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MATLAB Guide to
Fibonacci Numbers
and the Golden Ratio

A Simplified Approach

Peter I. Kattan

Petra Books

www.PetraBooks.com
Peter I. Kattan, PhD

Correspondence about this book may be sent

to the author at one of the following two email
addresses:

[email protected]

[email protected]

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the

Golden Ratio: A Simplified Approach
Written by Peter I. Kattan.
ISBN-13: 978-1466229877
ISBN-10: 146622987X
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
copied or reproduced without written permission of
the author or publisher.
© 2011 Peter I. Kattan
In Loving Memory of My Father
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the
Golden Ratio
A Simplified Approach
Preface
This book is for people who love MATLAB and
Fibonacci numbers. The book is divided into two major
parts. The first part comprises of five chapters that review the
essentials of MATLAB that are needed. The second part
consists of six chapters on Fibonacci numbers and the
Golden Ratio. The book is really designed for beginners and
students. The material presented has been simplified to such
a degree such that the book may also be used for students
and teachers in high schools. One of the objectives of writing
this book is to introduce both MATLAB and Fibonacci
numbers to high school students.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of MATLAB and may be

skipped upon a first reading of the book. Chapter 2 reviews
the important topic of symbolic computing with MATLAB.
In this chapter, it is shown how to make algebraic calculations
using MATLAB. Solving various types of algebraic equations
is illustrated in Chapter 3. Next, writing MATLAB functions
is presented in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents different
methods of plotting both two-dimensional and three-
dimensional graphs in MATLAB. Thus the first five chapters
are a short review of the capabilities of MATLAB that are
needed to study Fibonacci numbers.

The second part of the book starts with Chapter 6 on

Fibonacci numbers. This is followed by deriving the Golden
Ratio in Chapter 7 in great detail and simplification. Various
properties of the Golden Ratio are illustrated in Chapter 8.
This is followed in Chapter 9 by studying other types of
sequences that are related to the Fibonacci sequence. In
particular, the Lucas sequence is presented in this chapter.
Chapter 10 presents various generalizations of Fibonacci
numbers while Chapter 11 concludes the presentation with a
short overview of random Fibonacci numbers.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio vi

The material presented in this book has been tested with

version 7 of MATLAB and should work with any prior or
later versions. The material presented is very easy and simple
to understand – written in a simplified manner. An extensive
references list is also provided at the end of the book with
references to books and numerous web links for more
information. The references provided will guide you to other
resources where you can get more information.

I would like to thank my family members for their help

and continued support without which this book would not
have been possible. In this edition, I am providing two email
addresses for my readers to contact me -
[email protected] and [email protected].

August 2011 Peter I. Kattan

 MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio vii

Contents
Part I: Review of MATLAB 9

1. Introduction ……………………………………………… 11

2. Symbolic Computing 21

3. Solving Equations 27

4. MATLAB Functions 39

5. Graphs in MATLAB 53

Part II: Fibonacci Numbers and the 69

Golden Ratio

6. Fibonacci Numbers 71

7. The Golden Ratio 87

8. Properties of the Golden Ratio 99

9. Lucas Numbers 119

10. Generalizations of Fibonacci Numbers 141

11. Random Fibonacci Numbers 155

References …………………………………............. 159

Installation of MATLAB ……………………........ 170

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 8

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 9

Part I

Review of MATLAB
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 10

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 11

1. Introduction
In this introductory chapter a short MATLAB tutorial is
provided. This tutorial describes the basic MATLAB commands
needed. Note that there are numerous free MATLAB tutorials on the
internet – check references [1-28]. Also, you may want to consult
many of the excellent books on the subject – check references [29-
47]. This chapter may be skipped on a first reading of the book.

In this tutorial it is assumed that you have started MATLAB on

your computer system successfully and that you are now ready to
type the commands at the MATLAB prompt (which is denoted by
double arrows “>>”). For installing MATLAB on your computer
system, check the web links provided at the end of the book.

Entering scalars and simple operations is easy as is shown in the

examples below:

>> 2*3+5

ans =

11

The order of the operations will be discussed in subsequent

chapters.

>> cos(60*pi/180)

ans =

0.5000

The argument for the cos command and the value of pi

will be discussed in subsequent chapters.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 12

We assign the value of 4 to the variable x as follows:

>> x = 4

x =

>> 3/sqrt(2+x)

ans =

1.2247

To suppress the output in MATLAB use a semicolon to end

the command line as in the following examples. If the semicolon is
not used then the output will be shown by MATLAB:

>> y = 30;
>> z = 8;
>> x = 2; y-z;
>> w = 4*y + 3*z

w =

144

MATLAB is case-sensitive, i.e. variables with lowercase

letters are different than variables with uppercase letters. Consider
the following examples using the variables x and X:

>> x = 1

x =

1
>> X = 2
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 13

X =

>> x

x =

>> X

X =

Use the help command to obtain help on any particular

MATLAB command. The following example demonstrates the use of
help to obtain help on the det command which calculated the
determinant of a matrix:

>> help det

DET Determinant.
DET(X) is the determinant of the square
matrix X.

Use COND instead of DET to test for

matrix singularity.

See also cond.

Overloaded functions or methods (ones

with the same name in other directories)
help sym/det.m
Reference page in Help browser
doc det
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 14

The following examples show how to enter matrices and

perform some simple matrix operations:

>> x = [1 2 3 ; 4 5 6 ; 7 8 9]

x =

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

>> y = [1 ; 0 ; -4]

y =

1
0
-4

>> w = x*y

w =

-11
-20
-29

Let us now see how to use MATLAB to solve a system of

simultaneous algebraic equations. Let us solve the following system
of simultaneous algebraic equations:

⎡ 3 5 − 1⎤ ⎧ x1 ⎫ ⎧ 2 ⎫
⎢ 0 4 2 ⎥⎪x ⎪ = ⎪ 1 ⎪ (1.1)
⎢ ⎥⎨ 2 ⎬ ⎨ ⎬
⎢⎣− 2 1 5 ⎥⎦ ⎪⎩ x3 ⎪⎭ ⎪⎩− 4⎪⎭
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 15

We will use Gaussian elimination to solve the above system

of equations. This is performed in MATLAB by using the backslash
operator “\” as follows:

>> A= [3 5 -1 ; 0 4 2 ; -2 1 5]

A =

3 5 -1
0 4 2
-2 1 5

>> b = [2 ; 1 ; -4]

b =

2
1
-4

>> x = A\b

x =

-1.7692
1.1154
-1.7308

It is clear that the solution is x1 = -1.7692, x2 = 1.1154, and

x3 = -1.7308. Alternatively, one can use the inverse matrix of A to
obtain the same solution directly as follows:
>> x = inv(A)*b

x =

-1.7692
1.1154
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 16

-1.7308

It should be noted that using the inverse method usually takes

longer than using Gaussian elimination especially for large systems of
equations.

Consider now the following 4 x 4 matrix D:

>> D = [1 2 3 4 ; 2 4 6 8 ; 3 6 9 12 ; -5 -3
-1 0]

D =

1 2 3 4
2 4 6 8
3 6 9 12
-5 -3 -1 0

We can extract the sub-matrix in rows 2 to 4 and columns 1

to 3 as follows:

>> E = D(2:4, 1:3)

E =

2 4 6
3 6 9
-5 -3 -1

We can extract the third column of D as follows:

>> F = D(1:4, 3)

F =

3
6
9
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 17

-1

We can extract the second row of D as follows:

>> G = D(2, 1:4)

G =

2 4 6 8

We can also extract the element in row 3 and column 2 as

follows:

>> H = D(3,2)

H =

We will now show how to produce a two-dimensional plot

using MATLAB. In order to plot a graph of the function y = f (x) ,
we use the MATLAB command plot(x,y) after we have
adequately defined both vectors x and y. The following is a simple
example to plot the function y = x 2 + 3 for a certain range:

>> x = [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11]

x =
Columns 1 through 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10

Column 11

11
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 18

>> y = x.^2 + 3

y =

Columns 1 through 10

4 7 12 19 28 39 52
67 84 103

Column 11

124

>> plot(x,y)

Figure 1.1 shows the plot obtained by MATLAB. It is usually

shown in a separate window. In this figure no titles are given to the
x- and y-axes. These titles may be easily added to the figure using the
xlabel and ylabel commands. More details about these
commands will be presented in the chapter on graphs.

In the calculation of the values of the vector y, notice the dot

“.” before the exponentiation symbol “^”. This dot is used to denote
that the operation following it be performed element by element.
More details about this issue will be discussed in subsequent chapters.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 19

Figure 1.1: Using the MATLAB "plot" command

Finally, we will show how to make magic squares with

MATLAB. A magic square is a square grid of numbers where the
total of any row, column, or diagonal is the same. Magic squares are
produced by MATLAB using the command magic. Here is a simple
example to produce a 5 x 5 magic square:

>> magic(5)

ans =

17 24 1 8 15
23 5 7 14 16
4 6 13 20 22
10 12 19 21 3
11 18 25 2 9

It is clear that the total of each row, column or diagonal in the above
matrix is 65.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 20

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 21

2. Symbolic Computing
In this chapter, the basics of symbolic computing are
illustrated with MATLAB. Symbolic computing means performing
algebraic and other mathematical operations without resorting to
numerical computations. This type of computing is also called
computer algebra. Computer programs and software that are used in
symbolic computations are called computer algebra systems. Many
such competing systems are available today such as MAPLE,
MATHEMATICA, MACZYMA, etc. It should be noted that
MATLAB is not basically a computer algebra system but can be used
for this purpose with the aid of the MATLAB Symbolic Math
Toolbox. This toolbox uses the MAPLE engine and helps in
converting MATLAB into a computer algebra system.

Some of the operations that we will use in subsequent

chapters can be easily implemented using symbolic computing. Thus
the use of the MATLAB Symbolic Math Toolbox will become
essential in subsequent chapters. Therefore, the use of this toolbox
with various symbolic computing exercises will be illustrated briefly
in this chapter.

Symbolic arithmetic operations may also be performed in

MATLAB using the MATLAB Symbolic Math Toolbox. For the next
examples, this toolbox needs to be installed with MATLAB. In order
to perform symbolic operations in MATLAB, we need to define
symbolic numbers1 using the sym command. For example, ½ is
defined as a symbolic number as follows:

>> sym(1/2)

ans =

1Actually these are symbolic objects in MATLAB but objects are beyond the scope
of this book.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 22

1/2

In the above example, the number ½ is stored in MATLAB

without any approximation using decimal digits like 0.5. Once used
with the sym command, the computations will be performed
algebraically or symbolically. For example, the following addition of
two fractions is performed numerically as follows without the sym
command:

>> 1/2+3/5

ans =

1.1000

Adding parentheses will not affect the numerical computation

in this case:

>> (1/2)+(3/5)

ans =

1.1000

However, using the sym command of the MATLAB

Symbolic Math Toolbox will result in the computation performed
symbolically without the use of decimal digits;

>> sym((1/2)+(3/5))

ans =

11/10

Notice in the above example how the final answer was cast in
the form of a fraction without decimal digits and without calculating
a numerical value. In the addition of the two fractions above,
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 23

MATLAB finds their common denominator and adds them by the

usual procedure for rational numbers. Notice also in the above four
example outputs that symbolic answers are not indented but
numerical answers are indented.

You may also use symbolic variables2 in MATLAB. For

example, the variables x and y are defined as symbolic variables as
follows:

>> x=1/2

x =

0.5000

>> y= 2/3

y =

0.6667

>> sym(x)

ans =

1/2

>> sym(y)

ans =

2/3

2Actually these are symbolic objects in MATLAB but objects are beyond the scope
of this book.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 24

Arithmetic operations can now be performed on these

symbolic variables. Consider the following example where the
variables x and y were defined as above :

>> z=sym(x-y)

z =

-1/6

In the above example, the variable z is used automatically as

a symbolic variable. For symbolic operations, the important thing is
to start each operation or calculation with the sym command. Here
is another example to calculate the volume of a sphere:

>> r=15/7

r =

2.1429

>> sym(r)

ans =

15/7

>> volume = sym(4*pi*r^3/3)

volume =

4500*pi/343
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 25

In the above example, the final answer is given in the form of

4500π
a fraction, , with no decimal expressions and without
343
calculating a numerical value (no units are used in this example). In
case you need to have this value calculated numerically, then you can
need to use the double command as follows:

>> double(volume)

ans =

41.2162

It is seen thus that the value of the volume of the sphere is

41.2162 (no units are used in this example). Finally, the variables x
and this can be defined as symbolic variables without assigning a
numerical value as follows:

>> x = sym('x')

x =

>> this = sym('this')

this =

this

Next, we study how to solve algebraic equations using MATLAB.

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 26

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 27

3. Solving Equations
In this chapter we discuss how to solve algebraic equations
using MATLAB. We will discuss both linear and nonlinear algebraic
equations. We will also discuss systems of simultaneous linear and
nonlinear algebraic equations. First, let us solve the following simple
linear equation for the variable x:

2x − 3 = 0

The solution of the above equation may be obvious to the

reader but we will show how to solve it using MATLAB. The easiest
method to do it in MATLAB would be to consider the left-hand-side
of the equation as a polynomial of first degree and then find the roots
of the polynomial using the MATLAB command roots. First, we
write the above equation as a polynomial as follows:

p ( x) = 2 x − 3 = 0

We enter the coefficients of the above polynomial in a vector

in MATLAB then use the roots command to find the root which is
the solution to the above linear equation in x. Here are the needed
commands:

>> p = [2 -3]

p =

2 -3

>> roots(p)

ans =

1.5000
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 28

It is clear that the correct solution for x is obtained which is

1.5. Next, let us show similarly how to find the solution of a
quadratic equation in x by solving the following quadratic equation:

5 x 2 + 3x − 4 = 0

We will consider the above equation as a polynomial of

second degree in x. We will enter the coefficients of the polynomial
in a vector in MATLAB followed by the roots command. Here are
the needed MATLAB commands:

>> p = [5 3 -4]

p =

5 3 -4

>> roots(p)

ans =

-1.2434
0.6434

It is clear from the above that two real solutions are obtained
for x. Let us now solve a more complicated equation. Let us solve the
following equation for x:

2 x5 − 3x 4 − 5 x3 + x 2 − 1 = 0

First, we consider the left-hand-side as a polynomial of fifth

degree in x. Then we write the coefficients of this polynomial as a
vector in MATLAB followed by the roots command as follows
(note that we will enter 0 for the missing x in the above polynomial):

>> p = [2 -3 -5 1 0 -1]
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 29

p =

2 -3 -5 1 0 -1

>> roots(p)

ans =

2.4507
-1.0000
-0.6391
0.3442 + 0.4480i
0.3442 - 0.4480i

Note from the above that five values are obtained as the
solution of the above equation. These values are the five roots of the
polynomial given above. Note that three of these roots are real while
two roots are complex conjugates of each other.

