1. Maths in Nature

2. Have you ever wondered why flowers have a certain amount of petals or a pineapple has spirals?
Well, it is all to do with Maths and a special sequence of numbers!

3. How many petals are there on each of the flowers?

4. Photos courtesy of Jill Britton, mathematics instructor, Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

5. Do you recognise these numbers?
1 petal
white calla lily
2 Petals
euphorbia
3 Petals
trillium
5 Petals
columbine
8 petals
bloodroot
13 petals
black-eyed Susan
21 petals
shasta daisy
34 petals
field daisies
Do you recognise these numbers?

6. There is a special number sequence which was discovered over 800 years ago by an Italian mathematician called Leonardo Fibonacci.
It is called the Fibonacci sequence.
Can you spot the pattern?
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89……………

7. I wonder what happens if we look at other things in nature!

8. Pineapples Count the spirals on your pineapple. How many do you have?
Try counting them in a different way…

10. Pine Cones
Count the spirals on your pine cone.
How many do you have?

11. Sunflowers
Count the spirals on your picture.
How many do you have?

12. Distribution of seed heads in a sunflower2 1 3 5 8 13 21 34
Click to view
Click to view

13. F = 2 √5 +1 The Golden Ratio Or F = 1.618033989…
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…
√5 +1 2
F =
What does it mean?
How do we get this?
Or F = …

14. Look familiar? An ear Space Nautilus Shell Kate Moss Eggs A rose
Mona Lisa
Parthenon in Greece