15-251

Great Theoretical Ideas

in Computer Science
Recurrences, Fibonacci Numbers
and Continued Fractions
Lecture 9, September 24, 2009
 Leonardo Fibonacci
In 1202, Fibonacci proposed a problem
about the growth of rabbit populations
 Rabbit Reproduction
A rabbit lives forever
The population starts as single newborn pair
Every month, each productive pair
begets a new pair which will become
productive after 2 months old
Fn= # of rabbit pairs at the beginning
of the nth month

month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
rabbits 1 1 2 3 5 8 13
 Fibonacci Numbers
month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
rabbits 1 1 2 3 5 8 13

Stage 0, Initial Condition, or Base Case:

Fib(1) = 1; Fib (2) = 1

Inductive Rule:
For n>3, Fib(n) =Fib(n-1) + Fib(n-2)
 Sequences That Sum To n
Let fn+1 be the number of different
sequences of 1’s and 2’s that sum to n.

f1 = 10 = the empty sum

f2 = 1 1 = 1

f3 = 2 2 = 1 + 1
2
 Sequences That Sum To n
Let fn+1 be the number of different
sequences of 1’s and 2’s that sum to n.

4 =2 + 2
2 + 1 + 1
1 + 2 + 1
1 + 1 + 2
1 + 1 + 1+1
 Sequences That Sum To n
Let fn+1 be the number of different
sequences of 1’s and 2’s that sum to n.

fn+1 = fn + fn-1
# of # of
sequences sequences
beginning beginning
with a 1 with a 2
 Fibonacci Numbers Again
Let fn+1 be the number of different
sequences of 1’s and 2’s that sum to n.

fn+1 = fn + fn-1

f1 = 1 f2 = 1
 Visual Representation: Tiling

Let fn+1 be the number of different

ways to tile a 1 × n strip with
squares and dominoes.
 Visual Representation: Tiling

1 way to tile a strip of length 0

1 way to tile a strip of length 1:

2 ways to tile a strip of length 2:

 fn+1 = fn + fn-1

fn+1 is number of ways to tile length n.

fn tilings that start with a square.

fn-1 tilings that start with a

domino.
 Fibonacci Identities

Some examples:

F2n = F1 + F3 + F5 + … + F2n-1

Fm+n+1 = Fm+1 Fn+1 + Fm Fn

(Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n

Fm+n+1 = Fm+1 Fn+1 + F m Fn

m n

m-1 n-1
(Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n

n-1

Fn tilings of a strip of length n-1

 (Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n

(Fn)2 tilings of two strips of size n-1

(Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n

Draw a vertical “fault

line” at the rightmost
position (<n) possible
without cutting any
dominoes
 (Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n

Swap the tails at the

fault line to map to a
tiling of 2 (n-1)’s to a
tiling of an n-2 and an
n.
(Fn)2 = Fn-1 Fn+1 + (-1)n-1
n even

n odd
Sneezwort (Achilleaptarmica)

Each time the plant starts a new shoot

it takes two months before it is strong
enough to support branching.
 Counting Petals
5 petals: buttercup, wild rose, larkspur,
columbine (aquilegia)
8 petals: delphiniums
13 petals: ragwort, corn marigold,
cineraria,
some daisies
21 petals: aster, black-eyed susan,
chicory
34 petals: plantain, pyrethrum
55, 89 petals: michaelmas daisies, the
asteraceae family.
The Fibonacci Quarterly
 Definition of φ (Euclid)
Ratio obtained when you divide a line
segment into two unequal parts such that
the ratio of the whole to the larger part is
the same as the ratio of the larger to the
smaller.
AC AB
φ= = A B C
AB BC
AC
φ2 =
BC
AC AB BC
φ -φ=
2
- = =1
BC BC BC
φ –φ–1=0
2

1 + √5
φ=
2
Golden ratio supposed to arise
in…

a b
Parthenon, Athens (400 B.C.) The great pyramid at Gizeh

Mostly
circumstantial
Ratio of a person’s height evidence…
to the height of his/her navel
Expanding Recursively
Expanding Recursively
Continued Fraction
Representation
A (Simple) Continued Fraction Is Any
Expression Of The Form:

where a, b, c, … are whole numbers.

