You have seen Fibonacci's Sequence in nature and art, but now you are going to look at it mathmatically, in the form of Fibonacci's Ratio.

First:
Download the Excel spreadsheet needed for this lesson. If you are having trouble downloading refer to the weblink for the questions and a look at the spreadsheet.

Now:
1)Try inserting different numbers into cell A5 (the first cell in the sequence, and hit "return"). Use the numbers: 5, .25, 10, 4, & 12.
2) Click on cell K9. Look in the formula bar. You will see a formula that gives you the value in cell K9.
3) Investigate the following two links for more information about the number in the formula:
http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/fibonacci.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/5numbers3.shtml

Write:
1) What patterns did you notice when you tried different number at the start of the sequence?
2) What are the numbers used in the formula in the second row of the sequence?
3) What was a use of Fibonacci's Ratio in the Greek Age? What is a common use of the ratio today?
4) Take a guess about how the numbers in the spreadsheet work.

When you are finished answering the questions copy your answers into the spreadsheet. Save the spreadsheet as a web page. Link the page to your Golden Mean page.


Next step: The value of Fibonacci's Ratio...