My talk on December 7th is based on the article Golden, Sqrt{2}, and π Flowers: A Spiral Story, written by Michael Naylor, found in Vol. 75, No. 3 (Jun., 2002) of the Mathematics Magazine. I will discuss the contents of this article on how we can find important mathematical ratios in the seed spacing found in many items in nature such as a sunflower, pine cone, or artichoke. The angle between each seed is constant and I will explain why the angle ends up most commonly being an irrational fraction of one revolution rather than rational. I will discuss the different families associated with the different angles and the patterns they follow. I find this topic very interesting and hope you do as well!

I look forward to showing you another way math can be seen in everyday things.

See you Wednesday,

Kendyl Fraser