Fibonacci Numbers
One night my dad and I were working on learning about Fibonacci numbers. The Fibonacci sequence of numbers worked like 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ... and you would add the two last numbers that you used to get the next number. For example: 1 + 1 = 2. You would add the answer and the number you used before so that the next one would be: 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 = 13, 8 + 13 = 21, ... That is how the Fibonacci sequence works.
Fibonacci, Fredrick II and My Project
About this time I got a Medieval Project assignment from my fifth grade teacher Ms. Rothery. I wanted to work on the Knight Project but my dad said I didn't know any knights. My dad and I were working with Fibonacci numbers and had read about Fibonacci who lived around 1175 to 1250 A.D. Fibonacci was very young when he got interested in math and he traveled with his father around the Mediterranean area learning math from many people.
When we were reading about Fibonacci, it said that he and King Fredrick II had some talks with each other. I read parts of "Math And Music" by Garland and Kahn where it talked about how the Fibonacci sequence is related to some music.
My father pressured me to change projects from knights to something else interesting to me. I picked the Castle Project from Ms. Rothery's list. My father said: "Ok, but you don't know any." So I looked for a castle and I found Fredrick II Hohenstaufen's "Castel Del Monte." I've been sticking to this Castle Project because it has a lot to do with math and math is my favorite subject.
Fredrick II had some conversations with Fibonacci. Fredrick II liked to be around smart people so if he asked questions they would know the answer. Some people think Castel Del Monte was an astronomical observatory. Fredrick II likely gave Fibonacci a teaching job since Frederick II supported learning from Fibonacci.
Barile, Margherita. Fibonacci, Leonardo da Pisa (ca. 1170-ca. 1240). Online. Available http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Fibonacci.html, 18 October 2002.
Eves, Howard. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics. Munich, Prestel-Verlag, 1964.
Garland, Trudi and Kahn, Charity. Math and Music, Harmonious Connections. California, Dale Seymour Publications, 1958.
Gotze, Heinz. Castel Del Monte, Geometric Marvel of th Middle Ages. New York, Dover Publications, 1998.
Horadam, A. F. Fibonacci (c.1175-c.1240) mathematician. Online. Available http://www2.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/fibo.html, 14 October 2002.
Smith, David E. History of Mathematics, Volume I. New York, Dover Publications, 1958.