Next, let us discuss how to solve a system of linear

simultaneous algebraic equations. In order to solve such systems
there are several methods available with most of them involving the
use of matrices and vectors. Consider the following simple system of
two linear algebraic equations in the variables x and y:

x − 3y = 5
4x + 6 y = 3

In order to solve the above system of equations, we need to

re-write the system as a matrix equation. The coefficients of x and y
on the left-hand-side of the equations are considered as the elements
of a square matrix (of size 2x2 here) while the numbers on the right-
hand-side are entered into a vector. The resulting equivalent matrix
equation is written as follows:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 30

⎡1 − 3⎤ ⎧ x ⎫ ⎧5⎫
⎢4 6 ⎥ ⎨ y ⎬ = ⎨3⎬
⎣ ⎦⎩ ⎭ ⎩ ⎭

The above matrix equation is in the form [A]{x} = {b} . The

solution3 of this equation is {x} = [A] {b} . Thus we need to find the
−1

inverse of the coefficient matrix [A] and multiply it with the constant
vector {b} . Here are the needed MATLAB commands along with the
solution:

>> A = [1 -3 ; 4 6]

A =

1 -3
4 6

>> b = [5 ; 3]

b =

5
3

>> x = inv(A)*b

x =

2.1667
-0.9444

Thus it is clear from the above that x = 2.1667 and y =

-0.9444 are the solutions to the above system of equations. Note
that in order to solve the above system we had to find the inverse of

3 Consult a book on linear algebra for the proof of this solution.

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 31

a 2x2 matrix. In this case, it was quick to find this inverse because the
coefficient matrix was small. But for larger matrices, finding the
inverse using MATLAB may take more time. Therefore, it is advised
to use another method to solve the above system. One such method
that is rather fast in execution is called Gaussian elimination. This
method is already implemented in MATLAB as matrix division using
the backslash operator “\”. Here is the solution of the above system
again using Gaussian elimination and the backslash operator:

>> A = [1 -3 ; 4 6]

A =

1 -3
4 6

>> b = [5 ; 3]

b =

5
3

>> x = A\b

x =

2.1667
-0.9444

It is clear that we obtain exactly the same solution as before

but with more speed on the part of MATLAB. The use of Gaussian
elimination along with the backslash operator in MATLAB is greatly
recommended for solving large systems of algebraic linear
simultaneous equations. As an example, let us solve the following
system of five algebraic linear simultaneous equations:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 32

2 x1 − 4 x2 − x3 + 3x4 − x5 = 3
x1 + x2 − 2 x3 + x5 = 6
− x1 − 3x2 + x4 + 3x5 = −4
3x1 − x2 − x3 + 4 x4 − x5 = 1
x1 + x2 − x3 + 2 x4 = 5

First, we re-write the above system as a matrix equation as

follows:

⎡ 2 − 4 − 1 3 − 1⎤ ⎧ x1 ⎫ ⎧ 3 ⎫
⎢1
⎢ 1 − 2 0 1 ⎥⎥ ⎪⎪ x2 ⎪⎪ ⎪⎪ 6 ⎪⎪
⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪
⎢− 1 − 3 0 1 3 ⎥ ⎨ x3 ⎬ = ⎨− 4⎬
⎢ ⎥⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪
⎢ 3 − 1 − 1 4 − 1⎥ ⎪ x4 ⎪ ⎪ 1 ⎪
⎢⎣ 1 1 − 1 2 0 ⎥⎦ ⎪⎩ x5 ⎪⎭ ⎪⎩ 5 ⎪⎭

The following are the MATLAB commands using Gaussian

elimination along with the solution:

>> A = [2 -4 -1 3 -1 ; 1 1 -2 0 1 ; -1 -3 0
1 3 ; 3 -1 -1 4 -1 ; 1 1 -1 2 0]

A =

2 -4 -1 3 -1
1 1 -2 0 1
-1 -3 0 1 3
3 -1 -1 4 -1
1 1 -1 2 0

>> b = [3 ; 6 ; -4 ; 1 ; 5]

b =
3
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 33

6
-4
1
5

>> x = A\b

x =

-4.3571
0.3571
-6.4286
1.2857
-2.8571

It is seen from the above result that five real solutions are
obtained for the above system of linear equations.

Systems of simultaneous nonlinear algebraic equations can

also be solved in MATLAB but these are significantly more difficult
to solve. The reason is that there are no direct commands to solve
these complicated systems in MATLAB. One will have to use the
MATLAB Optimization Toolbox to find certain functions for the
solution of these types of equations – for example the command
fsolve in this toolbox will solve a system of nonlinear equations.
Another option is to use the MATLAB Symbolic Math Toolbox to
solve such nonlinear systems - using the MATLAB command
solve. This option will be illustrated in detail below.

Solving Equations with the MATLAB Symbolic Math

Toolbox

The MATLAB Symbolic Math Toolbox can be used to solve

algebraic equations in MATLAB. In addition, systems of linear and
nonlinear algebraic equations can also be solved using this toolbox.
There are special commands in this toolbox for solving equations –
in particular the MATLAB command solve. Please note that the
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 34

command roots that was discussed earlier in this chapter cannot be

used for the symbolic solution of algebraic equations. It needs to be
replaced with the solve command. The use of the MATLAB
command solve will be illustrated in this section with several
examples.

Consider the following linear algebraic symbolic equation that

we need to solve for the variable x in terms of the constants a and b:

ax + b = 0

We will use the MATLAB command solve to solve the

above equation. Note that we cannot use the trick of writing it as a
polynomial and use the roots4 command. Here is the needed
format to use the solve command in order to solve the above
equation:

>> syms x
>> syms a
>> syms b
>> x = solve('a*x+b = 0')

x =

-b/a

It is noted that the correct solution is obtained which is

b
x=− . Next, let us solve the following quadratic equation for x in
a
terms of the constants a, b, and c:

ax 2 + bx + c = 0

4 The roots command can only be used with numerical computations.

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 35

The following is the correct format of the solve command

in order to obtain the two solutions of the above nonlinear equation:

>> syms x
>> syms a
>> syms b
>> syms c
>> x = solve('a*x^2 + b*x + c = 0')

x =

1/2/a*(-b+(b^2-4*a*c)^(1/2))
1/2/a*(-b-(b^2-4*a*c)^(1/2))

It is clear that we obtain the correct two solutions5 of the

quadratic formula. Let us now solve another nonlinear equation not
involving a polynomial. Consider the following equation:

e x = sin x

The above equation is a highly nonlinear equation in x.

Below is the needed format of the solve command to find this
solution:

>> syms x
>> x = solve('exp(x)-sin(x) = 0')

x =

.36270205612105111082838863639609-
1.1337459194137525371167081219057*i
It is clear from the above that we obtained one complex
solution of the above equation. The resulting solution is

5 We can use the MATLAB command pretty to display the solution in a nice
way but this will not be done here. The correct use of the pretty command in
the example above would be pretty(x).
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 36

approximated as 0.363 – 1.13i. At this step, one may use the

MATLAB command format short to display the solution using
four decimal digits only.

Next, we will consider systems of equations. Consider the

following system of linear simultaneous algebraic equations:

ax − by = c
2ax + b = 9c

The above system of linear equations can also be solved for

the variables x and y in terms of the constants a, b, and c using the
MATLAB solve command as follows:

>> syms x
>> syms y
>> syms a
>> syms b
>> syms c
>> [x,y] = solve('a*x - b*y - c = 0', '2*a*x
+ b - 9*c = 0')

x =

-1/2/a*(b-9*c)

y =

-1/2*(-7*c+b)/b

It is clear that two solutions are obtained for x and y in terms

of a, b, and c as shown above. Our final example will illustrate the
solution of a nonlinear system of simultaneous algebraic equations.
Consider the following system:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 37

x 3 − xy = −3
x2 − 2 y 2 = 5

The above system is a highly nonlinear system. Its solution

using the MATLAB command solve is illustrated below:

>> syms x
>> syms y
>> [x,y] = solve('x^3 - x*y + 3 = 0', 'x^2 -
2*y^2 - 5 = 0')

x =

1.1146270688593392975541180081115+1.36934983
26300382040739329085074*i

.36979370624989001773301777958373+1.06182311
95136687011590573146631*i
-
1.4844207751092293152871357876952+.282946327
30294451032613534596558*i
-1.4844207751092293152871357876952-
.28294632730294451032613534596558*i
.36979370624989001773301777958373-
1.0618231195136687011590573146631*i
1.1146270688593392975541180081115-
1.3693498326300382040739329085074*i

y =
.43988651431894061086040911013399+1.73489563
84245835120290450101938*i
-.11319578028438869117106079077457-
1.7344087640028938716691238072308*i
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 38

.1733092659654480803106516806407-
1.2117396151602258910076501748134*i

.1733092659654480803106516806407+1.211739615
1602258910076501748134*i
-
.11319578028438869117106079077457+1.73440876
40028938716691238072308*i
.43988651431894061086040911013399-
1.7348956384245835120290450101938*i

It is clear from the above that we obtain six complex

solutions for the above nonlinear system. Finally, one may use the
MATLAB command format short to display the six solutions
above using four decimal digits only.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 39

4. MATLAB Functions
In this chapter we introduce the basics of programming in
MATLAB. The material presented in this chapter is not intended to
be comprehensive or exhaustive but merely an introduction6 to
programming in MATLAB. In MATLAB programming, the list of
commands and instructions are usually stored in a text file called an
M-file (short for MATLAB file). These M-files can be of two kinds –
either script files or function files. These files can be created or
opened from the File menu by clicking on New or Open, then
clicking on M-File. These files typically have the .m extension that
is associated with MATLAB.

We will discuss script files first. The examples presented are

simple. The reader can write more complicated examples based on
the material presented here. Script files are used to store MATLAB
scripts. A script is defined in MATLAB as a sequence of MATLAB
commands. A script can span several lines. For example, here is a
MATLAB script:

% This is an example
cost = 50
profit = 10
sale_price = cost + profit

Note that the first line in the script above is a comment line –
this is optional. Store the above example in an M-file called
example1.m then run the example by typing example1 at the
command line to get:

>> example1

cost =

6The interested reader may consult the references listed at the end of this book for
more details about programming in MATLAB.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 40

50

profit =

10

sale_price =

60

There are several remarks about the previous example. The

first remark is that a script needs to be defined first (in an M-file)
then executed by typing the name of the file (without the .m
extension) on the command line. Note the use of the comment
symbol % on the first line which is a comment line. The use of
comments in scripts is optional but is useful to the reader. Note also
that sometimes we do not need the results of all the commands
displayed by MATLAB. For this purpose, we can use semicolons to
suppress the outputs that are not needed. For example, here is the
same example above with the output suppressed with semicolons
except the last line:

% This is an example
cost = 50;
profit = 10;
sale_price = cost + profit

Store the above script in a new M-file and call it

example2.m. Executing the above example by typing example2
at the command line will result in the following output:

>> example2

sale_price =
60
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 41

The second type of M-files in MATLAB is called a function

file. These are more structured7 than script files. In general, scripts
are easier to write than functions but functions have their advantages.
In fact, many of the commands used by MATLAB are stored in
function files. Functions usually contain a sequence of MATLAB
commands possibly spanning several lines. In addition, a function has
a function name8 and one or more arguments. In addition, a function
returns a value9. In contrast, a script does not have any arguments.
For example, here is a function called area(r) that is stored in an
M-File called area.m

function area(r)
% This is a function
area = pi*r^2

The above function calculates the area of a circle of radius r.

The first line of the function file must have the word function
followed by the name of the function and the argument(s) in
parentheses. The last line of the function usually includes a
calculation of the variable that is used for the name of the function.
Now, run the above function by typing the name of the function
followed by the argument in parentheses along with its value on the
command line. Here is the result:

>> area(3)

area =

28.2743

7 This means that there are rules for writing functions in MATLAB.
8 The name of the function must be exactly the same as the name of the function
file it is stored in.
9 Consult a book on programming for more details about functions and return

values. In other programming languages, functions are called procedures or

subroutines and have a different structure than in MATLAB.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 42

A function may be executed several times with a different

value for the argument each time. For example here is another
execution of the previous function with the value 5 replacing 310:

>> area(5)

area =

78.5398

A function may be executed as many times as needed.

However, it needs to be defined only once in an M-file. Here is an
example of a function that calculates the perimeter of a rectangle with
sides a and b:

function perimeter(a,b)
% This is another example of a function
perimeter = 2*(a+b)

It is clear that the above function has two arguments, namely

a and b. Now, execute11 the above function three times, each time
for a certain rectangle with a specified length and width as follows:

>> perimeter(2,3)

perimeter =

10

>> perimeter(3,7)

perimeter =

No units are used in this example.

10
11The two words “execute” and “run” are used interchangeably in this chapter.
They are basically equivalent for our purpose in this chapter.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 43

20

>> perimeter(1.2,5.3)

perimeter =

13

It is clear that the first execution above calculates the

perimeter for a rectangle with sides 2 and 3, the second execution
calculates the perimeter with sides 3 and 7, while the third execution
calculates the perimeter with sides 1.2 and 5.312.

Next, we will discuss briefly several constructs13 that are used

in programming in MATLAB - inside scripts and functions. In
particular, we will discuss loops (the For loop and the While loop)
and decisions (the If Elseif construct and the Switch Case
construct).

In MATLAB loops, several command lines are executed

repeatedly over many cycles depending on certain parameters in the
loop. There are two types of loops in programming in MATLAB –
the For loop and the While loop. Consider the following script file
which is to be stored under the file name example3.m – this is an
example of a For loop.

% This is an example of a FOR loop

for n = 1:10
x(n) = n^2;
end
Now, run the above script by typing the command
example3 at the command prompt as follows:

12Note that no units are specified for the dimensions used in this example.
13It should be noted that these programming constructs are also available in other
programming languages but they have a different structure, i.e. different rules for
their implementation.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 44

>> example3

No output will be displayed because of the presence of the

semicolon in the script file above. However, to find the value of the
variable x, you need only to type x at the command prompt as
follows:

> x

x =

1 4 9 16 25 36 49
64 81 100

It is seen from the above example that the For loop cycles
over the values of n from 1 to 10 – exactly 10 times. In each cycle,
the value of the vector x is calculated using the quadratic formula
inside the For loop. The final result for the vector x is displayed
above – it is seen that the vector x has exactly 10 elements.

Here is another example of a For loop to be stored in a

script file called example4.m

%This is an example of another FOR loop

for n = 1:3
for m = 1:3
y(m,n) = m^2 + m*n + n^2;
end
end

Actually the above example contains two For loops that are
nested. Now, run the above script file by typing example4 at the
command prompt as follows, then type y to get the values of the
elements of the matrix y:

>> example4
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 45

>> y

y =

3 7 13
7 12 19
13 19 27

It is seen that two nested For loops in this example can

produce a matrix with a single assignment inside the For loops.

Another way to use loops in MATLAB is to use the While

loop instead of the For loop. Here is an example of a While loop
to be stored in a script file called example5.m

% This is an example of a While loop

tol = 0.0;
n = 0;
while tol < 10
n = n + 1;
tol = tol + 2;
end

Now, run the above example by typing example5 at the

command prompt, then type tol and n to get their values after
executing the script:

>> example5
>> n

n =

>> tol

tol =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 46

10

It is seen from the above example that the loop will continue
to cycle as long as the value of the variable tol is less than14 10. As
soon as the value of tol becomes equal to or larger than 10, the
loop ends. The final values of the variables are then displayed by
MATLAB with the appropriate commands. Note also the use of the
semicolons in the script file.

