Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) · Mathematics

The Rabbit Problem and the Fibonacci Sequence

The playful breeding puzzle Fibonacci posed in the <em>Liber Abaci</em> - how many rabbit pairs in a year? - and the sequence it generates: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13..., governed by the rule that each number is the sum of the two before it, a toy that bred a pattern found across mathematics and nature.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that the Liber Abaci &rsquo;s rabbit problem generates the sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21..., defined by F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2), that it reaches 377 pairs after a year, and that the same sequence had been known to Indian prosodists centuries earlier. Explain the breeding logic behind the recurrence in y…

Leads to Johannes Kepler.

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