The Fibonacci Sequence Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, it is indeed true that 0.999... represents *exactly* the same number that we generally represent by the familiar symbol "1". For the mathematically inclined, here's one of the many proofs of the same, simple but elegant (courtesy Wikipedia): Consider c = 0.999... Multiplying by 10, 10c = 9.999... Subtracting the two equalities, 10c - c = 9.999... - 0.999... i.e. 9c = 9 i.e. c = 1 (Q.E.D.).

Answer: 1

'Monotheism' indicates a single God. Belief in a more than one God is called 'polytheism'. An example of a polytheistic religion is Hinduism, where the scriptures make references to 330 million (330,000,000) gods!

Answer: 2

When even numbers are divided by 2, there is never a remainder, unlike odd numbers, which give a remainder of 1. Even numbers include the numbers [2, 4, 6, 8...], and odd numbers include [1, 3, 5, 7...]. In Chinese culture, two is said to be a 'good' number. There is a saying in Chinese: "good things come in pairs".

Answer: 3

The term 'trio' is most common in music, to refer to a group of three musicians. The word 'threesome' is an alternative. It is also used for musical instruments; for example, the violin, viola and the cello form the 'string trio'.

Answer: 5

Out of the fifteen members, five, namely France, Russia, China, the US and the UK, are permanent members. The other ten are elected from the General Assembly for a period of two years. The five permanent members enjoy veto powers, which means that each one of them must approve a resolution in the Security Council to make any decisions on substantial matters.

Answer: 8

The last line of the song goes like this: "On the twelfth day of Christmas My true love gave to me Twelve drummers drumming, Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords-a-leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans-a-swimming, Six geese-a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree." Unfortunately, if in today's world, our 'true love' gave us all of these, we'd be kicked out of our house by our landlord / neighbours / the police. "MAD" magazine once published a really funny feature that speculated the effects of being gifted such presents in the modern world.

Answer: 13

'Triskaidekaphobia' is the unreasoned fear of the number thirteen. Because of this, some tall buildings call the 13th floor Floor 12a or something similar, and in many hotels, the 13th room is called Room 12a.

Answer: 21

In most parts of the United States, one must reach the age of 21 to gain the right to drink alcohol. 21 is also the number of dots on a standard cubical die (1+2+3+4+5+6). 21 is a "Harshad Number", which means it is perfectly divisible by the sum of its digits (2+1).

Answer: 34

From the electronic configuration (2-8-18-6), we can understand that there are 2 electrons in the first shell, 8 in the second, 18 in the third, and 6 in the fourth. Adding these together will give us the total number of electrons present in an atom of Se, which is the atomic number. 2 + 8 + 18 + 6 = 34. And so, the atomic number of Selenium is 34.

Answer: 55

To get the answer, we first factorise 1522435234375:

1522435234375 = 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11

Taking the 7th root of both sides,

(1522435234375)^(1/7) = (5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 5 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11 * 11)^(1/7)
=> (1522435234375)^(1/7) = 5 * 11
=> (1522435234375)^(1/7) = 55

...which is the answer! But wait- what about the pattern formed by the answers? Which gives a simpler way of obtaining the answer...

===
Let's take a look at the answers of questions 1 to 9:

Q1: 1
Q2: 1
Q3: 2
Q4: 3
Q5: 5
Q6: 8
Q7: 13
Q8: 21
Q9: 34

From these answers, you'll notice that each answer (with the exceptions of the first and second ones) is the sum of the two answers that precede it. For example, ans3 (2) = ans1 (1) + ans2 (1). Similarly, ans7 (13) = ans 5 (5) + ans 6 (8).

In the same manner, answer 10 is the sum of answers 8 and 9: the sum of answer 8 and answer 9 = 21 + 34 = 55, which is the answer!

This special sequence of numbers is known as the *Fibonacci Sequence*. This sequence was first described by Leonardo of Pisa, a.k.a. Fibonacci, in 1200 A.D., to describe the growth of (an idealised) rabbit population!