The Quiz on Thursday will have a question about Fibonacci the person. Some questions I might ask are:
The quiz will have a few problems about Fibonacci's life chosen from the following:
1. What was the most influential thing Fibonacci wrote about in his book?
2. About when did Fibonacci live?
3. Where did Fibonacci live?
4. Where did Fibonacci learn about Hindu-Arabic numbers?
You can read more about Leonardo Pisano (Fibonacci) at http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Fibonacci.html
The quiz will also have 2-3 questions about the Fibonacci sequence of numbers. some questions I might ask are:
5. Write down the first 5 Fibonacci numbers.
6. Use F18=2584 and F19=4181 to find F20 and F17 (show your work)
7. Use F15=610 and F16=987 to find F14 and F17 (show your work)
For 6 and 7, you will need to use the pattern: Fn + Fn+1 = Fn+2 (if you add two consecutive Fibonaccis together (eg. F3 and F4), you get the next one (F5)); and the variation Fn = Fn+2 - Fn+1(if you have a large-ish Fibonacci (eg. F5)and you subtract the Fibonacci just before it (F4), you get the Fibonacci that comes just before that one (F3) )
8. You should know the rules for Fibonacci NIM. If you have forgotten the rules, they are in the book on page 56 (the first paragraph under Fun and Games with Fibonacci). You should be able to answer simple questions like:
A. You go first in a game that starts with 23 counters. What is the largest number of counters you are allowed by the rules to take? What is the smallest number of counters you are allowed by the rules to take?
B. You go first in a game that starts with 23 counters. Would it be a good idea to take 10 counters? Why?
C. In a game of Fibonacci NIM, your opponent just took 3 counters, and there are 16 counters left. What is the smallest number of counters you are allowed by the rules to take? What is the largest number you are allowed to take? Would it be good strategy to take the largest number of counters allowed?