Showing posts with label Fibonacci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fibonacci. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 August 2007

Fibonacci Sequence...Part II

Fibonacci Sequence in nature
The Fibonacci sequence has intrigued mathematicians for centuries. It is noticed that these numbers appear in many different patterns in nature, often creating the beauty we admire.
I have collected the following pictures from various resources to show them to my students. They are asked to look for Fibonacci numbers in pictures of objects from nature. They are asked to look for specific numbers that appear in the sequence, not for the entire sequence.
Normally, I divide students into groups of three or four and distribute the Activity Sheet containing pictures: Finding Fibonacci Numbers in Nature.

Count the number of dots on each flower.

Fibonacci Sequence...Part I

It was first observed by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci in 1202. He was investigating how fast rabbits could breed under ideal circumstances. He made the following assumptions:
Begin with one male and one female rabbit. Rabbits can mate at the age of one month, so by the end of the second month, each female can produce another pair of rabbits.
The rabbits never die.
The female produces one male and one female every month.
He calculated how many pairs of rabbits would be produced in one year.

Motivate the students to develop the sequence themselves. Remind them that they have to count only the pairs of rabbits and not individual rabbits.
Give them some hint
You begin with one pair of rabbits ,write 1.
At the end of the first month, there is still only one pair ,again write 1.
At the end of the second month, the female has produced a second pair, so there are 2 pairs, write 2.
At the end of the third month, the original female has produced another pair, so now there are 3 pairs.so write 3.
At the end of the fourth month, the original female has produced yet another pair, and the female born two months earlier has produced her first pair, making a total of 5 pairs ,write 5.

Write the pattern that has emerged : 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, and 233...
Observe what rule is being followed to get from one number to the next.
Understand that to get the next number in the sequence, you have to add the previous two numbers.

 

Apture