Scribd
Upload
289 views2 pages

Triangular Numbers

The document discusses properties of triangular numbers. Triangular numbers are numbers that can be arranged in an equilateral triangular pattern, with the nth triangular number given by the formula Tn = n(n+1)/2. Some key properties discussed include: 1) The sum of any two consecutive triangular numbers is a triangular number. 2) Expressions of the form 9Tn + 1 will always be a triangular number. 3) The sum of the first n cubes is related to the nth triangular number.

Uploaded by

ayu7kaji
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
289 views2 pages

Triangular Numbers

The document discusses properties of triangular numbers. Triangular numbers are numbers that can be arranged in an equilateral triangular pattern, with the nth triangular number given by the formula Tn = n(n+1)/2. Some key properties discussed include: 1) The sum of any two consecutive triangular numbers is a triangular number. 2) Expressions of the form 9Tn + 1 will always be a triangular number. 3) The sum of the first n cubes is related to the nth triangular number.

Uploaded by

ayu7kaji
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Stanford University EPGY

Math Olympiad

Stanford University EPGY Summer Institutes 2008 Math Olympiad Problem Solving Triangular Numbers
Triangular numbers are numbers that can be arranged in a triangular pattern:

The rst 5 triangular numbers are: T1 = 1, T2 = 3, T3 = 6, T4 = 10, T5 = 15. Observe that the triangular numbers are formed by partial sums of the series 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . The n-th triangular number, which we will denote Tn , is Tn = 1 + 2 + 3 + + n. The triangular numbers exhibit some interesting number-theoretic properties that you will explore in this set of problems. 1. Make a table of the rst 10 triangular numbers. 2. Show that Tn = 3. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) n(n + 1) for all integers n 1. 2 Compute T1 + T2 . Compute T2 + T3 . Compute T3 + T4 . Compute T4 + T5 . Computing more expressions of the form Tn + Tn+1 if necessary, make a conjecture about the sum of any two consecutive triangular numbers Tn and Tn+1 . Can you prove that your conjecture is true?

4. (a) Compute 9T1 + 1. (b) Compute 9T2 + 1. (c) Compute 9T3 + 1.


Summer 2008 1 Triangular Numbers

Stanford University EPGY

Math Olympiad

(d) Compute 9T4 + 1. (e) Compute 9T5 + 1. (f) If Tn is a triangular number, what can you say about 9Tn + 1? Is it always a triangular number? 5. What are the possible digits that a triangular number can end in? 6. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Compute 8T1 + 1. Compute 8T2 + 1. Compute 8T3 + 1. Compute 8T4 + 1. Compute 8T5 + 1. Computing more expressions of the form 8Tn + 1 if necessary, make a conjecture about the expression 8Tn + 1, where Tn is a triangular number. Can you prove that your conjecture is correct? Compute 13 . Compute 13 + 23 . Compute 13 + 23 + 33 . Compute 13 + 23 + 33 + 43 . Compute 13 + 23 + 33 + 43 + 53 . Computing more expressions of the form 13 + 23 + 33 + + n3 if necessary, make a conjecture about how the sum of the rst n cubes is related to the n-th triangular number Tn . Can you prove that your conjecture is correct? 8. Find three triangular numbers whose square is also a triangular number. 9. Compile some data and try to make a conjecture about which numbers can be written as a sum of two triangular numbers. For example, 7 = 1 + 6 and 25 = 10 + 15 are sums of two triangular numbers, while 19 cannot be written as the sum of two triangular numbers. 10. There are 6 triangular numbers that can be expressed as the product of three consecutive integers. Can you nd them? 11. Triangular numbers that can be expressed as a product of two primes are called triangular semiprimes. For example, 6 is a triangular semiprime because 6 = 2 3. Can you nd other triangular semiprimes?

7. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

Summer 2008

Triangular Numbers

You might also like