Next, we discuss implementing decisions in programming in

MATLAB. There are several constructs in MATLAB to use for
decisions like the If construct, the If Else Then construct, the
If Elseif Then construct, and the Switch Case construct.
We will discuss these constructs briefly in the remaining part of this
chapter.

Consider the following script file containing an If construct

to be stored in a script file called example6.m

% This is an example using If Then

boxes = 10;
cost = boxes*3;
if boxes > 7
cost = boxes*2.5;
end

Now, run the above example by typing example6 at the

command line. Then type the variable cost to see which answer we
get as follows:

>> example6
>> cost

14 The logical operator “less than” is represented in MATLAB by the symbol <. We

do not cover logical operators in this book but this is an instance where their use is
needed.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 47

cost =

25

It is clear from the above example that we get 25 as the value

of the variable cost. This is because the statement inside the If
construct was executed. Actually, what happens is as follows: First,
MATLAB computes the value of the variable cost as 30 using the
first assignment statement for the variable cost. However, once we
enter the If construct, the value of the variable cost may change
depending on certain parameters. In this case, the value will change
only if the value of the variable boxes is greater than 7. In our case,
the value of the variable boxes is 10, so the effect of the If
construct is to change the computation of the value of the variable
cost from 30 to 25 using the second assignment statement for the
variable cost – the one inside the If construct.

Here is the same example above but written as a function in a

function file called cost.m. The function is called cost(boxes)
and has one argument only. Writing the example as a function and
not as a script will give us the option of changing the value of the
variable boxes at the command prompt to see what effect it will
have on the value of the variable cost. Here is the definition of the
function:

function cost(boxes)
% This is an example of an If construct
cost = boxes*3
if boxes > 7
cost = boxes*2.5
end

Now, execute the above function using different values for

the variable boxes. In this case, we will execute it three times to see
the effect it has on the value of the variable cost as follows:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 48

>> cost(4)

cost =

12

>> cost(6)

cost =

18

>> cost(8)

cost =

24

cost =

20

It is seen that the values of the variable cost for the first
two executions were obtained directly using the first assignment
statement for cost – this is because the value of the variable
boxes is less than or equal to 7 in these two cases. However, for
the third execution, the value of cost was calculated initially to be
24 but changed to 20 finally and correctly because the value of the
variable boxes is larger than 7 in this last case.

Next, we discuss the If Elseif15 construct using a

slightly modified version of the function cost(boxes). In this

15
Note that there other variations of the above constructs used for implementing
decisions in MATLAB, e.g. the If Else construct (see the last section in this
chapter on the Symbolic Math Toolbox to see an example of using this construct).
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 49

case, we call the function cost2(boxes) and define it as follows

to be stored in a function file called cost2.m

function cost2(boxes)
% This is an example of an If Elseif construct
if boxes < 7
cost = boxes*2.5
elseif boxes < 9
cost = boxes*2
elseif boxes > 9
cost = boxes*1.5
end

Now, we execute the above function several times to test the

results we get. We will execute it three times with the values of 6, 8,
and 10 for the variable boxes. Here is what we get:

>> cost2(6)

cost =

15

>> cost2(8)

cost =
16

>> cost2(10)

cost =

15

Consult a book dedicated on programming in MATLAB for more details about

these constructs.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 50

In the above example, it is seen that the appropriate branch

of the If Elseif construct and the appropriate assignment
statement is used for the computation of the value of the variable
cost depending on the value of the variable boxes. Note that
several Elseif ‘s were needed to accomplish this. A more efficient
way of doing this is to use the Switch Case construct. This is
achieved by defining a new function cost3(boxes) to be stored
in the function file cost3.m as follows (note that the functions
cost2 and cost3 are not exactly equivalent):

function cost3(boxes)
% This is an example of the Switch Case construct
switch boxes
case 6
cost = boxes* 2.5
case 8
cost = boxes* 2
case 10
cost = boxes*1.5
otherwise
cost = 0
end

Now, execute the above function three times as before with

the three values of 6, 8, and 10 for the variable boxes. This is what
we get (exactly as before):

>> cost3(6)
cost =

15

>> cost3(8)

cost =

16
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 51

>> cost3(10)

cost =

15

In the next chapter, we will discuss graphs and plotting in

MATLAB.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 52

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 53

5. Graphs in MATLAB
In this chapter we explain how to plot graphs in MATLAB. Both
two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphs are presented. A
graph in MATLAB appears in its own window (not on the command
line). First, we will consider two-dimensional or planar graphs. To
plot a two-dimensional graph, we need two vectors. Here is a simple
example using two vectors x and y along with the MATLAB
command plot:

>> x = [1 2 3 4 5]

x =

1 2 3 4 5

>> y = [3 9 12 10 6]

y =

3 9 12 10 6

>> plot(x,y)

The resulting graph is displayed in its own window and is

shown in Figure 9.1. Note how the command plot was used above
along with the two vectors x and y. This is the simplest use of this
command in MATLAB.

We can add some information to the above graph using other

MATLAB commands that are associated with the plot command.
For example, we can use the title command to add a title to the
graph. Also, we can use the MATLAB commands xlabel and
ylabel to add labels to the x-axis and the y-axis. But before using
these three commands (title, xlabel, ylabel), we need to
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 54

keep the plotted graph in its window. For this we use the hold on
command as follows:

Figure 9.1: A simple use of the plot command

>> hold on
>> title('This is an example of a simple graph')
>> xlabel('x')
>> ylabel('y')

After executing the above commands, the plotted graph appears

as shown in Figure 9.2 with the title and axes labels clearly displayed.

Let us now plot the mathematical function y = x 2 − 4 in the

range x from -3 to +3. First, we need to define the vector x, then
calculate the vector y using the above formula. Then we use the
plot command as usual for the two vectors x and y. Finally, we use
the other commands to display the title and axis label information on
the graph.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 55

Figure 9.2: Title and axis information displayed on graph

The following are the needed commands. The resulting graph

is shown in Figure 9.3.

>> x = [-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3]

x =

-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

>> y = x.^2 -3

y =

6 1 -2 -3 -2 1 6
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 56

>> title('This is another example of the plot command')

>> xlabel('x-axis')
>> ylabel('y-axis')

Figure 9.3: Example of plotting a mathematical function

It is seen from the above graphs that they are plotted with
solid lines. The line style may be changed from solid to dotted,
dashed, or dash-dot lines by changing the parameters in the plot
command. Use the command plot(x,y,’:’) to get a dotted
line, the command plot(x,y,’--‘) to get a dashed line, the
command plot(x,y,’-.’) to get a dash-dot line, and the
default command plot(x,y,’-‘) to get a solid line.

In addition, the color of the plotted line may be changed. Use

the command plot(x,y,’b’) to get a blue line. Replace the b
with g for green, r for red, c for cyan, m for magnetta, y for yellow,
k for black, and w for white. Consult the MATLAB manual for a full
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 57

list of the color options. Note that colors are not displayed in this
book.

In addition to changing the line style and color, we can

include symbols at the plotted points. For example, we can use the
circle or cross symbols to denote the plotted points. Use the
command plot(x,y,’o’) to get a circle symbol. Replace the o
with x to get a cross symbol, + for a plus sign symbol, * for a star
symbol, s for a square symbol, d for a diamond symbol, and . for a
point symbol. There are other commands for other symbols like
different variations of triangles, etc. Again, consult the MATLAB
manual for the full list of available symbols.

The above options for line style, color, and symbols can be
combined in the same command. For example use the command
plot(x,y,’rx:’) to get a red dotted line with cross symbols.
Here is the previous example with a red dotted line with cross
symbols but without the title and label information (note that no
colors appear in this book). See Figure 9.4 for the resulting graph.

>> plot(x,y,'rx:')

Next, consider the following example where we show another

use of the plot command. In this example, we plot two curves on
the same graph. We use the modified plot command as
plot(x,y,x,z) to plot the two curves. MATLAB plots the two
mathematical functions y and z (on the y-axis) as a function of x (on
the x-axis). We also use the MATLAB command grid to show a
grid on the plot. Here are the needed commands16. The resulting
graph is shown in Figure 9.5.

>> x = 0:pi/20:2*pi;
>> y = sin(x);
>> z = cos(x);

16
These commands may be entered individually on the command prompt or stored
as a script in a script file. See Chapter 4 for details about scripts and script files.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 58

>> plot(x,y,'-',x,z,'--')
>> hold on;
>> grid on;
>> title('Sine and Cosine Functions')
>> xlabel('x-axis')
>> ylabel('sine and cosine')
>> legend('sinx','cosx')

Figure 9.4: A red dotted line with cross symbols

Note in the above example that we used semicolons to

suppress the output. Also, note the use of the MATLAB command
legend to get a legend displayed at the top right corner of the
graph. We can further use several axis commands to customize the
appearance of the two axes including the tick marks, but this is
beyond the scope of this book. Consult the MATLAB manual for
further details about these commands.
There are some interactive plotting tools available in
MATLAB to further customize the resulting graph. These tools are
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 59

available from the menus of the graph window – the window where
the graph appears.

Figure 9.5: Example of two curves on the same graph

There are other specialized plots17 that can be drawn

automatically by MATLAB. For example, there are numerous plots
that are used in statistics that can be generated by MATLAB. In
particular, a pie chart can be generated by using the MATLAB
command pie, a histogram can be generated by using the MATLAB
command hist, and a rose diagram can be generated by using the
MATLAB command rose. In addition, graphs of curves with polar
coordinates can be generated by using the MATLAB command
polar.

17 Several logarithmic plots can also be generated by using the MATLAB command

loglog. Semi-logarithmic plots can also be generated by using the MATLAB

commands semilogx or semilogy but their use is beyond the scope of this
book.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 60

Our final two-dimensional graph will feature the use of the

MATLAB command subplot. The use of this command will
enable you to present several plot diagrams on the same graph. In
this example, we use four instances of the subplot command to
show four diagrams on the same plot. We will plot four mathematical
functions – each on its own diagram – but the four diagrams will
appear on the same graph. We can do this by playing with the
parameters of the subplot command. Note that the diagrams are
shown without title or axis labels in order to emphasize the use of the
subplot command. Here are the necessary MATLAB commands18
used with semicolons to suppress the output:

>> x = [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10];
>> y = x.^2;
>> z = sqrt(x);
>> w = 2*x - 3;
>> v = x.^3;
>> subplot(2,2,1)
>> hold on;
>> plot(x,y)
>> subplot(2,2,2)
>> plot(x,z)
>> subplot(2,2,3)
>> plot(x,w)
>> subplot(2,2,4)
>> plot(x,v)

Note the use of the three parameters of the subplot

command. The first two parameters (2,2) indicate that the graph
area should be divided into four quadrants with each row and column
comprising of two sub-areas for plots. The third parameter indicates
in which sub-area the next plot will appear. Note also that each
subplot command is followed by a corresponding plot

18These commands may be entered individually on the command prompt or stored

in a script file.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 61

command. Actually, each subplot command reserves a specific

area for the plot while the subsequent corresponding plot
command does the actual plotting. The resulting graph is shown in
Figure 9.6. You can control the number and arrangement of the
diagrams that are displayed by controlling the three parameters of the
subplot command.

Figure 9.6: Use of the MATLAB command subplot

Next, we will discuss how to generate three-dimensional

graphs with MATLAB. There are mainly four commands that can be
used in MATLAB for plotting three-dimensional graphs. The first
command is plot3 which is used to plot curves in space. It requires
three vectors as input. Here is an example of this command followed
by the resulting graph as shown in Figure 9.7.

>> x = [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10]
x =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 62

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10

>> y = [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10]

y =

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10

>> z = sin(x).*cos(y)

z =

Columns 1 through 6

0.4546 -0.3784 -0.1397 0.4947 -

0.2720 -0.2683

Columns 7 through 10

0.4953 -0.1440 -0.3755 0.4565

>> plot3(x,y,z)
>> hold on;
>> grid on;

It should be noted that the title, xlabel, and ylabel

commands can also be used with three-dimensional graphs. For the
z-axis, the MATLAB command zlabel is also used in a way similar
to the xlabel and ylabel commands.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 63

Figure 9.7: Example of using the plot3 command

The second command in MATLAB for three dimensional

plots is mesh. The use of the mesh command is used to generate
mesh surfaces. The simplest use of this command is with a matrix. It
assumes that the matrix elements are values of a grid spanning the
matrix dimensions. The values of the elements of the matrix are
taken automatically along the z-axis while the numbers of rows and
columns are taken along the x- and y-axes. Here is an example
followed by the resulting graph as shown in Figure 9.8.

>> A = [10 14 20 37 5 17 11 ; 12 20 40 20 11
5 14 ; 30 51 12 17 20 30 2 ; 24 34 56 10 14
5 40 ; 34 12 33 12 26 10 15 ; 12 45 13 23 35
10 7 ; 10 20 13 34 32 10 7]

A =

10 14 20 37 5 17 11
12 20 40 20 11 5 14
30 51 12 17 20 30 2
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 64

24 34 56 10 14 5 40
34 12 33 12 26 10 15
12 45 13 23 35 10 7
10 20 13 34 32 10 7

>> mesh(A)

Figure 9.8: Use of the mesh command

If a matrix or a grid is not available, then a grid can be

generated using the MATLAB command meshgrid but this is
beyond the scope of this book. Again, the reader should use the title
and axis information commands to display information on the graph
but these are not shown in this example.

The third MATLAB command for three-dimensional plots is

the surf command. Its use is similar to the mesh command. Here
is an example of its use with the same matrix A of the previous
example followed by the resulting graph as shown in Figure 9.9.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 65

>> surf(A)

Figure 9.9: Use of the surf command

The above three-dimensional plot is usually shown in color

in MATLAB but we are not able to display colors in this book.
Again, the MATLAB command meshgrid may be used to generate
a grid for the three-dimensional plot if one is not available. Again, the
reader should use the title and axis information commands to display
these types of information on the plot above but these are not used
in this example.

The fourth command for three-dimensional plots is the

MATLAB command contour. The use of this command produces
contour plots of three-dimensional surfaces. The use of this
command is similar to the mesh and surf commands. Here is an
example of its use with the same matrix A that was used previously
followed by the resulting graph as shown in Figure 9.10.

>> contour(A)
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 66

Figure 9.10: Use of the contour command

The above contour plot is usually shown in color in

MATLAB but we are not able to display colors in this book. Again,
the MATLAB command meshgrid may be used to generate a grid
for the contour plot if one is not available. The reader can add the
contour heights to the graph using the MATLAB command
clabel.

There are some variations of the mesh and surf

commands in MATLAB. For example, the meshc and surfc
commands produce the same mesh and surface plots as the
commands mesh and surf but with the contour plot appearing
underneath the surface. Here is an example of the use of the surfc
command with the same matrix A used previously followed by the
resulting graph as shown in Figure 9.11.

