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Decoding The Golden Ratio

Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. Deriving the golden ratio
3. The Golden Ratio and The Fibonacci Sequence
4. Bibliography

Introduction

Through this project I aim to explain the concept of the golden ratio in an easy-to-understand
manner, and I hope after reading this you will have a better understanding and appreciation
for mathematics.
The Golden Ratio
The golden ratio is present all around us and I observed it in the conch shell I had at home,
which had this unique never-ending spiral that almost looked like a crafted design. And when
I took the quest of finding why is it like this, I got to know that the golden ratio is an integral
part of our lives from flowers to paintings.

In mathematics we use the golden ratio as 1.61803398875 , but how do we come to

this value?
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The Golden Rectangle

Deriving The Golden Ratio
Let us take a line segment having two parts: 𝑎 and 𝑏.
The ratio of a to b is equal to the sum of a and b to the longer side, a.
Diag.1

𝑎 𝑏

Eq.1
𝑎 𝑎+𝑏
=
𝑏 𝑎

𝑎 𝑎+𝑏 = is equal to phi, which is denoted by the

symbol, φ.
𝑏 𝑎

So, we now know that 𝜑 = 𝑎 = 𝑎+𝑏.

𝑏 𝑎

Therefore, we infer from the previous statements that:

1
𝜑=1+
𝜑 This is because 𝑎 +𝑏
is the same as φ,

which when simplified is 1 + 𝑏

. 𝑊hich consists of the

𝑎𝑎

inverse of φ. And therefore, we get 𝜑 = 1 + .

From this we can arrive at the following statement for φ, by constantly plugging in the value
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1
of φ in its base equation which is 𝜑 = 1 + .
𝜑

(1) 𝜑1 = 1 + 𝜑 1

1
(2) 𝜑2 = 1 1
1+𝜑
+ 1
1
1+ 1
1+
(3) 𝜑𝑛 = 1
+
…

This produces a recursive definition of the variable 𝜑.

Now let us look at an incredibly unique property of this number φ, we will look at it now
from a different viewpoint.
Let us is multiply the equation by φ on both the sides, which does not change the net
equation. i.e.
1
𝜑. 𝜑 = (1 + ) . 𝜑
𝜑
This gives the quadratic equation.

𝜑2 = 𝜑 + 1

Which can be translated to-

𝜑= √1 + 𝜑
This would again lead us to a recursive definition of φ as we continue to plug in the value φ in the
base equation which in this case is 𝜑 .

(1) 𝜑1 = √1 + 𝜑

(2) 𝜑2 = √ 1 + √1 + 𝜑
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(3) 𝜑𝑛

Now we know that φ has a recursive definition and when we look closely, the values in both
the cases of φ tend towards the golden ratio.
To prove that the values in both the cases of phi tend towards the golden ratio, we would take
the value of the variable as 10. Hence, we arrive at the following cases:

Case 1- and so on.

Case 2- and so on.

Now we will use a scientific calculator (with the answer function) to lead us to the conclusion
that φ tends to the golden ratio.

Firstly, we will calculate the values of the first term which are 1 + and
respectively. And after getting these values for each of the cases we will use the answer
function of the scientific calculator, in which we will use 1 + 1
for Case 1 and
𝐴𝑛𝑠 for Case 2. After several
iterations of the answer function, we start to see that the value of the results for both the cases
is tending towards 1.61803398875, which is the golden ratio.
Now that we have derived the golden ratio from a scientific calculator, we will look at φ
from an algebraic viewpoint. The Sridharacharya/Quadratic formula:

𝑎𝑐 −𝑏 ± √𝑏 2 − 4
=
𝜑 2

We will use this formula to find the positive value of 𝜑 from the
equation 𝜑2 − 𝜑 − 1 = 0.
In this scenario we will only look at the positive value of 𝜑 because the line segment can
never be negative in magnitude.
We have the values as 𝑎 = 1, 𝑏 = −1 and 𝑐 = −1
Plugging in the values in the formula

And by the following these simple steps, we find the value of 𝜑 .

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The Golden Ratio and The Fibonacci Sequence

The Fibonacci sequence was first discovered by Leonardo Pisano who is famously known as
Fibonacci.
In the Fibonacci sequence, each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers that
precede it. The mathematical equation is described as follows:

𝐹𝑛 = 𝐹𝑛−1 + 𝐹𝑛−2 for 𝑛 > 1 with 𝐹0 = 0 and 𝐹1 = 1

The first twelve numbers of the sequence are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144……
And now the interesting part is that the ratio of any two successive numbers in the Fibonacci
Sequence approaches the golden ratio (approximately).
To prove this let us take 144 and 89 for example, 144/89 gives the value 1.617977528 and as
we move further up the Fibonacci sequence the value of the ratios come closer and closer to
the golden ratio.
Now interestingly the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence are everywhere, from the number
of petals in a flower to the number of sides of an unpeeled banana. All these things have one
thing in common, they consist of the Fibonacci numbers. Having the golden ratio proportion
on an object adds up to the appeal of it and makes it look more attractive and the paintings
made in the past are quite a proof of that, The Mona Lisa, and The Last Supper are one the
paintings which incorporate the golden ratio, and they are widely appreciated. And there are
countless examples of the same in different fields ranging from buildings to flowers.

Hope you gained a better understanding of the golden ratio and how it affects our perception in day to
life. And I also do hope that you are now able to relate to the quote mentioned in the introduction.
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When one sees eternity in things that pass away, then one has pure
knowledge.”
–BHAGAVAD GITA

Thank You for Reading!

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Bibliography
https://archive.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/resource_at_right_angle_issue_8_nov_2020
_brochure.pdf
https://medium.com/@gautamnag279/what-is-so-special-about-the-number-1-61803-7e0bbc0e89e2
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/dec/28/golden-ratio-us-academic
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/golden-ratio/
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry-home/geometry-lines/the-golden-ratio/v/the-
goldenratio
www.google.com