in nature examples of the fibonacci sequence

#IN NATURE EXAMPLES OF THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE SERIES#

In order for plants to have the best possible chance at survival, they need to pack in the maximum number of seeds that they can in the most efficient way possible. appears at an angle that is 1.618 rotations from the one before it – phi determines where each new seed or leaf will appear. Each new petal, seed, or seed-holding pocket in a cone grows in a place whose relationship to the one before it is determined by this special number. Directly related to this is the Golden Ratio’s determination of the exact placement of each of these petals, seeds, and seed pockets.

The Fibonacci sequence describes the pattern in which the petals of flowers grow, the number of spirals of seeds that evergreen cones have, and the pattern in which flowers fit the most seeds possible into their centers. So what do these numbers mean to us as amateur mathematicians and naturalists? They help us to understand the deeper non-aesthetic meaning behind the patterns that we observe in nature. If you divide any two consecutive numbers in the sequence – 55 and 34, for example – the quotient will be phi. The ratio was originally discovered in order to describe the relationship between the longest and shortest sides of a rectangle thought to be the most beautiful to the human eye, but it is very closely related to the Fibonacci Sequence.

Meanwhile, the Golden Ratio is a number called phi, which is equivalent to roughly 1.618.

#IN NATURE EXAMPLES OF THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE SERIES#

It is a series of numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.) in which each number in the pattern is equal to the two numbers before it – for example, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, and 2+3=5. The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio describe, in mathematical terms, the reasons for nature’s plethora of spiral patterns. Beneath the aesthetically pleasing shapes of petals, seeds, and branches are two fascinating mathematical concepts that explain nature’s tendency to expand in spirals. The spirals that appear all around us are no accident of nature – while they’re beautiful to look at, their purpose is much more important than vanity alone. Evergreen cones, heads of broccoli and cauliflower, and tree branches all display noticeable iterations of this spiraling pattern, too. Snail shells, too, show growth rings that become gradually larger as they spiral away from the shell’s center. Sunflowers, for example, seem to spiral their seeds from their centers in some sort of mathematical pattern. Nature is filled with patterns – spirals, in particular, are especially noticeable in species of plants and animals. The Fibonacci sequence describes the pattern in which flowers fit the most seeds possible into their centers.

In nature examples of the fibonacci sequence