>> surfc(A)
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 67

Figure 9.11: Use of the surfc command

Another variation is the meshz command which produces

the same three-dimensional plot as the mesh command but with a
zero plane underneath the surface. The use of this command is very
simple and is not shown here.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 68

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 69

Part II

Fibonacci Numbers
and
The Golden Ratio
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 70

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 71

6. Fibonacci Numbers
The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers where each
term of the sequence is obtained by adding the previous two terms.
In addition, this special sequence starts with the numbers 1 and 1.
Thus, the whole Fibonacci sequence can be generated starting with
these two numbers and the above special rule. The numbers in this
sequence are called Fibonacci numbers. These numbers were first
obtained by the Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (also called
Leonardo Fibonacci) in the thirteenth century.

Next, we will generate the first few terms of the Fibonacci

sequence. We will start with 1 and 119. Adding these two terms brings
us to 2 which is the third Fibonacci number. Then we add 2 and 1 to
obtain 3 which is the fourth Fibonacci number. Next, we add 3 and 2
to obtain 5 which is the fifth Fibonacci number. Then, we add 5 and
3 to obtain 8 which is the sixth Fibonacci number. This is followed
by adding 8 and 5 to obtain 13 which is the seventh Fibonacci
number. This process is illustrated interactively in MATLAB as
follows:

>> 1 + 1

ans =

>> 2 + 1

ans =

19
The Fibonacci sequence can also be started with the numbers 0 and 1 instead of
1 and 1. Similar results will be obtained in this case.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 72

>> 3 + 2

ans =

>> 5 + 3

ans =

>> 8 + 5

ans =

13

>> 13 + 8

ans =

21

>> 21 + 13

ans =

34

>> 34 + 21

ans =

55

>> 55 + 34
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 73

ans =

89

>> 89 + 55

ans =

144

>> 144 + 89

ans =

233

The sequence of numbers obtained this way is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,

13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, … is called the Fibonacci sequence.
More terms can be generated but the above thirteen terms will suffice
for now. Obviously, the Fibonacci sequence goes all the way to
infinity as the number of terms increase to infinity. The mathematics
of the Fibonacci sequence will be discussed later in this book.

We can write a MATLAB function to readily generate the

Fibonacci sequence up until the n-th term. This MATLAB function
will be called fibonacci(n). The coding for this function is
illustrated below:

function f=fibonacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
% Fibonacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=1;
f(2)=2;
for k = 3:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2);
end
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 74

The above MATLAB function can be executed many times;

each time with a different value for n, depending on how many terms
are needed in the Fibonacci sequence. For example, the first seven
Fibonacci numbers are generated by substituting 7 for n in the
function fibonacci(n) as follows;

>> fibonacci(7)

ans =

1
2
3
5
8
13
21

The function fibonacci(n) can be executed again and

again as many times as necessary. For example, the following
execution of this function generates the first fifteen Fibonacci
numbers;

>> fibonacci(15)

ans =

1
2
3
5
8
13
21
34
55
89
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 75

144
233
377
610
987

Similarly, the first thirty terms of the Fibonacci sequence are

generated as follows:

>> fibonacci(30)

ans =

1
2
3
5
8
13
21
34
55
89
144
233
377
610
987
1597
2584
4181
6765
10946
17711
28657
46368
75025
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 76

121393
196418
317811
514229
832040
1346269

Thus, we see that the Fibonacci numbers increase

exponentially as the value of n increases. We will illustrate this
property of the Fibonacci sequence graphically next. But first, let us
investigate how to display only the desired Fibonacci number in
MATLAB. To accomplish this, we store the Fibonacci sequence in a
variable, e.g. y while suppressing the output, then we invoke y(n)
for the desired nth Fibonacci number. Here is an example to
accomplish this trick in MATLAB.

>> y = fibonacci(15);
>> y(15)

ans =

987

Thus, it is seen from the above example that the 15th

Fibonacci number is 987. The above trick is especially helpful if we
do not want to display the complete Fibonacci sequence of numbers.
Another alternative is to revise the MATLAB code for the function
fibonacci(n) slightly to display only the desired outcome.

Let us write the rule for generating the Fibonacci sequence

using mathematical notation. If we denote the nth term of the
Fibonacci sequence by F(n), then F(n+1) would be the next
consecutive Fibonacci number. The previous two Fibonacci numbers
would be denoted by F(n-1) and F(n-2). Consequently, the nth
Fibonacci number can be generated by the following rule:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 77

F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2)

F(1) = 1

F(2) = 1

n = 3, 4, 5, …..

To illustrate using the above mathematical notation, let us

show an example with n = 5. This would generate the fifth Fibonacci
number. Substituting in the first equation above n = 5, we obtain:

F(5) = F(4) + F(3)

To compute both F(4) and F(3), we substitute each one in the

same equation again (this equation is called a recursive relation). This,
we obtain;

F(4) = F(3) + F(2)

F(3) = F(2) + F(1)

Using the initial conditions that F(1) = 1 and F(2) = 1, and

substituting in the above relations, we obtain:

F(3) = F(2) + F(1) = 1 + 1 = 2

F(4) = F(3) + F(2) = 2 + 1 = 3

F(5) = F(4) + F(3) = 3 + 2 = 5

Thus, the fifth Fibonacci number is 5.

Let us plot a graph showing the relationship between the

number of terms and the corresponding Fibonacci numbers. In this
first plot, let us use only the first ten terms of the Fibonacci
sequence. First, let us generate the x-axis of the plot as follows:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 78

>> x = 1:10

x =

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10

The next step would be to generate the y-axis which would be

the first ten Fibonacci numbers. These are generated and stored in
the variable y as follows:

>> y = fibonacci(10)

y =

1
2
3
5
8
13
21
34
55
89
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 79

Figure 6.1: Graph of the first ten Fibonacci numbers

The final step would be to use the MATLAB command

plot in order to generated the required graph. In addition, we use
the MATLAB commands xlabel and ylabel to label the two
axes, respectively. These commands are executed as shown below
and the graph is shown in Figure 6.1.

>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('fibonacci(n)')
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 80

Figure 6.2: Graph of the first thirty Fibonacci numbers

Similarly, the following commands will generate and plot the

first 30 Fibonacci numbers. The plot is generated after the
commands are executed sequentially and is shown in Figure 6.2. Each
command is followed by a semi-colon in order to suppress the listed
output.

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = fibonacci(30);
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on;
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('fibonacci(n)')

It is seen from the above graph that Fibonacci numbers

increase exponentially as the value of n increases. In the next chapter,
we will investigate the Fibonacci sequence in more details and study
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 81

its exact property that makes this sequence special – this would be its
relationship to what is called the Golden Ratio.

Using the mathematical notation of this chapter, the two

graphs in Figures 6.1 and 6.2 are called F(n) vs. n graphs. Next, we will
study the graphs obtained when plotting the logarithms of Fibonacci
numbers.

First, let us use the MATLAB function log to calculate the

logarithms20 of the first ten Fibonacci numbers as follows:

>> log(fibonacci(10))

ans =

0
0.6931
1.0986
1.6094
2.0794
2.5649
3.0445
3.5264
4.0073
4.4886

We need now to plot the above logarithms on the y-axis

while keeping the number of terms n on the x-axis. The type of plot
obtained is called a semi-log graph. We will perform the following
operations (while suppressing the output) in order to accomplish this.
The resulting graph is shown in Figure 6.3. This graph is called a
log(F(n)) vs. n graph. The MATLAB commands are shown below.

>> x = 1:10;

20The logarithms calculated here are the natural logarithms, which are logarithms
to the base e , where e = 2.71828….
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 82

>> y = log(fibonacci(10));
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('log(F(n))')

Figure 6.3: Semi-log graph of the first 10 Fibonacci numbers

It is seen from Figure 6.3 that the graph is almost a straight

line. Let us calculate the slope21 of this line. Let us perform this
calculation by taking the fifth and tenth Fibonacci numbers and
calculating the slope of the line segment between them. This is
implemented in MATLAB as follows:

>> m = (y(10)-y(5))/(x(10)-x(5))

m =

21The slope m of a line segment between two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is
calculated using the formula m = (y2 – y1)/ (x2 – x1).
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 83

0.4818

Thus the slope of the straight line is 0.4818. In order to find

the angle, we calculate the inverse tangent value of this number. This
is obtained as tan-1(0.4818) = 25.7o.

Let us perform the above operations again but using the first
30 Fibonacci numbers. Here are the MATLAB commands to
generate the plot while the graph is shown in Figure 6.4.

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = log(fibonacci(30));
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('log(F(n))')

Figure 6.4: Semi-log graph of the first 30 Fibonacci numbers

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 84

As expected, the semi-log graph shows almost a straight line.

Let us now calculate the slope of this line between the 10th and the
30th Fibonacci numbers. This operation is implemented in MATLAB
as follows:

>> m = (y(30)-y(10))/(x(30)-x(10))

m =

0.4812

As expected, the slope of the line is almost as before. The

angle of the line is calculated as tan-1(0.4812) = 25.7o, exactly as
before. An alternative method to plot the logarithms of Fibonacci
numbers is to use the MATLAB command semilogy in
association with the MATLAB function fibonacci(n). The
graph obtained in this way will also be an almost straight line but will
be slightly different from the graphs obtained here.

Fibonacci numbers are closely related to exponential growth

in nature. Botanists noticed that there are many plants that tend to
have a Fibonacci number for the leaves and petals. Fibonacci
numbers also appear prominently in the family tree of rabbits.
Actually, Leonardo Fibonacci first noticed these numbers when he
studied the problem of breeding of rabbits under ideal circumstances.
Let us elaborate on this problem and how it is related to Fibonacci
numbers. See the books in references [48-56] and the web links [57-
67].

Consider a hypothetical situation of rabbits breeding as

follows. Start with two rabbits who after a time produce two new
rabbits. After a certain time, these four rabbits produce four new
rabbits. Thus, we end up with eight rabbits. In the next cycle of
breeding, another eight rabbits are produced to make the total 16
rabbits and so on. Thus, we get the exponential sequence 2, 4, 8, 16,
32, …. which is just a sequence of the powers of 2, i.e. 21, 22, 23, 24,
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 85

25, … . This sequence follows the law of exponential growth. See the
books in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].

However, the real situation is different. When we have four

rabbits, the newborn rabbits are too young to produce new rabbits
right away. They have to skip a cycle before they start producing
more rabbits. In this way, the number of rabbits accumulating
follows the Fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, … and so on.
This is how Leonardo Fibonacci first deduced this interesting series
by considering how rabbits breed naturally. This is explained in detail
below. See the books in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].

Let us start with one rabbit. After one cycle, this rabbit
produces a new rabbit – the total becomes two. After the second
cycle, the old rabbit produces another new rabbit but the little rabbit
skips this cycle and does not produce any new rabbits. The total now
becomes three rabbits. After another cycle, the two old rabbits
produce two new rabbits but the little one skips this cycle and does
not produce. Thus the total now becomes five rabbits following the
Fibonacci sequence precisely. Thus, we obtain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5,
8, 13, 21, …. for the total number of rabbits. This is exactly what
Leonardo Fibonacci originally observed and is what started the
interesting topic of Fibonacci numbers. See the books in references
[48-56] and the web links [57-67].

Fibonacci numbers appear in nature often enough to show

that they reflect some naturally occurring patterns. These patterns can
be spotted by studying how certain plants grow. For example, if you
look at an array of seeds in the center of a sunflower, you will notice
what looks like spiral patterns curving left and right. If you count
these spirals, you will be surprised to obtain a Fibonacci number. If
you divide the spirals into those pointed left and right, you will get
two consecutive Fibonacci numbers. You can find such spiral
patterns in pinecones, pineapples, and cauliflower. See the books in
references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 86

Other examples where Fibonacci numbers occur naturally are

in plant growth and branches of plants. For example, if you count the
number of petals on a flower, you will be surprised to find the total
to be a Fibonacci number. Lilies and irises have three petals while
buttercups and wild roses have five. Delphiniums have eight petals
and so on. Notice that 3, 5, and 8 are Fibonacci numbers. See the
books in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].

Fibonacci numbers also occur naturally in honeybee colonies.

In these colonies, there is a queen, a few drones, and a lot of workers.
The female bees all have two parents – a drone and a queen.
However, drones have one parent each. Therefore, Fibonacci
numbers appear in a drone’s family tree – each drone has one parent,
two grandparents, three great-grandparents, and so on. See the books
in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].

A final example is that Fibonacci numbers appear in the

human body. You have one nose, two eyes, three segments to each
limb, and five fingers on each hand. These are all Fibonacci numbers.
Furthermore, DNA molecules follow the Fibonacci sequence also
measuring 34 angstroms long and 21 angstroms wide for each full
cycle of the double helix. Of course, the numbers 34 and 21 are
surprisingly Fibonacci numbers. See the books in references [48-56]
and the web links [57-67].
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 87

7. The Golden Ratio

In this chapter, we will continue our study of the
Fibonacci sequence and illustrate its precise relationship to what is
called the Golden Ratio. Let us calculate the ratio of each two
consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence.

Here are the first few terms of the Fibonacci sequence:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ……

Let us start by calculating the ratio of the first two terms. The
first two terms are 1 and 1; their ratio is 1/1 = 1. The next two
consecutive terms are 1 and 2; their ratio is 2/1 = 2. Next are the
numbers 2 and 3; their ratio is 3/2 = 1.5. The ratio of 3 and 5 is 5/3
= 1.6667. Next are the numbers 5 and 8 whose ratio is 8/5 = 1.6.
This followed by the numbers 8 and 13 whose ratio is 13/8 = 1.625.
Next are 13 and 21 whose ratio is 21/13 = 1.6154. This is followed
by the numbers 21 ad 34; their ratio is 34/21 = 1.6190. Next are the
numbers 34 and 55 whose ratio is 55/34 = 1.6176. The ratio of the
next two numbers in the sequence is 89/55 = 1.6182. Finally, the last
two terms in the sequence above have the ratio 144/89 = 1.6180.

