THEOREM If is any constant (that is, it does not depend on ), then
(a) (b)
(c)
PROOF To see why these rules are true, all we have to do is write both sides in expanded
form. Rule (a) is just the distributive property of real numbers:
Rule (b) follows from the associative and commutative properties:
Rule (c) is proved similarly. M
EXAMPLE 3 Find
SOLUTION M
EXAMPLE 4 Prove the formula for the sum of the first positive integers:
SOLUTION This formula can be proved by mathematical induction (see page 77) or by the
following method used by the German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855)
when he was ten years old.
Write the sum twice, once in the usual order and once in reverse order:
Adding all columns vertically, we get
On the right side there are terms, each of which is , so
M
EXAMPLE 5 Prove the formula for the sum of the squares of the first positive
integers:
兺
n
i苷1
i
2
苷 1
2
2
2
3
2
n
2
苷
n共n 1兲共2n 1兲
6
n
S 苷
n共n 1兲
2
or2S 苷 n共n 1兲
n 1n
2S 苷 共n 1兲 共n 1兲 共n 1兲 共n 1兲 共n 1兲
S 苷 n 共n 1兲 共n 2兲 2 1
S 苷 1 2 3 共n 1兲 n
S
兺
n
i苷1
i 苷 1 2 3 n 苷
n共n 1兲
2
n
兺
n
i苷1
1 苷 1 1 1 苷 n
兺
n
i苷1
1.
苷 共a
m
a
m1
a
n
兲 共b
m
b
m1
b
n
兲
共a
m
b
m
兲 共a
m1
b
m1
兲 共a
n
b
n
兲
ca
m
ca
m1
ca
n
苷 c共a
m
a
m1
a
n
兲
兺
n
i苷m
共a
i
b
i
兲 苷
兺
n
i苷m
a
i
兺
n
i苷m
b
i
兺
n
i苷m
共a
i
b
i
兲 苷
兺
n
i苷m
a
i
兺
n
i苷m
b
i
兺
n
i苷m
ca
i
苷 c
兺
n
i苷m
a
i
ic
2
APPENDIX E SIGMA NOTATION
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A35