Lesson #3 - Find a Flower

Sorry for the delay. I was working in Italy this past month, and was fortunate enough to spend time in Fibonacci's home town (Pisa). In fact, here is a photo of me at the top of the Leaning Tower with my friends, Chris, Bern, and Mike, the coaching staff of the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team.

Standing on top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, home of Leonardo Pisano,
better known as Fibonacci (that is, Pisa was his home, not the tower!)
That's me on the left! August 2014

Lesson #3 - Find a Flower

Objective: Students will locate and pick flowers with petals that represent one of the Fibonacci numbers.

Task: Look around your house, your school, or your local community for flowers with petals. Make sure you are allowed to pick the flowers. If you are not sure, just take a picture of it. If you are completing this task at at time of year in which there are no flowers blooming, look for plants or trees with leaves if possible.

Count the petals and try to find one example of each of the first few Fibonacci numbers:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...

After you have selected your flowers, present them to your teacher. Finally, rate yourself using the scale below:

1 flower: Way to go - you found one!
2 flowers: Excellent! Keep your eyes open for more Fibonacci numbers around you.
3 flowers: Outstanding! Fibonacci would be proud of you!
4 or more flowers: Incredible! You might be the next Fibonacci!