As can be seen from the above calculations, the ratio of any

two consecutive Fibonacci numbers seems to approach the number
1.6180 as the numbers increase. In order to ascertain this
observation, the above calculations are easily implemented using
MATLAB. First, let us perform the above calculations again using
MATLAB interactively as follows:

>> 1/1

ans =

1
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 88

>> 2/1

ans =

>> 3/2

ans =

1.5000

>> 5/3

ans =

1.6667

>> 8/5

ans =

1.6000

>> 13/8

ans =

1.6250

>> 21/13

ans =

1.6154

>> 34/21
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 89

ans =

1.6190

>> 55/34

ans =

1.6176

>> 89/55

ans =

1.6182

>> 144/89

ans =

1.6180

>> 233/144

ans =

1.6181

>> 377/233

ans =

1.6180

>> 610/377

ans =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 90

1.6180

>> 987/610

ans =

1.6180

It is clearly seen from the above MATLAB output that the

sought ratio approaches the magical number 1.6180. Next, a
MATLAB function is shown which calculates this ratio as above and
plots the graph of the ratio as the number of terms increases. Here is
the code of the MATLAB function ratio(n) which calculates this
limiting ratio:

function r=ratio(n)
% This function calculates the ratio of two
% consecutive Fibonacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
r = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=1;
f(2)=2;
for k = 3:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2);
r(k) = f(k)/f(k-1);
end

Let us execute the above functions for the first fifteen terms
of the Fibonacci sequence. Here is the output of this command:

>> ratio(15)

ans =

0
0
1.5000
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 91

1.6667
1.6000
1.6250
1.6154
1.6190
1.6176
1.6182
1.6180
1.6181
1.6180
1.6180
1.6180

It is seen from the above output that the ratio of two

consecutive Fibonacci numbers approaches the value 1.6180. To get
more precision, we will use the format long command and
execute the function again but with thirty terms as follows:

>> format long

>> ratio(30)

ans =

0
0
1.50000000000000
1.66666666666667
1.60000000000000
1.62500000000000
1.61538461538462
1.61904761904762
1.61764705882353
1.61818181818182
1.61797752808989
1.61805555555556
1.61802575107296
1.61803713527851
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 92

1.61803278688525
1.61803444782168
1.61803381340013
1.61803405572755
1.61803396316671
1.61803399852180
1.61803398501736
1.61803399017560
1.61803398820533
1.61803398895790
1.61803398867044
1.61803398878024
1.61803398873830
1.61803398875432
1.61803398874820
1.61803398875054

It is seen from the above results that the limiting ratio

approaches the value 1.6180339887….. (accurate to eleven decimal
digits). Let us plot a graph of this ratio with the following commands
where the output is suppressed:

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = ratio(30);
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on;
>> xlabel('n');
>> ylabel('F(n)/F(n-1)')

The resulting graph is shown in Figure 7.1. It is seen that the

ratio F(n)/F(n-1) approaches the limiting value 1.61803…. . The
graph shown in the figure is known as the F(n)/F(n-1) vs. n graph.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 93

Figure 7.1: Graph of the limiting ratio of the Fibonacci

sequence (shown for the first thirty terms of the sequence). The
limiting ration clearly approaches the value 1.61803…

Next, we will investigate the number 1.61803… in more

detail. This number is called the Golden Ratio or Golden Section or
Divine Proportion. It will be seen that this number arises naturally
from certain geometrical constructions. For example, if we divide a
straight line into two segments according to a certain rule, we will
obtain the Golden Ratio.

Consider a straight line AB which we would like to divide

into two segments AC and CB as shown in Figure 7.2. The rule that
we will use to obtain the point C is that the ratio of the length of the
straight line to the length of the longer segment is equal to the ratio
of the length of the longer segment to the length of the shorter
segment. This ratios AB/AC and AC/CB should be equal. Thus, we
have the following equation:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 94

A C B

Figure 7.2: Dividing a straight line into two segments in

deriving the Golden Ratio

AB AC
=
AC CB

However, we know that AB = AC + CB. Substituting this

relation in the above equation, we obtain:

AC + CB AC
=
AC CB

Next, we will re-write the above equation as follows:

CB AC
1+ =
AC CB

Let the ratio AC/CB be denoted by the variable x , then the

above equation may be re-written as follows:

1
1+ =x
x

Multiplying both sides of the above equation by x , we obtain

the following quadratic equation:

x + 1 = x2

Next, we will write the above equation in the standard form

of a quadratic equation as follows (by re-arranging the terms):
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 95

x2 − x − 1 = 0

The above equation can be solved using the quadratic

formula but we will use MATLAB to obtain the two solutions. In
order to accomplish this, we use the MATLAB command
solve22 as follows:

>> solve('x^2 - x -1 = 0')

ans =

1/2*5^(1/2)+1/2
1/2-1/2*5^(1/2)

1+ 5
Thus, it is seen that the two solutions obtained are
2
1− 5 1− 5
and . Clearly, the second solution is a negative
2 2
number and should be discarded with regard to our example.
1+ 5
Therefore, the positive solution obtained is the one that
2
is adopted.

Using MATLAB, we can now easily calculate the numerical

value of the positive solution as follows:

>> (1+sqrt(5))/2
ans =

1.6180

22
The solve command is part of the MATLAB Symbolic Math Toolbox. You
need to have this toolbox installed along with MATLAB in order to use this
command.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 96

Thus, it is seen that the solution is exactly the Golden Ratio –

the limiting ratio of the Fibonacci sequence. In order to ascertain
this, we repeat the above calculation but with more precision as
follows:

>> format long

>> (1+sqrt(5))/2

ans =

1.61803398874989

Exactly, the same magical number is obtained which is the

Golden Ratio. This number is usually denoted by the Greek
symbol φ . Thus, we have φ = 1.618033987.... .

Going back to the two solutions of the quadratic equation, let

us find the numerical value of the second solution (the negative
1− 5
solution that was discarded) which is . Using MATLAB,
2
we find its numerical value as follows:

>> (1-sqrt(5))/2

ans =

-0.6180

It is seen from the above calculation that the numerical value

of the second solution is related to the value of the Golden Ratio.
In order to find the exact relationship between the two solutions,
let us repeat the above calculation but using more precision as
follows:

>> format long

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 97

>> (1-sqrt(5))/2

ans =

-0.61803398874989

It is seen from the above calculation that the second solution

is equal to 1 − φ . Thus the two solutions of the quadratic
equation are φ and 1 − φ . In order to check these that these two
values are really the solutions, we substitute each one back into
the quadratic equation as follows:

φ2 − φ −1 = 0

(1 − φ )2 − (1 − φ ) − 1 = 0
The above two equations are checked with MATLAB as
follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi^2 - phi - 1

ans =

>> (1-phi)^2 - (1-phi) - 1

ans =

0
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 98

Thus, it is ascertained that both values are solutions of the

quadratic equation. We summarize what we have obtained thus
far as follows:

1+ 5
φ= = 1.61803398874989
2

1− 5
φ= = −0.61803398874989
2

In the next chapter, we will investigate certain properties of

the Golden Ratio φ in more detail.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 99

8. Properties of the Golden

Ratio
In this chapter, we will study certain properties of the Golden
Ratio in detail. In addition, we will study a nice formula that is used
to compute Fibonacci numbers using the value of the Golden Ratio.

First, let us calculate the inverse of the Golden Ratio φ , i.e.

1
let us calculate numerically the value of . This computation is
φ
performed in MATLAB as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> 1/phi

ans =

0.6180

1
It is seen from the above computation that the value of is
φ
surprisingly equal to φ − 1 which is 0.6180. Thus, we obtain the
following formula for φ :

1
= φ −1
φ
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 100

In order to check the validity of the above formula, we multiply

both sides by φ to get our familiar quadratic equation φ 2 − φ − 1 = 0 .

Next, let us calculate the square of the Golden Ratio, i.e. the
value of φ 2 . This operation is performed in MATLAB as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi^2

ans =

2.6180

It is seen that another surprising result is obtained. The value of

φ is seen to be equal to φ + 1 which is 2.6180. Thus, we have the
2

following relation:

φ2 = φ +1

Again we obtain the same familiar quadratic equation

φ − φ −1 = 0 .
2

We have found out that the Golden Ratio has some interesting
properties: its reciprocal is equal to φ − 1 and its square is equal to
φ + 1 . Let us see what other interesting properties this number has.

Let us now study the powers of φ , i.e. let us study the terms φ 2 ,
φ 3 , φ 4 , … and so on. These powers are given by the following set of
equations:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 101

φ2 = φ =1

φ3 = φ2 + φ

φ4 = φ3 + φ2

………….

φ n + 2 = φ n +1 + φ n , n = 0,1,2,3,...

We have already checked the second power of φ using

MATLAB before. Let us now check the third and fourth power of φ
using MATLAB in order to verify the above equations. Here is the
MATLAB output to check the equation for φ 3 :

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi^3

ans =

4.2361

>> phi^2 + phi

ans =

4.2361
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 102

Now, let us show the MATLAB output to check the equation for
φ as follows:
4

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi^4

ans =

6.8541

>> phi^3 + phi^2

ans =

6.8541

Thus, the above equations for the powers of φ are verified.

There is another set of equations for the powers of φ that is also
interesting. This new set of equations is written as follows:

φ2 = φ +1

φ 3 = 2φ + 1

φ 4 = 3φ + 2

φ 5 = 5φ + 3

φ 6 = 8φ + 5
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 103

φ 7 = 13φ + 8

We can see that a pattern emerges for the expressions of the

powers of φ shown above. It is clear that the numbers appearing in
the expressions on the right-hand-side of the equations are Fibonacci
numbers. Thus, the above equations serve to strengthen the
relationship between Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio. Let
us now check the equations for φ 3 and φ 4 shown above using
MATLAB. First, the expression for φ 3 is verified as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi^3

ans =

4.2361

>> 2*phi + 1

ans =

4.2361

Next, the expression for φ 4 is also verified as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 104

>> phi^4

ans =

6.8541

>> 3*phi +2

ans =

6.8541

Next, we will derive the expressions for the previous two

equations for φ 3 and φ 4 mathematically as follows. Let us start with
the expression φ 3 = φ 2 + φ and substitute φ + 1 for φ 2 to obtain
φ 3 = (φ + 1) + φ = 2φ + 1 . Similarly, we start with the expression
φ 4 = φ 3 + φ 2 and substitute 2φ + 1 for φ 3 , and φ + 1 for φ 2 to
obtain φ 4 = (2φ + 1) + (φ + 1) = 3φ + 2 . We can continue in a similar
fashion to prove the other expressions shown above and generate the
Fibonacci numbers in this way.

Next, let us study the inverse powers of φ , i.e. let us study the
1 1 1 1
expressions for , 2 , 3 , 4 , …. and so on. The following
φ φ φ φ
expressions will be shown to be true for the inverse powers of the
Golden Ratio:

1 1
1= +
φ φ2

1 1 1
= +
φ φ 2
φ3
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 105

1 1 1
= +
φ 2
φ 3
φ4

1 1 1
= +
φ 3
φ 4
φ5

…………….

1 1 1
= + , n = 0,1,2,3,.....
φ n
φ n +1
φ n+2

We will check now the first two equations above using

1 1
MATLAB. The first equation 1 = + 2 is checked using MATLAB
φ φ
as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> 1/phi + 1/phi^2

ans =

1 1 1
Next, the second equation = + is checked as follows
φ φ 2
φ3
using MATLAB:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 106

1.6180

>> 1/phi^2 + 1/phi^3

ans =

0.6180

>> 1/phi

ans =

0.6180

Similarly, the other equations can be verified using MATLAB.

There is another set of equations for the inverse powers of φ that is
interesting. The following equations will be verified to be true:

1 1
=1−
φ 2
φ

1 2
= −1
φ 3
φ

1 3
= 2−
φ 4
φ

1 5
= −3
φ 5
φ

1 8
=5−
φ 6
φ
1 13
= −8
φ 7
φ
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 107

We can see that a pattern emerges for the expressions of the

inverse powers of φ shown above. It is clear that the numbers
appearing in the expressions on the right-hand-side of the equations
are Fibonacci numbers. Thus, the above equations serve to
strengthen the relationship between Fibonacci numbers and the
1 1
Golden Ratio. Let us now check the equations for 3 and 4
φ φ
1
shown above using MATLAB. First, the expression for is
φ3
verified as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> 1/phi^3

ans =

0.2361

>> 2/phi -1

ans =

0.2361

1
Next, the expression for is verified using MATLAB as
φ4
follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 108

1.6180

>> 1/phi^4

ans =

0.1459

>> 2 - 3/phi

ans =

0.1459

Similarly, the other equations shown above for the inverse

powers of φ can be verified using MATLAB.

Next, we will derive the expressions for the previous two

1 1
equations for 3 and 4 mathematically as follows. Let us start
φ φ
1 1 1 1 1
with the expression = + and substitute 1 − for to
φ φ 2
φ 3
φ φ2
1 ⎛ 1⎞ 2
1 1 1
obtain = − =
− ⎜⎜1 − ⎟⎟ = − 1 . Similarly, we start with
φ φ φ 3
φ ⎝ φ⎠ φ 2

1 1 1 2 1
the expression 2 = 3 + 4 and substitute − 1 for 3 , and
φ φ φ φ φ
1 1 1 1 1 ⎛ 1⎞ ⎛2 ⎞ 3
1− for to obtain = − = ⎜⎜1 − ⎟⎟ − ⎜⎜ − 1⎟⎟ = 2 − .
φ φ 2
φ 4
φ 2
φ ⎝ φ ⎠ ⎝φ ⎠
3
φ

We can continue in a similar fashion to prove the other

expressions shown above and generate the Fibonacci numbers in this
way.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 109

There are more interesting properties of the Golden Ratio φ . For

example, we can verify the following identities involving φ :

1 1
+ =1
φ φ2

1
φ+ =2
φ2

1
φ2 + =3
φ2

2
⎛ 1 ⎞
⎜⎜ φ + 2 ⎟⎟ = 4
⎝ φ ⎠

2
⎛ 1⎞
⎜⎜ φ + ⎟⎟ = 5
⎝ φ⎠

The above five identities are verified using MATLAB as

follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> 1/phi + 1/phi^2

ans =

1
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 110

>> phi + 1/phi^2

ans =

>> phi^2 + 1/phi^2

ans =

>> (phi + 1/phi^2)^2

ans =

>> (phi + 1/phi)^2

ans =

5.0000

1
Another interesting property is that φ + = 5 . This property is
φ
verified using MATLAB as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> phi + 1/phi

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 111

ans =

2.2361

>> sqrt(5)

ans =

2.2361

Finally, we list the following very interesting property of φ :

1 1 1 1 1 1
φ= + + + + + + ......
φ φ 2
φ 3
φ 4
φ 5
φ6

We verify the above property using MATLAB as follows:

>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> 1/phi + 1/phi^2 + 1/phi^3 + 1/phi^4 +

1/phi^5 + 1/phi^6

ans =

1.5279

Obviously, we did not obtain the exact result above but we

obtained an approximate value. This is because we used only the first
six terms in the series. We would have obtained more precision and a
more exact value for φ if we used more terms in the series.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 112

The Golden Ratio can also be written as a continued fraction as

follows

1
φ =1+
1
1+
1
1+
1 + .....

The above formula can be show to be valid easily as follows. It is

very clear that the main denominator of the fraction on the right-
hand-side is equal to φ also. Therefore, the above equation for the
1
continued fraction is in the form φ = 1 + . This equation when
φ
simplified reduces to the familiar quadratic equation φ 2 = φ + 1 that
is associated with the Golden Ratio.

