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This paper was written as an assignment for Ian Walton's Math G -Math for liberal Arts Students - at Mission College. If you use material from this paper, please acknowledge it.
To explore other such papers go to the Math G Projects Page.
Leonardo of Pisa (c1170 - 1250), known as Fibonacci, "the son of Bonacci," wrote a book called Liber Abaci . In this book he introduced the Arabic numbers into Western Culture. The book also posed a now well-known story problem which involved the reproductive habits of rabbits in an enclosed area:
A man put a pair of rabbits in a cage. During the first month the rabbits produced no offspring, but each month thereafter produced one new pair of rabbits. If each new pair thus produced reproduces in the same manner, how many pairs of rabbits will there be at the end of one year?
The resulting answer, though only theoretically correct, became known as "The Fibonacci Sequence." Fibonacci is noted as a "brilliant mathematician" but it seems unlikely that he could have ever imagined how prevalent his series would prove itself to be in our world. The Fibonacci sequence shows itself in innumerable situations, both natural as well as technological. Situations that Fibonacci could have never imagined. Computers and the supercooled liquid that creates plate glass, things that were a bit before Fibonacci's time. There are even firms that teach stock market strategies through the Fibonacci prinicples of Fibonacci math.
To read more about Fibonacci and his history in the St.Andrews searchable Math History Archive Click here.
A few thing to see on this web page:
Natural Fibonacci (Next)
Aesthetically Pleasing Fibonacci?
The Formulas for the Fibonacci Sequence.
Bibliography and some great Fibonacci links.
This paper was written as an assignment for Ian Walton's Math G -Math for liberal Arts Students - at Mission College. If you use material from this paper, please acknowledge it.