 157-160.
Radiographic assessment of the relative lengths of the bones of the fingers of the human
hand by R. Hamilton and R. A. Dunsmuir Journal of Hand Surgery vol 27B (British and
European Volume, 2002) pages 546-548

[with thanks to Gregory O'Grady of New Zealand for these references and the information in
this note.]
Similarly, if you find the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5 occurring somewhere it does not always
means the Fibonacci numbers are there (although they could be).

11. SPIRAL GALAXIES

Not surprisingly, spiral galaxies also follow the familiar Fibonacci pattern. The Milky Way has
several spiral arms, each of them a logarithmic spiral of about 12 degrees. As an interesting
aside, spiral galaxies appear to defy Newtonian physics. As early as 1925, astronomers
realized that, since the angular speed of rotation of the galactic disk varies with distance
from the center, the radial arms should become curved as galaxies rotate. Subsequently,
after a few rotations, spiral arms should start to wind around a galaxy. But they don't —
hence the so-called winding problem. The stars on the outside, it would seem, move at a
velocity higher than expected — a unique trait of the cosmos that helps preserve its shape.

GOLDEN RATIO

In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of
their sum to the larger of the two quantities. The figure on the right illustrates the geometric
relationship. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0,

{\displaystyle {\frac {a+b}{a}}={\frac {a}{b}}\ {\stackrel {\text{def}}{=}}\ \varphi ,}{\displaystyle

{\frac {a+b}{a}}={\frac {a}{b}}\ {\stackrel {\text{def}}{=}}\ \varphi ,}
where the Greek letter phi ({\displaystyle \varphi }\varphi or {\displaystyle \phi }\phi )
represents the golden ratio.[a] It is an irrational number that is a solution to the quadratic
equation {\displaystyle x^{2}-x-1=0}x^{2}-x-1=0, with a value of:

{\displaystyle \varphi ={\frac {1+{\sqrt {5}}}{2}}=1.6180339887\ldots .}\varphi ={\frac {1+{\sqrt

{5}}}{2}}=1.6180339887\ldots .[1]
The golden ratio is also called the golden mean or golden section (Latin: sectio aurea).[2][3]
Other names include extreme and mean ratio,[4] medial section, divine proportion, divine
section (Latin: sectio divina), golden proportion, golden cut,[5] and golden number.[6][7][8]

Mathematicians since Euclid have studied the properties of the golden ratio, including its
appearance in the dimensions of a regular pentagon and in a golden rectangle, which may
be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio. The golden ratio has
also been used to analyze the proportions of natural objects as well as man-made systems
such as financial markets, in some cases based on dubious fits to data.[9] The golden ratio
appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other
plant parts.

CALCULATION
PROOF
Paper

A4 size is the most frequent used paper size in various kinds of documents including
copying paper. The standard size of A4 paper is 297mm * 210mm. As we can see, that
numerical value is not simple. Why did people decide such a complex size? For example, if it
were designed in the size of 300mm * 200mm, that seems to be much simpler and more
convenient. When we calculate the ratio of 297 to 210, we can get about 1.414. It is also
different from the Golden Ratio ( 1.618)

It is known that Deutsche Industrie Normen suggested such a size in order to minimize the
loss of paper in the process of smaller size paper by cutting the larger one. That is, the first
largest original paper should has a good shape itself and the smaller one after being divided
in halves also should keep up their good shape. It is desirable to get the smaller one without
cutting out some part of the paper in the middle of repeating such process.

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