We devote the remaining part of this chapter to deriving a

compact equation for the computation of Fibonacci numbers using
the value of the Golden Ratio. Let us start with the quadratic
equation for the Golden Ratio that was derived in the previous
chapter:

x2 = x + 1
It was illustrated in the previous chapter that the two roots of the
above equation are φ and 1 − φ . Substituting each value in the above
quadratic equation separately, we obtain the following two equations:

φ2 = φ +1

(1 − φ )2 = (1 − φ ) + 1
Next, we multiply both sides of the first equation above by φ n ,
and multiply both sides of the second equation above by (1 − φ ) to
n

obtain the following two equations:

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 113

φ n + 2 = φ n +1 + φ n

(1 − φ )n + 2 = (1 − φ )n +1 + (1 − φ )n
where n = 0,1,2,3,.... . Next, we subtract the second equation
from the first equation above to obtain:

φ n + 2 − (1 − φ )n + 2 = φ n +1 − (1 − φ )n +1 + φ n − (1 − φ )n

Next, we divide both sides of the above equation by φ − (1 − φ ) 23

to obtain the following recursive relation:

φ n + 2 − (1 − φ )n + 2 φ n +1 − (1 − φ )n +1 φ n − (1 − φ )n
= +
φ − (1 − φ ) φ − (1 − φ ) φ − (1 − φ )

The above equation is a recursive relation which can be written in

the general mathematical notation:

F (n + 2 ) = F (n + 1) + F (n )

It is seen that the above recursive relation is precisely the

equation that governs the sequence of Fibonacci numbers (see the
chapter on Fibonacci numbers). Therefore, by comparing the above
two equations above, we can conclude that the general formula for
F (n ) can be written as follows:

φ n − (1 − φ )n
F (n ) = , n = 0,1,2,3,....
φ − (1 − φ )

The above general equation can be then simplified as follows:

23This expression is equal to 2φ − 1 but will keep it in this unsimplified form in

order to derive the sought relationship between Fibonacci numbers and the Golden
Ratio.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 114

φ n − (1 − φ )n
F (n ) = , n = 0,1,2,3,...
2φ − 1

Thus, we conclude that the above equation can be used to

computer Fibonacci numbers using the value of the Golden Ratio,
i.e. the n-th term F (n ) of the Fibonacci sequence can be computed
using the above general relation using the value of φ only. We can
simplify the above general equation further by substituting the value
1+ 5
for φ in order to obtain:
2

F (n ) =
(1 + 5 ) − (1 − 5 )
n n

, n = 0,1,2,3,....
2n 5

Thus, the above formula is the general expression for computing

any Fibonacci number without generating the whole sequence. In
order to use the above equation, we only need to insert the value of
n , i.e. we only need to know which Fibonacci number we need to
compute.

Finally, we will write a short MATLAB function which uses the

above formula to compute any Fibonacci number. The MATLAB
code for the function fib(n) is shown below:

function f=fib(n)
% This function generates the nth Fibonacci
% number
f = ((1+sqrt(5))^n -(1-sqrt(5))^n)
/(sqrt(5)*2^n);
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 115

Next, let us execute the above MATLAB function several times

in order to computer a few Fibonacci numbers. Here is the
MATLAB output:

>> fib(5)

ans =

>> fib(7)

ans =

13

>> fib(10)

ans =

55.0000

>> fib(15)

ans =

610.0000

Thus, the MATLAB function fib(n) works perfectly. Just

insert any value for n and execute the function fib(n) to get the
desired nth term of the Fibonacci sequence without generating the
sequence itself. We have been able to do this because we used the
Golden Ratio.

It should be mentioned finally that there is an approximation for

the above formula for calculating Fibonacci numbers.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 116

Instead of using the above long formula, we can use the

following shorter approximate formula:

φn
F (n ) ≈
5

1+ 5
Substituting the value of φ which is in the above
2
formula, we obtain the following explicit expression for the
approximate formula:

F (n ) ≈
(1 + 5 ) n

2n 5

It should be noted that the above approximate formula gives

more accurate results for large value of n , i.e. for large Fibonacci
numbers. The approximate short formula can be derived from the
exact long formula by taking the limit24 of the exact formula as n
approaches infinity. We now write a new MATLAB function called
approximate_fib(n) to calculate Fibonacci numbers using the
approximate formula. Here is the MATLAB code for this function:

function f=approximate_fib(n)
% This function generates the nth Fibonacci
% number using the approximate formula
f = ((1+sqrt(5))^n) /(sqrt(5)*2^n);

We execute the MATLAB function approximate_fib(n)

for the first five n values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to obtain the following
approximate values for Fibonacci numbers:

φ n − (1 − φ )n φ n
24 Note that lim = . You need to revise your calculus
n →∞ 2φ − 1 5
information in order to derive this limit.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 117

>> approximate_fib(1)

ans =

0.7236

>> approximate_fib(2)

ans =

1.1708

>> approximate_fib(3)

ans =

1.8944

>> approximate_fib(4)

ans =

3.0652

>> approximate_fib(5)

ans =

4.9597

Next, we execute the above MATLAB function several times and

compare its results with those of the exact function fib(n) as
follows (we see that we obtain exact results for higher values of n):

>> fib(10)

ans =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 118

55.0000

>> approximate_fib(10)

ans =

55.0036

>> fib(30)

ans =

8.3204e+005

>> approximate_fib(30)

ans =
8.3204e+005

Thus, for the tenth Fibonacci number, we obtain almost an exact

result. We obtain also an almost exact result for the 30th Fibonacci
number as shown above. The larger the value of n , the more
accurate is the Fibonacci number which is obtained.

In the next chapter, we study another sequence of interesting

numbers that is closely related to the Fibonacci sequence.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 119

9. Lucas Numbers
In this chapter we will study Lucas numbers and the Lucas
sequence of numbers. These numbers are closely associated with
Fibonacci numbers. Lucas numbers are generated using the same rule
as that of Fibonacci numbers, i.e. the next number is obtained by
adding the previous two numbers. However, instead of starting with
the numbers 1 and 1, we start with the numbers 2 and 1. Thus the
third Lucas number is 3. The fourth Lucas number is 4. The fifth
Lucas number is 7. Thus, the first few Lucas numbers are 2, 1, 3, 4, 7,
11, 18, 29, 47, 76, 123, …. This sequence of numbers is called the
Lucas sequence. These numbers are generated using MATLAB
interactively as follows:

>> 2+1

ans =

>> 1+3

ans =

>> 3+4

ans =

>> 4+7

ans =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 120

11

>> 7+11

ans =

18

>> 11+18

ans =

29

>> 18+29

ans =

47

>> 29+47

ans =

76

>> 47+76

ans =

123

In order to generate Lucas numbers automatically, here is the

MATLAB code for the MATLAB function lucas(n) which
generates the first n Lucas numbers.

function f=lucas(n)
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 121

% This function generates the first n Lucas

% numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=1;
f(2)=3;
for k = 3:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2);
end

Next, we execute the MATLAB function lucas(n) several

times to generate a few Lucas numbers. The results are shown below:

>> lucas(7)

ans =

1
3
4
7
11
18
29

>> lucas(20)

ans =

1
3
4
7
11
18
29
47
76
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 122

123
199
322
521
843
1364
2207
3571
5778
9349
15127

The above results show the first seven and twenty Lucas
numbers, respectively. Using mathematical notation, let us denote the
nth number in the Lucas sequence by L(n). Then, the Lucas sequence
of numbers can be generated by using the following recursive
relation:

L(n) = L(n-1) + L(n-2)

L(1) = 2

L(2) = 1

n = 3, 4, 5, 6, …..

The above relations for generating Lucas numbers are exactly the
same as those of the Fibonacci numbers except the initial conditions,
i.e. the two starting numbers, are different.

Let us plot a graph showing the relationship between the number

of terms and the corresponding Lucas numbers. In this first plot, let
us use only the first ten terms of the Lucas sequence. First, let us
generate the x-axis of the plot as follows:

>> x = 1:10
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 123

x =

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10

The next step would be to generate the y-axis which would be the
first ten Lucas numbers. These are generated and stored in the
variable y as follows:

>> y = lucas(10)

y =

1
3
4
7
11
18
29
47
76
123

The final step would be to use the MATLAB command plot in

order to generate the required graph. In addition, we use the
MATLAB commands xlabel and ylabel to label the two axes,
respectively. These commands are executed as shown below and the
graph is show in Figure 9.1.

>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('lucas(n)')
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 124

Figure 9.1: Graph of the first ten Lucas numbers

Similarly, the following commands will generate and plot the first
30 Lucas numbers. The plot is generated after the commands are
executed sequentially and is shown in Figure 9.2. Each command is
followed by semi-colon in order to suppress the listed output:

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = lucas(30);
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on;
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('lucas(n)')

It is seen from the graph that Lucas numbers increase

exponentially as the value of n increases.

Using the mathematical notation of this chapter, the two graphs

in Figures 9.1 and 9.2 are called L(n) vs. n graphs. Next, we will study
the graphs obtained when plotting the logarithms of Lucas numbers.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 125

Figure 9.2: Graph of the first thirty Lucas umbers

First, let us use the MATLAB command log to calculate the

logarithms25 of the first ten Lucas numbers as follows:

>> log(lucas(10))

ans =

0
1.0986
1.3863
1.9459
2.3979
2.8904
3.3673

25The logarithms calculated here are the natural logarithms, which are logarithms
to the base e, where e = 2.71828… .
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 126

3.8501
4.3307
4.8122
We need now to plot the above logarithms on the y-axis while
keeping the number of terms n on the x-axis. The type of plot
obtained is called a semi-log graph. We will perform the following
operations (while suppressing the output) in order to accomplish this.
The resulting graph is shown in Figure 9.3. The graph is called a
log(L(n)) vs. n graph. The MATLAB commands are shown below:

>> x = 1:10;
>> y = log(lucas(10));
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('log(L(n))')

Figure 9.3: Semi-log graph of the first ten Lucas numbers

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 127

It is seen from Figure 9.3 that the graph is almost a straight line
for values of n larger than 3. Let us calculate the slope26 of this line.
Let us perform this calculation by taking the fifth and tenth Lucas
numbers and calculating the slope of the line segment between them.
This is implemented in MATLAB as follows:

>> m = (y(10)-y(5))/(x(10)-x(5))

m =

0.4829

Thus the slope of the straight line is 0.4829. In order to find the
angle, we calculate the inverse tangent value of this number. This is
obtained as tan-1(0.4829) = 25.8o.

Let us perform the above operations again but using the first 30
Lucas numbers. Here are the MATLAB commands to generate the
plot while the graph is shown in Figure 9.4.

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = log(lucas(30));
>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('log(L(n))')

As expected, the semi-log graph shows almost a straight line. Let

us now calculate the slope of this line between the 10th and the 30th
Lucas numbers. This operation is implemented in MATLAB as
follows

>> m = (y(30)-y(10))/(x(30)-x(10))

26The slope m of a line segment between two points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) is calculated
using the formula m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1).
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 128

m =

0.4812

Figure 9.4: Semi-log graph of the first 30 Lucas numbers

As expected, the slope of the line is almost as before. The angle

of the line is calculated as tan-1(0.4812) = 25.7o, almost exactly as
before. It should also be noted that the slope and angle of the Lucas
numbers are exactly the same as the slope and angle of Fibonacci
numbers (see Chapter 6). It seems that this slope (or angle) is a
constant that is associated with these types of sequences. An
alternative method to plot the logarithms of Lucas numbers is to use
the MATLAB command semilogy in association with the
MATLAB function lucas(n). The graph obtained in this way will
also be an almost straight line but will be slightly different from the
graphs obtained here.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 129

Next, we will illustrate that the limiting ratio of the Lucas

sequence of numbers is the Golden Ratio as in the case of the
Fibonacci sequence. To illustrate this, let us calculate the ratio of each
two consecutive numbers in the Lucas sequence.

Here are the first few terms of the Lucas sequence:

2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29, 47, 76, 123, …

The ratio of each two consecutive Lucas numbers is calculated

using MATLAB as follows:

>> 1/2

ans =

0.5000

>> 3/1

ans =

>> 4/3

ans =

1.3333

>> 7/4

ans =

1.7500

>> 11/7
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 130

ans =
1.5714

>> 18/11

ans =
1.6364

>> 29/18

ans =

1.6111

>> 47/29

ans =

1.6207

>> 76/47

ans =

1.6170

>> 123/76

ans =

1.6184

>> 199/123

ans =
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 131

1.6179

>> 322/199

ans =

1.6181
>> 521/322

ans =

1.6180

>> 843/521

ans =

1.6180

It is seen from the above MATLAB computations that the

limiting ratio of the Lucas sequence approaches the number 1.6180
which is the Golden Ratio, exactly as in the case of the Fibonacci
sequence. Next, a MATLAB function is shown which calculates the
ratio as above and plots the graph of the ratio as the number of terms
increases. Here is the code of the MATLAB function
lucas_ratio(n) which calculates the limiting ratio:

function r=lucas_ratio(n)
% This function calculates the ratio of two
% consecutive Lucas numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
r = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=1;
f(2)=3;
for k = 3:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2);
r(k) = f(k)/f(k-1);
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 132

end

Let us execute the above function for the first fifteen terms of
the Lucas sequence. Here is output of the command:

>> lucas_ratio(15)

ans =

0
0
1.3333
1.7500
1.5714
1.6364
1.6111
1.6207
1.6170
1.6184
1.6179
1.6181
1.6180
1.6180
1.6180

It is seen from the above output that the ratio of two consecutive
Lucas numbers approaches the Golden Ratio which is the number
1.6180. To get more precision, we will use the format long
command and execute the function again but with thirty terms as
follows:

>> format long

>> lucas_ratio(30)

ans =

0
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 133

0
1.33333333333333
1.75000000000000
1.57142857142857
1.63636363636364
1.61111111111111
1.62068965517241
1.61702127659574
1.61842105263158
1.61788617886179
1.61809045226131
1.61801242236025
1.61804222648752
1.61803084223013
1.61803519061584
1.61803352967830
1.61803416409969
1.61803392177224
1.61803401433308
1.61803397897799
1.61803399248243
1.61803398732419
1.61803398929446
1.61803398854189
1.61803398882935
1.61803398871955
1.61803398876149
1.61803398874547
1.61803398875159

It is seen from the above results that the limiting ratio approaches
the value 1.6180339887… (accurate to ten decimal digits). Let us plot
a graph of this ratio using the following commands where the output
is suppressed:

>> x = 1:30;
>> y = lucas_ratio(30);
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 134

>> plot(x,y)
>> hold on
>> xlabel('n')
>> ylabel('L(n)/L(n-1)')

The resulting graph is shown in Figure 9.5. It is seen that the ratio
L(n)/L(n-1) approaches the limiting value 1.61803…. which is the
Golden Ratio, exactly as in the case of the Fibonacci sequence (see
Chapter 7). The graph shown in the figure is know as the L(n)/L(n-1)
vs. n graph.

Figure 9.5: Graph of the limiting ratio of the Lucas sequence (shown for the
first thirty terms of the sequence). The limiting ratio clearly approaches the
value 1.61803…

Next, we will show several equations that will illustrate the

relation between Fibonacci numbers and Lucas numbers. Using the
terminology employed in this book, i.e. using F(n) to denote the nth
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 135

Fibonacci number and L(n) to denote the nth Lucas number, let us
consider the following equation:
L(n+1) = F(n-1) + F(n+1) , n = 2, 3, 4, …..

