MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

MODULE 1.1

I. TOPIC: FIBONACCI SEQUENCE AND THE GOLDEN RATIO

II. OBJECTIVE(S):

1. Familiarized the Fibonacci’s number;

2. Discuss the patterns in nature using Fibonacci’s number;
3. Discuss the golden ratio and its applications.

III. INTRODUCTION:

Pattern in nature exist with number sequence. It is very essential to understand that nature is not
just an appreciation of the eye, but if you more closely understand the science you will also
understand mathematics. Number of petals in a flower, rotation of leaves in a plant, number of
seeds in a sunflower and even a spiral nautilus shells exhibit number sequence pattern. That is
Fibonacci’s number or Fibonacci sequence.

There are lots of available names for Fibonacci, some are Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano and
Leonardo Bonacci. All of them are considered name for Fibonacci. But who is Fibonacci? He was
a mathematician, born in Pisa, Italy in 1175 AD, wrote different books (with essential contribution
to mathematics) and an inventor of the famous sequence called “The Fibonnacci Sequence”.

IV. DISCUSSION:

Fibonacci sequence begins with one. Each of the subsequent number is the sum of the two
preceding numbers;

Fib(n) = Fib(n-1) + Fib(n-2) ; Fib(n) = 1

Thus, the sequence begins as follows:

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

Fibonacci applied the sequence he found to a problem involving the breeding of rabbits. Given at
a certain condition, Fibonacci mapped the family tree of a group of rabbits that initially started
with only two members. Surprisingly, he found out that the number of rabbits at any given time
was always in the Fibonacci number. The Fibonacci sequence have numerous naturally occurring
applications, ranging from the very basic to the complex geometric shapes.

Example 1: The number of petals on a flower tend to be a Fibonacci number.

Example 2: Branching plants always branch off into groups of Fibonacci numbers.
EXAMPLE 3: Leaf Orientation also exhibits Fibonacci numbers

Note: You have, 5 fingers on each hand, 5 toes on each foot, 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose
with 2 nostrils. These are on Fibonacci Sequence.

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

Fibonacci numbers have geometric application in nature as well. The most prominent of these is
the Fibonacci spiral on a nautilus shell.
The Fibonacci spiral is constructed by placing together rectangles of relative side lengths equaling
Fibonacci numbers. A spiral can then be drawn starting from the corner of the first rectangle of
side length 1, all the way to the corner of the rectangle of side length 13.

GOLDEN RATIO

One of the Significant applications of the Fibonacci sequence is a number that mathematician refer
to as Phi (Φ). It refers to a very important number that is known as the golden ratio.

Phi (Φ)is define as the limit of the ratio of a Fibonacci number n and its predecessor, Fib (n-1).
√"
Mathematically this number is equal to : 1 + # or Approximately 1.618034. A remarkable
property of the sequence is that the ratio between two numbers in the Fibonacci sequence
eventually approaches the “Golden ratio” as a limit.

1/1 = 1, 2/1=2, 3/2 = 1.5, 5/3 = 1.6667, 8/5 = 1.6, 13/8 = 1.625, 21/13 = 1.6154, 34/21 = 1.619,
55/34 = 1.618, 89/55 = 1.618, 144/89 = 1.618, 233/144 = 1.618, 377/233 = 1.618, 610/377 = 1.618
and so on.

V. SUMMARY

The Fibonacci sequence is a set of numbers that starts with a one or a zero, followed by one, and
proceeds based on the rule that each number (Fibonacci number) is equal to the sum of the
preceding two numbers. The Fibonacci sequence is related to the golden ration, a proportion
(1:1.618) that occurs frequently throughout the natural world and is applied across many areas of
human endeavor. Both the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ration are used to guide design for
architecture, websites, and many more.

VI. ACTIVITY

Open the activity folder.

VII. Enrichment Websites

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVO2dcuR7P0
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keLN89CWZ-A
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNEXfJ2hIcM
VIII. REFERENCE:

http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/math/patterns/number.html

http://www.camiweb.com/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=223&Itemid=
108
https://www.fq.math.ca/Scanned/10-4/advanced10-4.pdf
https://tue.iitm.ac.in/teaching-and-presentations/teaching/undergraduate%20courses/vy305-
molecular-architecture-and-evolution-of-functions/presentations/presentations-2006/P7.pdf