Fibonacci

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Fibonacci

Fibonacci (around 1175 - 1250) was a famous Italian mathematician. His real name was Leonardo of Pisa or Leonardo Pisano. His nickname Fibonacci was taken from his father, whose name was Bonacci. Fibonacci means son of (a) Bonacci. His mother was Alessandra Larracocci. He was 9 when she died. He had a sister named Saminta. He is considered the "Father of Mathematics".

[change] Fibonacci number sequence

Fibbonacci is best known for the list of numbers called the Fibonacci Sequence. The list never stops, but it starts this way:

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

In this list, a person can find the next number by adding the last two numbers together.

1 + 1 = 2
    1 + 2 = 3
        2 + 3 = 5
            3 + 5 = 8
                5 + 8 = 13
                    8 + 13 = 21
                        13 + 21 = 34
                             21 + 34 = 55
                                  34 + 55 = 89
                                       55 + 89 = 144
                                            89 + 144 = 233
                                                 144 + 233 = 377
                                                       233 + 377 = 610
                                                             377 + 610 = 987
                                                                   610 + 987 = 1597
                                                                         987 + 1597 = 2584
                                                                         etc...

This series is also interesting because the ratio of two adjacent numbers in the series approaches the golden ratio, or Phi, as the numbers get bigger.