Tech WondersPlay

Mind-Bending Math & GamesMathematics in Nature

Sunflowers Count in Fibonacci

Seed spirals come in 34s, 55s and 89s

Count the spirals on a sunflower and the same few numbers keep turning up. The flower has never heard of math. So who's counting?

You'll find out

  • The numbers hiding in the seed spirals
  • The one turn that packs seeds best
  • How often real sunflowers break the rule

Why it matters

Simple rules, repeated, build patterns no one designed. Nature works this way, and so does a lot of code.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 135 · Zone 15

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 127Auditory PerceptionYanny or Laurel?One recording, two words, and people hear different ones
  2. 128Unsolved ProblemsThe Simplest Unsolved ProblemHalve if even, triple and add one if odd; does it always reach 1?
  3. 129Internet HistoryThe First YouTube VideoNineteen seconds at a zoo started it all
  4. 130BiomimicryThe Train That Copied a BirdJapan's bullet train borrowed its nose from a kingfisher
  5. 131StatisticsWhat ‘70% Chance of Rain’ MeansIt isn't 70% of the day or 70% of the city
  6. 132PerceptionYour Brain Hides Your NoseYour nose is always in view, yet you never see it
  7. 133Precision MeasurementThe Atomic ClockThe most precise clocks count the vibrations inside atoms
  8. 134Satellite NavigationHow GPS Finds YouYour phone listens to satellites' clocks and does the math