Step 1: Read the dot count in each tile.
Count the dots in the tiles from left to right: the first tile is blank (0 dots), then 1 dot, then 1 dot again, then 2 dots, then 3 dots, then 5 dots.
Step 2: Find the rule linking one tile to the next.
Look at three tiles in a row at a time. 0 and 1 add up to 1, the next tile's count. 1 and 1 add up to 2, the tile after that. 1 and 2 add up to 3, and 2 and 3 add up to 5. Each tile's dot count is the sum of the two tiles right before it. This is the Fibonacci pattern.
Step 3: Apply the rule to the missing tile.
The last two known counts are 3 and 5, so the missing tile must have \(3 + 5 = 8\) dots.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Option (A) has 4 dots, option (B) has 6 dots, and option (D) has 9 dots, none of these equal 8, so all three break the addition rule. Option (C) has 8 dots, arranged as a ring: 3 dots across the top, 1 dot on each side in the middle, and 3 dots across the bottom, giving 3 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 8. This matches the required count exactly.
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (C), 8 dots}} \]
