Math Untangled

Math Untangled

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Grade 6-8: The Fibonacci's Sequence

The Fibonacci's Sequence is a series of numbers in which each number ( Fibonacci number ) is the sum of the two preceding numbers. 
The simplest is the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc. The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it.
    • The 2 is determined by adding the two numbers before it (1+1)
    • Similarly, the 3 is determined by adding the two numbers before it (1+2),
    • And the 5 is (2+3),
    • and so on!
    (The Fibonacci sequence is defined by the property that each number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers; to get started, the first two numbers must be specified, and these are usually taken to be 1 and 1. In mathematical notation, if the sequence is written $(x_0, x_1,x_2,...)$ then the defining relationship is
\begin{displaymath}x_n=x_{n-1}+x_{n-2}\qquad (n=2,3,4...)\end{displaymath}

with starting conditions $x_0=1,
x_1=1$.)