Amazing Number Fact No 54
Rabbit
Numbers
- Leonardo
of Pisa wondered how
many pairs of rabbits would be produced in the
nth
generation starting from a single pair of rabbits and
assuming that any pair of rabbits from one generation
produces one pair of rabbits for the next generation
and a further pair of rabbits for the generation after
that, and then they die.
- This picture shows
the first two generations and what they
produce:
- The diagrams become
more complicated but here are the next two generations
and some of their offsprings:
- So far the numbers
produced in each generation are as follows:
|
generation
1
|
generation
2
|
generation
3
|
generation
4
|
generation
5
|
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
Try to draw a diagram showing the numbers
produced in generations 6 and 7. There is an easier
way to produce the "Rabbit Numbers" sequence. Can you
discover it? Leonardo's nickname was Fibonacci. These
numbers have come to be known as the Fibonacci
Numbers.
- [This Amazing Number
Fact is dedicated to Class 1H at Madras College, St
Andrews (99-00)]
|
No
54