To check the validity of the above equation, let us substitute

several values for n. For n = 2, we obtain L(3) = F(1) + F(3).
Looking at the Fibonacci and Lucas sequences below, it can be seen
that the above equation reduces to 3 = 1 + 2 which is correct.

Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2. 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …..

Lucas sequence: 2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29, ….

Let us check the above equation for n = 3. In this case, we obtain

L(4) = F(2) + F(4). Using the Fibonacci and Lucas sequences above,
we obtain 4 = 1 + 3 which is correct. Let us now check the above
equation for n = 5. Using the Fibonacci and Lucas sequences above,
we obtain L(6) = F(4) + F(6) which reduces to 11 = 3 + 8 which is
correct. This proves27 the validity of the above relation between
Fibonacci and Lucas numbers.

There are still more relations between the two sequences of

Fibonacci and Lucas. For example, consider the following relation:

L2(n+1) = 5F2(n) + 4(-1)n , n = 1, 2, 3, …..

Let us now check the validity of the above equation by

substituting several values for n along with the Fibonacci and Lucas
numbers shown above. For example, for n = 1, we obtain L2(2) =
5F2(1) + 4(-1)1. This reduces to 12 = 5(1)2 + (-4). This finally becomes
1 = 5 – 4 which is correct.

Let us now check the validity of the above equation for n = 4.

For this value, the above equation becomes L2(5) = 5F2(4) + 4(-1)4.

27 This does not constitute a formal proof; we are just showing that the equation is

correct for some values of n. For a formal proof, we should use the method of
mathematical induction but this is beyond the scope of this work.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 136

When substituting the relevant Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, the

equation reduces to 72 = 5(3)2 + 4(-1)4. This finally becomes 49 = 45
+ 4 which is correct. This proves the validity of the above relation
between the two sequences.

Another relation between Fibonacci and Lucas numbers is the

following equation:

F(2n) = L(n+1) F(n) , n = 1, 2, 3, …

Let us check the validity of the above equation. For n = 1, the

equation becomes F(2) = L(2)F(1) which reduces to 1 = (1)(1) which
is correct. For n = 3, we obtain F(6) = L(4)F(3) which reduces to 8 =
(4)(2) which is correct.

The final relation we will consider between Fibonacci and Lucas

numbers is the following equation:

5F(n) = L(n) + L(n+2) , n = 1, 2, 3, ……

Let us check the validity of the above equation. For n = 1, the

equation becomes 5F(1) = L(1) + L(3) which reduces to 5 = 2 + 3
which is correct. For n = 4, we obtain 5F(4) = L(4) + L(6) which
reduced to 5(3) = 4 + 11. This is correct. This proves the validity of
the above relation between the two sequences.

In the above, we have illustrated the relationship between the

Fibonacci and Lucas sequences through four distinct equations.
Other equations can be written relating the two sequences but the
four equations given above will suffice.

Let us now show how to compute the value of the nth Lucas
number directly without listing the preceding Lucas numbers in the
sequence. We will show this in a way analogous to that used for the
Fibonacci sequence in Chapter 8. The nth Lucas number in the
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 137

Lucas sequence is given directly by the following formula28 in terms

of the Golden Ratio φ :

L(n) = φ n −1 + (1 − φ )
n −1
, n = 1,2,3,.....

For example, let us calculate the eighth Lucas number using the
above equation. Here are the MATLAB commands for this
calculation using the formula given above:
>> phi = (1+sqrt(5))/2

phi =

1.6180

>> L8 = phi^7 + (1-phi)^7

L8 =

29.0000

Therefore, we get the value of 29 as the eighth Lucas number

which is correct. Here is the code of the MATLAB function
luc(n) that implements the above formula for the calculation of
the nth Lucas number:

function f=luc(n)
% This function generates the nth Lucas number
f = ((1+sqrt(5))/2)^(n-1) + (1-(1+sqrt(5))/2)^(n-
1);

Let us execute the above function several times to compute

several distinct Lucas numbers directly. The results are shown below:
>> luc(3)

28 The derivation of this formula is left to the reader. The derivation can easily be

made in a way similar to the derivation of the formula for the nth Fibonacci
number that was detailed in Chapter 8.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 138

ans =

>> luc(8)

ans =

29.0000

>> luc(15)
ans =

843.0000

The advantage of using the MATLAB function luc(n) over

using the MATLAB function lucas(n) is that there is now no
need to generate the entire Lucas sequence in order to calculate the
desired Lucas number. In a way similar to the formula given in
Chapter 8 for Fibonacci numbers, there is also an approximate
formula for the nth Lucas number given as follows:

L(n) ≈ φ n −1

The above approximate formula is implemented in the MATLAB

function approximate_luc(n) whose code is shown below:

function f=approximate_luc(n)
% This function generates the nth Lucas number
% using the approximate formula
f = ((1+sqrt(5))/2)^(n-1);

Let us execute the above function several times to find

approximate values for several Lucas numbers. The results are shown
below:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 139

>> approximate_luc(3)

ans =

2.6180

>> approximate_luc(8)

ans =

29.0344
>> approximate_luc(15)

ans =

842.9988

The above results for the approximate values of Lucas numbers

can be compared with the exact results for the same Lucas numbers
given before.

In the next chapter, we will investigate other types of sequences

that are similar to the Fibonacci and Lucas sequences.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 140

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 141

10. Generalizations of
Fibonacci Numbers
In this chapter we will study several methods to generalize
Fibonacci numbers. One way is to change the initial conditions, i.e.
change the first two numbers in the sequence. This method was
illustrated in Chapter 9 when we studied the Lucas sequence. The
Lucas sequence was obtained from the Fibonacci rule by changing
the first two terms of the Fibonacci sequence. Another method to
generalize Fibonacci numbers is to use the sum of the preceding
three terms instead of the preceding two terms in order to generate
the next term in the sequence. Both these methods will be illustrated
in this chapter.

A Fibonacci sequence of order n is a sequence of numbers in

which each number is the sum of the previous n numbers. Thus, the
usual Fibonacci numbers form a Fibonacci sequence of order 2. This
is because each number of the Fibonacci sequence is the sum of the
previous two numbers.

Extending the above rule to the number 3, we can generate the

tribonacci sequence of numbers. In the tribonacci sequence, each
number is the sum of the previous three numbers. Thus, the
tribonacci sequence starts with the numbers 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 24,
44, 81, 149, ……. . The following is the MATLAB code for the
function tribonacci(n) which generates the first n tribonacci
numbers:

function f=tribonacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
tribonacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=0;
f(2)=0;
f(3)=1;
for k = 4:n
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 142

f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2) + f(k-3);

end

Let us run the above function to generate the first twenty

tribonacci numbers as follows:

>> tribonacci(20)

ans =

0
0
1
1
2
4
7
13
24
44
81
149
274
504
927
1705
3136
5768
10609
19513

In the tribonacci sequence, the ratio toward which adjacent

tribonacci numbers tend is a constant similar to the Golden Ratio.
This constant may be obtained by solving the following algebraic
equation:

x3 − x 2 − x − 1 = 0

The solution to the above equation is obtained as the following

expression:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 143

1 + 3 19 + 3 33 + 3 19 − 3 33
3

Evaluating the above expression, it is found that its numerical

value is approximately 1.83929…. .

Using MATLAB, the above algebraic equation is solved as

follows:

>> solve('x^3 -x^2 -x -1=0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.8393
-0.4196 + 0.6063i
-0.4196 - 0.6063i

The above constant may also be obtained by solving the

following algebraic equation:

x + x −3 = 2

The tribonacci numbers may also be evaluated directly by using

the following formula:

1
(a+ + a− + a )n
T (n ) = 3b 3 2
b − 2b + 4
where the coefficients a+ , a− , and b are given by:

(
a± = 19 ± 3 33 )
1/ 3
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 144

(
b = 586 + 102 33 )
1/ 3

Generalizing the above discussion to the number 4, we can

generate the tetranacci sequence of numbers. Each tetranacci number
is obtained as the sum of the previous four numbers in the tetranacci
sequence. Thus, the first few terms in this sequence are 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2,
4, 8, 15, 29, 56, 108, 208, …… .

The following MATLAB code is for the function

tetranacci(n) which generates the first n tetranacci numbers:

function f=tetranacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
tetranacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=0;
f(2)=0;
f(3)=0;
f(4)=1;
for k = 5:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2) + f(k-3) + f(k-
4);
end

We next run the above function as follows to generate the first

twenty tetranacci numbers:

>> tetranacci(20)

ans =
0
0
0
1
1
2
4
8
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 145

15
29
56
108
208
401
773
1490
2872
5536
10671
20569

In this case, the ratio to which adjacent tetranacci numbers tend

to is a constant and is obtained by solving the following algebraic
equation:

x 4 − x3 − x 2 − x − 1 = 0

The solution to the above equation is obtained approximately as

1.92756…. . This is called the tetranacci constant. The above
equation is solved as follows using MATLAB:

>> solve('x^4 - x^3 -x^2 -x -1=0');

>> double(ans)
ans =

1.9276
-0.7748
-0.0764 + 0.8147i
-0.0764 - 0.8147i

By making similar generalizations to the numbers 5, 6, and 7, we

can also obtain pentanacci numbers, hexanacci numbers, and
heptanacci numbers, respectively.

Each pentanacci number is obtained as the sum of the previous

five numbers in the pentanacci sequence. Thus, the first few terms of
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 146

the pentanacci sequence are 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 61, 120,

……. Here is the MATLAB code for the function
pentanacci(n) followed by a run of the function to generate the
first twenty pentanacci numbers:

function f=pentanacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
pentanacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=0;
f(2)=0;
f(3)=0;
f(4)=0;
f(5)=1;
for k = 6:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2) + f(k-3) + f(k-
4) +f(k-5);
end

>> pentanacci(20)

ans =

0
0
0
0
1
1
2
4
8
16
31
61
120
236
464
912
1793
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 147

3525
6930
13624

Each hexanacci number is obtained as the sum of the previous

six numbers in the hexanacci sequence. Thus, the first few terms of
the hexanacci sequence are 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 63, 125,
……. The following is the MATLAB code for the function
hexanacci(n) followed by a run of the function to generate the
first twenty hexanacci numbers:

function f=hexanacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
hexanacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=0;
f(2)=0;
f(3)=0;
f(4)=0;
f(5)=0;
f(6)=1;
for k = 7:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2) + f(k-3) + f(k-
4) + f(k-5) +f(k-6);
end

>> hexanacci(20)

ans =

0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
4
8
16
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 148

32
63
125
248
492
976
1936
3840
7617

Each heptanacci number is obtained as the sum of the previous

seven numbers in the heptanacci sequence. Thus, the first few terms
of the heptanacci sequence are 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64,
127, ….. The following is the MATLAB code for the function
heptanacci(n) followed by a run of the function to generate the
first twenty heptanacci numbers:

function f=heptanacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
heptanacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=0;
f(2)=0;
f(3)=0;
f(4)=0;
f(5)=0;
f(6)=0;
f(7)=1;
for k = 8:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + f(k-2) + f(k-3) + f(k-
4) + f(k-5) +f(k-6) +f(k-7);
end

>> heptanacci(20)

ans =

0
0
0
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 149

0
0
0
1
1
2
4
8
16
32
64
127
253
504
1004
2000
3984

In general, a polynacci sequence would, after an infinite number

of zeros, yield the following sequence of numbers:

[………, 0, 0, 0, 1,] 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ……….

The above sequence is simply the powers of 2.

In general, the k-th number of the n-nacci sequence of numbers

is given directly by the following formula:

r k −1 (r − 1)
Fk( n ) =
(n + 1)r − 2n
where r is the n-nacci constant which may be obtained by
solving the following general algebraic equation:

x + x −n = 2

In general, the following linear recurrence relation

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 150

k
F (n ) = ∑ F (n − i )
i =1

has a limiting ratio that may be obtained as the solution of the

following general algebraic equation:

x k − x k −1 − x k − 2 − ........... − x − 1 = 0
Finally, we use the above general linear recurrence relation and
the associated algebraic equation to derive the following examples of
generalized Fibonacci sequences:

Next, we show further examples. For more details, see the books
in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 1) + F (n − 2 ) has a limiting ratio of

1.618033… which is the Golden Ratio which is obtained as the
solution to the algebraic equation x 2 − x − 1 = 0 . Here is the
MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^2 - x - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.6180
-0.6180

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 1) + F (n − 3) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 3 − x − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^3- x - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 151

ans =

1.3247
-0.6624 + 0.5623i
-0.6624 - 0.5623i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 2 ) + F (n − 3) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x3 − x 2 − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^3- x^2 - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.4656
-0.2328 + 0.7926i
-0.2328 - 0.7926i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 1) + F (n − 4 ) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 4 − x − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^4- x - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.2207
-0.7245
-0.2481 + 1.0340i
-0.2481 - 1.0340i
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 152

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 3) + F (n − 4 ) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 4 − x 3 − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^4- x^3 - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.3803
-0.8192
0.2194 + 0.9145i
0.2194 - 0.9145i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 1) + F (n − 5) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 5 − x − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^5- x - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.1673
0.1812 + 1.0840i
-0.7649 + 0.3525i
-0.7649 - 0.3525i
0.1812 - 1.0840i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 2 ) + F (n − 5) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 5 − x 2 − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 153

>> solve('x^5- x^2 - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.1939
0.1546 + 0.8281i
-0.7515 + 0.7846i
-0.7515 - 0.7846i
0.1546 - 0.8281i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 3) + F (n − 5) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x5 − x3 − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^5- x^3 - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)

ans =

1.2365
0.3408 + 0.7854i
-0.9590 + 0.4284i
-0.9590 - 0.4284i
0.3408 - 0.7854i

The sequence F (n ) = F (n − 4 ) + F (n − 5) has a limiting ratio

which is obtained as the solution to the algebraic equation
x 5 − x 4 − 1 = 0 . Here is the MATLAB code to obtain the solution:

>> solve('x^5- x^4 - 1 = 0');

>> double(ans)
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 154

ans =

0.5000 + 0.8660i
0.5000 - 0.8660i
1.3247
-0.6624 + 0.5623i
-0.6624 - 0.5623i

For more details, see the books in references [48-56] and the web
links [57-67]. In the next chapter, we investigate random Fibonacci
sequences.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 155

11. Random Fibonacci

Numbers
In this chapter we will study random Fibonacci sequences briefly.
In this case, we will obtain a different Fibonacci sequence each time
because the numbers in the sequence are chosen according to a
random rule. In this way, we will obtain random Fibonacci numbers.
The general rule to generate such random sequences is the following
recurrence relation:

F (n ) = F (n − 1) ± F (n − 2 )

where the plus or minus sign is chosen at random with equal

1
probability , independently of the value of n . It has been
2
demonstrated in the literature that this sequence generally grows
exponentially.

In 1999, Divakar Viswanath showed that the growth rate of the

random Fibonacci sequence is equal to 1.13198924… . This number
is actually the limiting ratio of any random Fibonacci sequence. This
is a new mathematical constant and is now known as Viswanath’s
constant.

