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Triangular numbers

Article in Resonance · July 2012

DOI: 10.1007/s12045-012-0074-z

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Anuradha S Garge Shailesh Shirali

University of Mumbai Sahyadri School KFI Pune, India
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 ∆ TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ∆

ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI

Triangular numbers are numbers associated with triangular arrays of dots. The
idea is easier to convey using pictures than words; see Figure 1. We see from
the figure that if Tn denotes the n-th triangular number, then T1 = 1, T2 = T1 + 2,
T3 = T2 + 3, T4 = T3 + 3, . . . . Thus Tn = Tn−1 + n, leading to:

n(n + 1)
(1) Tn = 1 + 2 + · · · + (n − 1) + n = .
2

The triangular numbers appear in the Pascal’s triangle along the third diagonal;
in Figure 2 they are the numbers in heavy type.

Triangular numbers were known to the ancient Greeks and were viewed by them
with mystical reverence. The triangular number 10 was considered to be a symbol
of ‘perfection’, being the sum of 1 (a point), 2 (a line), 3 (a plane) and 4 (a solid).

For a sequence defined in such a simple manner, the sequence of triangular num-
bers abbreviated as T -numbers is astonishingly rich in properties. We explore many
of them in this article.

•
• •
• • • •
• • • • • •
• • • •
• •
•

T1 = 1 T2 = 3 T3 = 6 T4 = 10

F IGURE 1. The first four triangular numbers

2 ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI

1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1
1 8 28 56 70 56 28 8 1
1 9 36 84 126 126 84 36 9 1

F IGURE 2. Pascal’s triangle

1. S OME PROPERTIES OF TRIANGULAR NUMBERS

Triangular numbers modulo an integer. Here we look at the triangular numbers

modulo a positive integer k. Reading the triangular numbers modulo 2 we get the
following pattern which repeats every 4 steps:

1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, . . . .

Similarly, reading the numbers modulo 3 gives the following pattern of numbers
which repeats every 3 steps:

1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, . . . .

Modulo 4 we get a sequence that repeats every 8 steps:

1, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, 0, 0, 1, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, 0, 0, . . . .

Modulo 5 we get a sequence that repeats every 5 steps:

1, 3, 1, 0, 0, 1, 3, 1, 0, 0, . . . ,

and modulo 6, we get this pattern:

1, 3, 0, 4, 3, 3, 4, 0, 3, 1, 0, 0, 1, 3, 0, 4, . . . .

After some experimentation, we are able to guess that the T -residues mod k repeat
every k steps if k is odd, and every 2k steps if k is even (see [1]). Once noticed, it is
rather easy to prove.
 ∆ TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ∆ 3

b b b b b b

b b b b b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b b b b b

52 = T4 + T5 62 = T5 + T6

F IGURE 3. Pictorial patterns explaining why “the sum of two con-

secutive T -numbers is a perfect square”

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

b b b b b b b

F IGURE 4. A Rangoli pattern with 4-fold rotational symmetry; it

explains why “eight times a T -number plus 1 is a perfect square”

Triangular numbers and squares. The Greeks knew that the sum of a pair of
consecutive triangular numbers is a perfect square. The proof of this using algebra
is trivial, but Figure 3 shows a nice ‘proof without words’ which clearly generalizes.
The relation in Figure 4 (8T3 + 1 = 49 = 72 ) also generalizes in an obvious way; it
too was known to the Greeks. Probably hidden inside some well known ‘Rangoli
patterns’ are more such identities for triangular numbers.

Some identities. The following combinatorial interpretation may be given to the

T -numbers: Tn is the number of ordered pairs (x, y) where 1 ≤ x ≤ y ≤ n, x, y ∈ N.
4 ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI

Using this we may prove some identities. For example, the identity

(2) Tm+n = Tm + Tn + mn,

is proved as follows: Tm+n counts the number of pairs (x, y) with 1 ≤ x ≤ y ≤ m + n.

We partition the collection of all such pairs into three classes: (i) pairs (x, y) with
1 ≤ x ≤ y ≤ m; (ii) pairs (x, y) with m + 1 ≤ x ≤ y ≤ m + n; and (iii) pairs (x, y) with
1 ≤ x ≤ m < y ≤ m + n. Counting these three classes separately, we get (2).

Relation (2) has the following unexpected consequence. Let a heap of beads be
placed on a table, containing any number of beads. A move consists of selecting any
heap and dividing it into two heaps in any way we please, and recording the product
of the sizes of the two new heaps. This step is then iterated: any of the resulting
heaps is subdivided into two new heaps, etc. After some steps each heap will have
just one bead and no further division is possible. Now let all the products recorded
be summed. It will be found that whichever way one does it, the total obtained in
the end is the same; it depends only on the number of beads in the starting heap.
Try it out, and explain how it follows from (2).

Another such relation is:

(3) Tmn = Tm Tn + Tm−1 Tn−1 ;

it has the following corollary, obtained by putting m = n:

(4) Tn2 = (Tn )2 + (Tn−1 )2 .

Thus, there exist many connections within the sequence of T -numbers, and between
the T -numbers and the squares. For more such examples see [8]. These properties,
once spotted, are easy to prove, but the greater challenge lies in finding them.

