Alright..Story problem consists of building a path of blocks 1 ft. by 2 ft. The ending path should be 20 feet long, but with the rectangular blocks, [may need to draw picture] you can put them widthwise (makes path 1 foot longer, while still being 2 feet wide) OR lengthwise (two blocks together, also making the path 2 feet wide, but is now 2 feet long.) The goal is to see how many different combinations you can make for 20 ft. path. You make a X,Y table, (X rep. the length of the path in feet, and Y is the number of combos you can make with the blocks) So..X: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7..etc. While Y:1,2,3,5,8,13,21,55,76 (you can se the pattern is adding the first 2 y values to get the third EX 1+2=3; 3+5=8 ..ETC.) Now the hard part is finding a working formula where you can take ANY X value and plug it in to get the correct value of Y...So far all i've seen is that the area of the path is 2(x) and that the X value is the number of blocks used in the combination..any ideas for a FORMULA? THANK YOU!
2006-11-25 17:46:20 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Alright, after some more searching i've found this is the sequence of **Fibonacci Numbers**..There are formulas but can anyone give & explain in very simple terms :) Thanks!
2006-11-25 18:17:41 · update #1
Fibonacci Numbers formula information
Click on the URL below for additional information concerning fibonacci numbers
mathworld.wolfram.com/FibonacciNumber.html
www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_numbers
dmoz.org/Science/Math/Recreations/Specific_Numbers/Fibonacci_Numbers
www.cut-the-knot.org/arithmetic/Fibonacci.shtml
2006-11-26 02:15:51 · answer #1 · answered by SAMUEL D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree that the wording is difficult to follow, but the actual problem is stated. He's looking for a formula to determine the value of the nth number in a Fibonacci series, where each number is the sum of the two numbers preceding it.
I'm sorry, I can't think of a formula right off the top of my head.
2006-11-26 02:17:31 · answer #2 · answered by Amy F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your description of the problem is imprecise and leaves too many questions unanswered. please restate (copy verbatim if given in a textbook).
2006-11-26 01:57:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