Puzzle from March 23 - May 3, 2002

If you wish a version (with some neat graphics) that may be installed on Windows, please write to me (e-mail address is at the bottom of the page).

I have been fascinated by some of the work of a mathematician named Fibonacci.

He was born about 1170 and died about 1240.

He discovered a number pattern that was named after him.

To keep the pattern straight in my mind, I have set up a table:

The pattern starts with 0 and 1.
Add these two numbers to get the third number in the pattern,
which is 1 + 0 = 1
Add the last two numbers to get the fourth number in the pattern,
which is 1 + 1 = 2
And continue, adding the last two numbers, 2 + 1 = 3
And I'll give you one more, adding 3 + 2 = 5

To solve this week's puzzle, I would have to calculate the 54th Fibonacci number.
So I would have to extend this table 47 more rows!

1st Fibonacci Number	0
2nd Fibonacci Number	1
3rd Fibonacci Number	1 + 0 = 1
4th Fibonacci Number	1 + 1 = 2
5th Fibonacci Number	2 + 1 = 3
6th Fibonacci Number	3 + 2 = 5
7th Fibonacci Number	5 + 3 =

There are many fascinating things about Fibonacci's number pattern.

Sunale Crowe and I spent a Friday evening making this Fibonacci spiral graph.

You can't see it in this picture, but we used grid paper to construct squares based on the Fibonacci number series.
Then we used a compass to draw the arcs of the smaller circles.
For the larger arcs, we made our compasses out of looped string and 2 pencils.

Are we math nerds? Possibly...
There isn't anything else either one of us would have rather been doing at the time.

You may use any calculator to determine Fibonacci numbers, but
I have made a special Fibonacci number calculator, using skills I've just learned in my JavaScript class.
Note: You must have JavaScript enabled in order to use my calculator.
I have also discovered that the calculator does not work in Netscape. It does work in Internet Explorer.
I tried to fix this, but my Javascript class ended before my instructor could help me fix the problem.

If you want to use my specialized calculator, I suggest that you write a list of Fibonacci numbers, then write each new Fibonacci number that this calculator helps you discover.

This week's puzzle involved calculating the particular Fibonacci number that corresponds with your age.

Example: A 5 year old would submit the 5th Fibonacci number, which is 3.

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