The Fibonacci sequence is quite simply the most
famous and elegant (and also our favorite!) number sequence in Mathematics. But
what exactly is it?
The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence (not a
series; a series is a summation of the sequence) of numbers which follows a
specific linear recurrence equation. Don’t worry if that sounds complicated. A
linear recurrence equation is an equation that expresses a particular number of
a series as a linear combination of the other numbers of the sequence (or in
more formal language, as a linear combination of first degree polynomials of
the sequence).
For the Fibonacci sequence, if F(n) is
the nth term of the sequence, then the linear recurrence equation is
F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) for n >= 2. In
modern terminology, F(0) is considered as 0, however in old times, F
(1) was the starting point of the sequence and F (1) was equal to 1. We will
use the modern convention for our article where F(0) = 0 and F(1)
= 1. In simpler words, the nth term in the sequence is equal to the
sum of the two terms preceding it. Using the recurrence formula, we find that
the terms are 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377 … . Note
that the sequence doesn't end at 377, it goes on and on. Now one
might ask just what’ so special about this sequence as compared to just
any other ordinary sequence? We will delve into that too but first something
about the origin of the sequence.
Even though the sequence is named after the
Italian mathematician Fibonacci (Leonardo Binacci), the sequence was discovered
in India by various people in different time periods. There are several stories
about the sequence’s origin. However the fact that it originated in India is
undisputed. Fibonacci introduced the sequence to the western world (Europe) via
his extremely famous book Liber Abaci and the concept was extremely well
received by the Europeans.
Fibonacci presented the series in the form
of a hypothetical problem – ‘Assuming that a newly born pair of rabbits, one
male, one female, are put in a field; rabbits are able to mate at the age of
one month so that at the end of its second month a female can produce another
pair of rabbits; rabbits never die and a mating pair always produces one new
pair (one male, one female) every month from the second month on. The puzzle
that Fibonacci posed was: how many pairs will there be in one year?
After solving the problem, it turns out that the
number of pairs of rabbits each month is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55.. i.e
the Fibonacci sequence!
Now that we have covered the history of this
sequence, let’s get into the main stuff. What makes the Fibonacci sequence the
‘celebrity’ of the Mathematical world?
First
of all, a little exercise for you. Perform the operation F(n+1) / F(n)
for n >= 0. This means divide the (n + 1)th Fibonacci term with
the (n)th Fibonacci term. You will observe that as n keeps on
getting larger, the ratio starts tending to 1.618. This isn’t just any random
number; this is the Golden Ratio, also represented by the Greek letter φ (phi).
Mathematically, two numbers are in the golden ratio if
their ratio is
the same as the ratio of their sum to
the larger of the two quantities. The Golden Ratio has immense historical
significance. Many famous pieces of architecture have been built using the
principle of the Golden Ratio. It is said that objects following the Golden
Ratio are more elegant and aesthetically pleasing. This seemingly insignificant
number is pretty much everywhere! Just look it up and you will find a wealth of
information about it.
Besides it’s relation with the Golden Ratio, the
sequence hides in it a wealth of information that make it even more elegant and
magical.
Here are some interesting observations (some of
them we discovered on our own):
1.
(F(n))^2 + (F(n+1))^2 = F(2n + 1)
2.
F(0) + F(1) + F(2) + F(3)
+ …. F(n) = F(n+2) - 1
3.
(F(0))^2 + (F(1))^2
+ (F(2))^2 + (F(3))^2 +
…. (F(n))^2 = F(n) F(n+1)
4.
(F(n))^3 + (F(n+1))^3 =
F(3n) + (n-2)^3 (For n > 2)
5.
The digital root
of the sequence starts repeating after 24 entries and the pattern that it
follows is 1 1 2 3 5 8 4 3 7 1 8 9 8 8 7 6 4 1 5 6 2 8 1 9.
We didn't calculate the digital roots by hand. That will be too
tedious! Using a simple Java program can do the trick for you.
These are just some of the patterns. You can find
many more by just sitting down and pondering over the sequence. That’s the
beauty of the Fibonacci sequence. You never know what you will find!
