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2005 PMWC Problems/Problem T6

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Problem

\begin{eqnarray*}1+2 &=& 3 \\4+5+6 &=& 7+8 \\9+10+11+12 &=& 13+14+15 \vdots If this pattern is continued, find the last number in the 80th row (e.g. the last number of the third row is 15).

Solution

There are 3 numbers in the first row, 5 numbers in the second row, and 2n+1 numbers in the nth row. Thus for the nth row, the last number is (We use the fact that the sum of the first n odd numbers is n^2):

\left(\sum_{i=1}^{n} 2n+1\right) = \left(\sum_{i=1}^n 2n-1\right) + 2n = n^2 + 2n

The last number on the 80th row is 80^2 + 2\cdot 80 = 6560.

See also

2005 PMWC (Problems)
Preceded by
Problem T5
Followed by
Problem T7
I: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
T: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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