The random Fibonacci sequence starts with the two numbers 1

and 1, and the value of each subsequent number in the sequence is
determined by a fair coin toss. Given two consecutive numbers of
the sequence, the next number is either the sum of the two numbers
1
or their difference with probability , independently of the choice
2
made previously.

Next, we show one example how to generate random Fibonacci

sequences using MATLAB. Below is the MATLAB code for the
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 156

function random_fibonacci(n) which generates n random

Fibonacci numbers (note that the implementation of this function
may be slightly different than the rule presented in this chapter).

function f=random_fibonacci(n)
% This function generates the first n
random Fibonacci numbers
f = zeros(n,1);
f(1)=1;
f(2)=2;
o = [-1,1];
s = o(ceil(2.0*rand(1,1)));
for k = 3:n
f(k) = f(k-1) + s*f(k-2);
end

Next, we run the above function as follows in order to generate

twenty random Fibonacci numbers:

>> random_fibonacci(20)

ans =

1
2
1
-1
-2
-1
1
2
1
-1
-2
-1
1
2
1
-1
-2
-1
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 157

1
2

Other variations of the above definition of random

Fibonacci sequences also exist but are beyond the scope of
this book.

We will not show how Viswanath’s constant is obtained

mathematically. This is beyond the scope of this work. The
mathematics to generate this constant is somewhat involved and the
reader is directed to Viswanath’s paper for further details. See the
books in references [48-56] and the web links [57-67].
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 158

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 159

References
MATLAB Tutorials
1. http://www.cyclismo.org/tutorial/matlab/

This is an online tutorial in HTML format from Union

College, New York. The tutorial emphasizes vectors,
matrices, vector operations, loops, plots, executable files
(scripts), subroutines (functions), if statements, and data files.

2. http://www.math.ufl.edu/help/matlab-tutorial/

This is an online tutorial in HTML format from the

University of Florida, Gainesville. The tutorial emphasizes
matrices, variables, functions, decisions, loops, and scripts.
This tutorial has a nice list of important commands of
MATLAB with a short description of each command.

3. http://www.mines.utah.edu/gg_computer_seminar/matlab/
matlab.html

This is an online tutorial in HTML format available at the

website of University of Utah, Salt Lake City (Original by
Kermit Sigmon, University of Florida). This tutorial
emphasizes matrices, decisions, loops, scalar functions, vector
functions, matrix functions, strings, and graphics. You may
also download the tutorial as a postscript file (39 pages that
include a comprehensive reference section).

4. http://web.mit.edu/afs/.athena/astaff/project/logos/olh/M
ath/Matlab/Matlab.html

This is an online tutorial in HTML format hosted at MIT. It

emphasizes matrices, arithmetic and logical operators, control
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 160

structures, selective indexing, polynomial operations, signal

processing functions, graphics, scripts, and functions.

5. http://www.mit.edu/people/abbe/matlab/main.html

This is an online 3-day tutorial at MIT in HTML format. It

covers matrices, various MATLAB commands, help, plotting,
polynomials, variables, scripts, functions, loops, debugging,
differential equations, vectorization, three-dimensional
graphics, and symbolic math.

6. http://texas.math.ttu.edu/~gilliam/ttu/m4330/m4330.html

This is a tutorial hosted at Texas Tech University, Lubbock.

They provide six PDF files for download in the form of six
lessons for a mathematics course they teach there. These
lessons are somewhat advanced and specialized and are not
recommended for beginner students of MATLAB.

7. http://www.engin.umich.edu/group/ctm/basic/basic.html

This is a basic tutorial from Carnegie Mellon and the

University of Michigan. It covers the basics of vectors,
functions, plotting, polynomials, matrices, printing, help, and
M-files.

8. http://www.mathworks.com/academia/student_center/tutor
ials/launchpad.html

This is an online tutorial from the MathWorks, the company

that develops and sells MATLAB. This tutorial covers
variables, calculations, plotting, scripts, and files.

9. http://www.math.utah.edu/lab/ms/matlab/matlab.html#sta
rting
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 161

This is an online short tutorial from the University of Utah,

Salt Lake City. This is a very simple tutorial recommended for
beginners. It covers matrices, vectors, systems of equations,
loops, and graphing in one and two dimensions.

10. http://www.math.mtu.edu/~msgocken/intro/intro.html

This is an online tutorial in HTML format hosted at Michigan

Tech and written by Mark S. Gockenback. It covers
calculations, graphs, programming, advanced matrix
calculations, advanced graphics, solving nonlinear problems,
and advanced data types like structures, cell arrays, and
objects.

11. http://www.eece.maine.edu/mm/matweb.html

MATLAB Educational Websites: This is an online HTML

page containing links to several educational websites on
various topics using MATLAB. The page contains also links
to numerous MATLAB tutorials.

12. http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~gerry/MATLAB/

MATLAB Hypertext Reference: This is an online tutorial in

HTML format written by Gerald Recktenwald and hosted at
Portland State University, Portland. This tutorial covers
variables, plotting, and programming.

13. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/maneval/help211/helpmai
n.html

Helpful Information for Using MATLAB: These pages of

helpful information are maintained by Jim Maneval and
hosted at Bucknell University, Lewisburg.

14. http://www.indiana.edu/~statmath/math/matlab/gettingsta
rted/index.html
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 162

Getting Started with MATLAB: This is an online tutorial in

HTML format. The tutorial may also be downloaded and
printed as a PDF file (14 pages). This tutorial covers syntax,
matrices, graphics, and programming.

15. www.math.udel.edu/~driscoll/teaching/matlab_adv.pdf

Crash Course in MATLAB: This tutorial is in the form of a

PDF file download. It is written by Tobin A. Driscoll and
hosted at the University of Delaware, The tutorial is 66 pages
that can be downloaded and printed. This tutorial covers
arrays, matrices, scripts, functions, errors, 2D and 3D
graphics, color, handles and properties, vectorization,
advanced data structures (strings, cell arrays, structures),
linear algebra, optimization, data fitting, quadrature, and
differential equations.

16. www.maths.dundee.ac.uk/~ftp/na-
reports/MatlabNotes.pdf

An Introduction to MATLAB: This tutorial is in the form of

a PDF file download. It is written by David F. Griffiths and is
hosted at the University of Dundee. The tutorial is 37 pages
that can be downloaded and printed. This tutorial covers
numbers, formats, variables, output, vectors, 2D plotting,
scripts, vector operations, matrices, matrix operations,
systems of linear equations, strings, loops, decisions, 3D
plotting, files, and graphical user interfaces.

17. www.geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/geosci236/organize/matl
abIntro.pdf

An Introduction to MATLAB: This tutorial is in the form of

a PDF file download. It is written by S. Butenko, P. Pardalos,
and L. Pitsoulis. It is hosted at the University of Chicago. The
tutorial is 28 pages that can be downloaded and printed. This
tutorial covers matrices, matrix operations, workspace,
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 163

formats, functions, vector functions, matrix functions,

polynomial functions, programming, loops, decisions, M-files,
and 2D and 3D graphics.

18. http://www.math.colostate.edu/~gerhard/classes/340/notes
/index.html

MATLAB Notes: This tutorial is in the form HTML pages

online. It is hosted at Colorado State University. This tutorial
covers arithmetic, array operations, scripts, functions,
plotting, polynomials, matrices, vectors, linear systems of
algebraic equations, and symbolic computation. There are
some links to more tutorials on the internet that are hosted at
other places.

19. http://www.indiana.edu/~statmath/math/matlab/gettingsta
rted/index.html

Getting Started with MATLAB: This tutorial is in the form of

online HTML pages that are hosted at Indiana University. It
may also be downloaded as a PDF file (14 pages) and printed.
This tutorial covers syntax, matrices, graphics, and
programming.

20. http://www-
ccs.ucsd.edu/matlab/toolbox/symbolic/symbmath.html

This is an online reference guide for the MATLAB Symbolic

Math Toolbox. It is hosted at the University of California,
San Diego. The tutorial covers about 85 MATLAB symbolic
math commands that are listed alphabetically with examples.

21. http://www.phys.ufl.edu/docs/matlab/toolbox/symbolic/c
h1.html

Using the Symbolic Math Toolbox: This tutorial is in the

form of HTML pages that is hosted at the University of
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 164

Florida, Gainesville. This tutorial seems to be comprehensive

and covers calculus, simplifications, substitutions, variable-
precision arithmetic, linear algebra, solving equations, special
mathematical functions, using Maple functions, and the
extended symbolic math toolbox.

22. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matlab

This is a small overview in the form of an HTML page

hosted at the website of Wikipedia, the free internet
encyclopedia. The page has a brief history of MATLAB and
some useful links.

23. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/maneval/help211/exercise
s.html

MATLAB Exercises: This web page provides some

MATLAB exercises for practice. The site is hosted at
Bucknell University. The exercises cover syntax, arrays,
relational operators, logical operators, decisions, loops, and
programming.

24. http://www.math.chalmers.se/~nilss/enm/INTRO_matlab
_I.html

MATLAB Exercises: This web page provides three sets of

MATLAB exercises for practice. The site is hosted at
Chalmers University of Technology and Gteborg University.
The exercises cover arithmetic, formats, variables, vectors,
matrices, decisions, scripts, loops, computer arithmetic,
strings, and graphics.

25. http://college.hmco.com/mathematics/larson/elementary_li
near/5e/students/matlabs.html

MATLAB Exercises: These are MATLAB exercises taken

from the book “Elementary Linear Algebra”, fifth edition, by
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 165

Ron Larson. Each set of exercises is downloaded as a PDF

file that can be printed. These exercises cover systems of
linear equations, matrices, determinants, vector spaces, inner
product spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues and
eigenvectors, and complex vector spaces.

26. http://www.math.umn.edu/~ROberts/math5385/matlabEx
1.html

Supplementary MATLAB Exercises: These exercises are

hosted at the University of Minnesota. They are written
specifically for a mathematics course at the university. These
exercises mostly deal with the graphics capabilities of
MATLAB.

27. www.kom.aau.dk/~borre/matlab7/exercise.pdf

This is a PDF file download of a set of 8 pages of MATLAB

exercises. The exercises are somewhat advanced and are not
recommended for beginning students of MATLAB.

28. www.chaos.swarthmore.edu/courses/Phys50L_2006/Matla
b/MatlabExercises.pdf

This is a PDF file download of 27 pages of MATLAB

exercises. These exercises are written for a physics course and
are somewhat advanced. They are not recommended for
beginners.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 166

MATLAB Books:
29. Gilat, A., MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications, Second
Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2004.

30. Pratap, R., Getting Started with MATLAB 7: An Introduction for

Scientists and Engineers, Oxford University Press, 2005.

31. Hanselmann, D. and Littlefield, B., Mastering MATLAB 7,

Prentice Hall, 2004.

32. Palm, W., Introduction to MATLAB 7 for Engineers, McGraw-

Hill, 2004.

33. Moore, H., MATLAB for Engineers, Prentice Hall, 2006.

34. Chapman, S., MATLAB Programming for Engineers, Thomson

Engineering, 2004.

35. Davis, T. and Sigmon, K., MATLAB Primer, Seventh Edition,

Chapman & Hall, 2004.

36. Higham, D. and Higham, N., MATLAB Guide, Second

Edition, SIAM, 2005.

37. King, J., MATLAB for Engineers, Addison-Wesley, 1988.

38. Etter, D., Introduction to MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists,

Prentice Hall, 1995.

39. Magrab, E. et al., An Engineer’s Guide to MATLAB, Prentice

Hall, 2000.

40. Etter, D., Kuncicky, D. and Hull, D., Introduction to MATLAB

6, Prentice Hall, 2001.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 167

41. Recktenwald, G., Introduction to Numerical Methods and

MATLAB: Implementation and Applications, Prentice Hall, 2001.

42. Biran, A. and Breiner, M., MATLAB 5 for Engineers, Addison-

Wesley, 1999.

43. Part-Enander, E. and Sjoberg, A., The MATLAB 5 Handbook,

Addison-Wesley, 1999.

44. Etter, D., Engineering Problem Solving with MATLAB, Prentice

Hall, 1993.

45. Chen, K., Giblin, P, and Irving, A., Mathematical Explorations

with MATLAB, Cambridge University Press, 1999.

46. Mathews, J. and Fink, K., Numerical Methods Using MATLAB,

Third Edition, Prentice Hall, 1999.

47. Fausett, L., Applied Numerical Analysis Using MATLAB,

Prentice Hall, 1999.

Books on Fibonacci Numbers

48. Posamentier, A. S., The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers,
Prometheus Books, 2007.

49. Vajda, S., Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers, and the Golden Section,
Dover Publications, 2007.

50. Vorobiev, N. N. and Martin, M., Fibonacci Numbers,

Birkhauser, 2003.

51. Dunlap, R. A., The Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers, World
Scientific Publishing, 1997.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 168

52. Olsen, S., The Golden Section: Nature’s Greatest Secret, Walker and
Company, 2006.

53. Livio, M., The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World’s Most
Astonishing Number, Broadway, 2003.

54. Koshy, T., Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers with Applications, Wiley-
Interscience, 2001.

55. Dobson, E. D., Understanding Fibonacci Numbers, Traders

Press, 1994.

56. Hoggatt, V. E. and Bicknell, M., Primer on Fibonacci Numbers,

Fibonacci Association, 1972.

Web Links for Fibonacci Numbers

57. Fibonacci Numbers at Wolfram MathWorld
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/FibonacciNumber.html

58. Fibonacci Numbers at Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number

59. Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section

http://www.maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-
sites/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html

60. The Mathematical Magic of Fibonacci Numbers

http://www.maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-
sites/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibmaths.html

61. The Fibonacci Sequence – Math is Fun

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fibonacci-
sequence.html
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 169

62. Generalizations of Fibonacci Numbers from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribonacci_number

63. Random Fibonacci Sequences from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanath%27s_constant

64. The Golden Mean and the Physics of Aesthetics by Subhash

Kak
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0411195

65. Stepping Beyond Fibonacci Numbers – from Ivars Peterson’s

MathTrek
http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_09_30_02.html

66. Viswanath’s Constant from PlanetMath

http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/ViswanathsConstant.ht
ml

67. Divakar Viswanath, “Random Fibonacci Sequences and the

Number 1.13198824…”, Mathematics of Computation, Vol.
69, 2000, pp. 1131-1155.
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 170

Installation of MATLAB
In this book, it is assumed that you have already installed
MATLAB on your computer system. To go through the eleven
chapters of the book, you need to have MATLAB running on your
computer. For help on installing MATLAB on your computer, check
the following web links:

MATLAB Installation for Windows:

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/matlab/
install/installwin.html

MATLAB Installation for Linux:

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/zh_TW/books/handb
ook/linuxemu-matlab.html

MATLAB Installation for Macintosh:

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/matlab/
install/installmac.html

MATLAB Installation for Other Systems:

http://shum.huji.ac.il/cc/matlR13linuxhomein
st.html
MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 171

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach
 MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio 172

MATLAB Guide to Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden

Ratio
A Simplified Approach

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