 A Continued Fraction can have a
finite or infinite number of terms.

We also denote this fraction by [a,b,c,d,e,f,…]

A Finite Continued Fraction

Denoted by [2,3,4,2,0,0,0,…]
 An Infinite Continued Fraction

Denoted by [1,2,2,2,…]
Recursively Defined Form For CF
Continued fraction representation of
a standard fraction
e.g., 67/29 = 2 with remainder 9/29
= 2 + 1/ (29/9)
 Ancient Greek Representation:
Continued Fraction Representation
 Ancient Greek Representation:
Continued Fraction Representation

= [1,1,1,1,0,0,0,…]
 Ancient Greek Representation:
Continued Fraction Representation
 Ancient Greek Representation:
Continued Fraction Representation

= [1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,…]
 Ancient Greek Representation:
Continued Fraction Representation

= [1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,…]
 A Pattern?
Let r1 = [1,0,0,0,…] = 1
r2 = [1,1,0,0,0,…] = 2/1
r3 = [1,1,1,0,0,0…] = 3/2
r4 = [1,1,1,1,0,0,0…] = 5/3
and so on.

Theorem:
rn = Fib(n+1)/Fib(n)
 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,….

2/1 = 2
3/2 = 1.5
5/3 = 1.666…
8/5 = 1.6
13/8 = 1.625
21/13 = 1.6153846…
34/21 = 1.61904…

φ = 1.6180339887498948482045
 Pineapple whorls
Church and Turing were both
interested in the number of
whorls in each ring of the
spiral.

The ratio of consecutive ring

lengths approaches the
Golden Ratio.
 Proposition:
Any finite continued
fraction evaluates to a
rational.

Theorem
Any rational has a finite
continued fraction
representation.
 Hmm.
Finite CFs = Rationals.

Then what do
infinite continued fractions
represent?
An infinite continued fraction
 Quadratic Equations

• X2 – 3x – 1 = 0

• X2 = 3X + 1
• X = 3 + 1/X

• X = 3 + 1/X = 3 + 1/[3 + 1/X]

=…
A Periodic CF
 Theorem:
Any solution to a quadratic
equation has a periodic
continued fraction.

Converse:
Any periodic continued
fraction is the solution of a
quadratic equation.
(try to prove this!)
 So they express more
than just the rationals…

What about those

non-recurring infinite
continued fractions?
Non-periodic CFs
 What is the pattern?

No one knows!
What a cool representation!

Finite CF: Rationals

Periodic CF: Quadratic roots

And some numbers reveal

hidden regularity.
 More good news: Convergents

Let α = [a1, a2, a3, ...] be a CF.

Define: C1 = [a1,0,0,0,0..]
C2 = [a1,a2,0,0,0,...]
C3 = [a1,a2,a3,0,0,...] and so on.

Ck is called the k-th convergent of α

α is the limit of the sequence C1, C2, C3,…

 Best Approximator Theorem

• A rational p/q is the best approximator

to a real α if no rational number of
denominator smaller than q comes
closer to α.
BEST APPROXIMATOR THEOREM:
Given any CF representation of α,
each convergent of the CF is a
best approximator for α !
 Best Approximators of π

C1 = 3

C2 = 22/7

C3 = 333/106

C4 = 355/113

C5 = 103993/33102

C6 =104348/33215
Continued Fraction
Representation
Continued Fraction
Representation
 Remember?

We already saw the convergents of this CF

[1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,…]
are of the form Fib(n+1)/Fib(n)

Hence:
 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,….

• 2/1 = 2
• 3/2 = 1.5
• 5/3 = 1.666…
• 8/5 = 1.6
• 13/8 = 1.625
• 21/13 = 1.6153846…
• 34/21 = 1.61904…

• φ = 1.6180339887498948482045...
As we’ve seen...
Going the Other Way
 Recurrences and generating
functions

Golden ratio

Continued fractions

Convergents
Here’s What
You Need to Closed form for Fibonaccis
Know…
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