Lesson

1.3 The Fibonacci Sequence

Specific Objectives

1. To define sequence and its types

2. To differentiate Fibonacci sequence from other types of sequence
3. To discover golden ratio and golden rectangle; and
4. To learn how to compute for the nth term in the Fibonacci Sequence

As we have discussed in the preceding lesson, human mind is capable of

identifying and organizing patterns. We were also to realized that there are
structures and patterns in nature that we don’t usually draw attention to.
Likewise, we arrived at a position that in nature, some things follow
mathematical sequences and one of them follow the Fibonacci sequence. We
noticed that these sequences is observable in some flower petals, on the
spirals of some shells and even on sunflower seeds. It is amazing to think that
the Fibonacci sequence is dramatically present in nature and it opens the door
to understand seriously the nature of sequence.

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Discussion

Sequence

Sequence refers to an ordered list of numbers called terms, that may have
repeated values. The arrangement of these terms is set by a definite rule.
th
(Mathematics in the Modern World, 14 Edition, Aufmann, RN. et al.).
Cosider the given below example:

1, 3, 5, 7, …
(1stterm) (2nd term) (3rd term) (4th term)

As shown above, the elements in the sequence are called terms. It is called
sequence because the list is ordered and it follows a certain kind of pattern
that must be recognized in order to see the expanse. The three dots at the
end of the visible patterns means that the sequence is infinite.

There are different types of sequence and the most common are the
arithmetic sequence, geometric sequence, harmonic sequence, and
Fibonacci sequence.

Arithmetic sequence. It is a sequence of numbers that follows a definite

pattern. To determine if the series of numbers follow an arithmetic
sequence, check the difference between two consecutive terms. If common
difference is observed, then definitely arithmetic sequence governed the
pattern. To clearly illustrate the arrangement, consider the example below:

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 …

2 2 2 2 2 30
 MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Notice in the given example above, the common difference between two
consecutive terms in the sequence is two. The common difference is the
clue that must be figure out in a pattern in order to recognize it as an
arithmetic sequence.

Geometric sequence. If in the arithmetic sequence we need to check for the

common difference, in geometric sequence we need to look for the common
ratio. The illustrated in the example below, geometric sequence is not as
obvious as the arithmetic sequence. All possibilities must be explored until
some patterns of uniformity can intelligently be struck. At first it may
seemed like pattern less but only by digging a little bit deeper that we can
finally delve the constancy. That is 2
,
8
,
32
, … generate 4, 4, 4,…

8 32 128,

2, 8, 32, 128, …

4 4 4
Harmonic Sequence. In the sequence, the reciprocal of the terms behaved in
a manner like arithmetic sequence. Consider the example below and notice
an interesting pattern in the series. With this pattern, the reciprocal appears
like arithmetic sequence. Only in recognizing the appearance that we can
finally decode the sequencing the govern the series.
12, 14, 16, 18, 101, …

Fibonacci Sequence. This specific sequence was named after an Italian

mathematician Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (1170 - 1250). He discovered the
sequence while he was studying rabbits. The Fibonacci sequence is a series
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of numbers governed by some unusual arithmetic rule. The sequence is

organized in a way a number can be obtained by adding the two previous
numbers.

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …

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

th
Notice that the number 2 is actually the sum of 1 and 1. Also the 5 term
which is number 5 is based on addition of the two previous terms 2, and 3.
That is the kind of pattern being generated by the Fibonacci sequence. It is
infinite in expanse and it was once purely maintained claim as a
mathematical and mental exercise but later on the it was observed that the
ownership of this pattern was also being claimed by some species of
flowers, petals, pineapple, pine cone, cabbages and some shells.

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …

To explore a little bit more about the Fibonacci sequence, the location of
the term was conventionally tagged as Fib( ). This means that Fib(1)=1,
Fib(2)=1, Fib(3)=2 and Fib(4)=3. In this method, the Fib( ) is actually
referring to the the th term of the sequence. It is also possible to make
some sort of addition in this sequence. For instance:

Fib (2) + Fib (6) = _?__

nd
Fib(2) refers to the 2 term in the sequence which is “1”. And Fib(6) refers
th
to the 6 term which is “8”. So, the answer to that equation is simply “9”

Formula for computing for the nth term in the Fibonacci Sequence
n n
xn = φ − (1−φ)
√5

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Where:
Xn stands for the Fibonacci number we’re looking for
N stands for the position of the number in the Fibonacci sequence
Φ stands for the value of the golden ratio
th
Let us try for example: What is the 5 Fibonacci number? By using the formula
we’ll get:
5 5
X5 = (1.618) − (1−1.618)
√5

X5= 5

The amazing grandeur of Fibonacci sequence was also discovered in the

structure of Golden rectangle. The golden rectangle is made up of
squares whose sizes, surprisingly is also behaving similar to the Fibonacci
sequence. Take a serious look at the figure:

The Golden Ratio

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As we can see in the figure, there is no complexity in forming a spiral with
the use of the golden rectangle starting from one of the sides of the first
Fibonacci square going to the edges of each of the next squares. This
golden rectangle shows that the Fibonacci sequence is not only about
sequence of numbers of some sort but it is also a geometric sequence
observing a rectangle ratio. The spiral line generated by the ratio is
generously scattered around from infinite to infinitesimal.

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