Relations among the triangular numbers. Here are some more relations among
the triangular numbers which are easy to verify algebraically:

(5) If n is a triangular number, then so is 9n + 1.

(6) If n is a triangular number, then so is 25n + 3.

For example, for (5): if n = 12 k(k + 1) then 9n + 1 = 29 k(k + 1) + 1 = 12 (3k + 1)(3k +

2). Euler posed (and answered) the following problem:
 ∆ TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ∆ 5

Find all integer pairs (r, s) which satisfy the following condition: If
n is a triangular number, then so is rn + s.

Going deeper, we get the following result whose proof we leave as an exercise:

Theorem 1.1. The integer pairs (r, s) for which the property “n triangular implies
rn + s triangular” holds are those for which r is an odd square, and s = 18 (r − 1).

Fittingly, each such s is a triangular number. For more such relations, see [10].

2. W HICH TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ARE SQUARES ?

Having seen some connections between triangular numbers and squares, it is of

interest to know which triangular numbers are themselves squares. This question
has been well-studied, and one has the following striking result originally proved
by Euler in 1730.

Theorem 2.1. A triangular number Tn is a square if and only if n has the form
√ 2k √ 2k
2+1 + 2−1 −2
n=
4
where k is an integer. In particular, there exist infinitely many triangular numbers
which are squares.

A quick proof goes as follows: if 21 n(n + 1) = m2 for some m, then (2n + 1)2 −
8m2 = 1. By a suitable change of variables (x = 2n+1, y = 2n) we get the Brahmagupta-
Pell equation which has both a rich history and a rich theory behind it:
x2 − 2y2 = 1.
Solving this we get the first few values of n as 1, 8, 49 and 288, with corresponding
T -values 1, 36, 1225 = 352 and 41616 = 2042 .

There are many ways of arriving at the general solution of the Brahmagupta-Pell
√
equation. One approach is to consider the number field Q( 2) and to define a
√
function f on this field as follows: if x = a + b 2 where a, b ∈ Q, then f (x) =
√
a2 − 2b2 . We seek all elements of Z( 2) with unit value for f . It is easy to check
6 ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI
√ √
that f is multiplicative; i.e., if x, y ∈ Q( 2) then f (xy) = f (x) f (y). Let u = 1 + 2.
Since f (u) = −1, it follows that f (u2k ) = 1 for any integer k. Following through
with this observation we get the ‘if’ part of the above result. The ‘only if’ part is
obtained by a descent procedure, in which from any given solution we construct a
√
smaller one by multiplying by v = 1 − 2.

. . . and cubes? A natural question to now ask is, do there exist triangular numbers
that are perfect cubes? If there are such numbers, then one can simplify as above to
get an equation of the form:
(2n + 1)2 − (2m)3 = 1.
This equation is more difficult to solve than the Brahmagupta-Pell equation; indeed,
it involves questions about elliptic curves. It leads naturally to the famous Catalan
conjecture (posed in 1844, and proved in 2002 by Preda Mihăilescu) which makes
an assertion about pairs of perfect powers that differ by 1. The unexpectedly simple
answer to this (that the only non-trivial instance is 32 − 23 = 1) tells us that the only
triangular number which is a cube is T1 = 1.

3. T RIANGULAR NUMBERS AND SUMS OF SQUARES

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), one of history’s most influential mathemati-

cians, discovered that every positive integer can be written as a sum of at most three
triangular numbers, and on 10 July 1796 he wrote these famous words in his diary:
EϒPHKA! num = ∆ + ∆ + ∆.
However there is no simple proof of this statement, which is sometimes called the
‘Eureka Theorem’.

It is easy to prove the following characterization of triangular numbers: k is a

triangular number if and only if 8k + 1 is a square. For:
x(x + 1)
n= ⇐⇒ 8n = 4x2 + 4x ⇐⇒ 8n + 1 = (2x + 1)2 .
2
More generally we have (see [7], Proposition 2): A positive number n is a sum of k
triangular numbers if and only if 8n + k is a sum of k odd squares. For the particular
case k = 2 we have the following result (see [3]):
 ∆ TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ∆ 7

Theorem 3.1. A natural number n is a sum of two triangular numbers if and only if
in the prime factorization of 4n + 1, every prime factor p ≡ 3 (mod 4) occurs with
an even exponent.

We justify the ‘only if’ part as follows: if n = 12 x(x+1) then 4n+1 = x2 +(x+1)2
is a sum of two squares, and the laws concerning such numbers are well known: A
positive integer N is a sum of two squares if and only if every prime p ≡ 3 (mod 4)
which divides N does so to an even power. Hence the stated result. The ‘if’ part, as
in most such results, is more challenging.

Gauss’s Eureka theorem shows that every positive integer is a sum of at most
three triangular numbers. Now given a positive number, we may ask: how many
ways are there to write it as a sum of triangular numbers? For example, the (un-
lucky!) number 13 can be written as such a sum in two ways: 13 = 3 + 10 =
1 + 6 + 6. This question is difficult to answer, but there are nice results about the
number of representations of a given number as a sum of two triangular numbers,
expressed in terms of certain divisor functions. Such a relation could have been
anticipated: such formulae are already known in the context of expressing positive
integers as sums of squares, and we also know that triangular numbers are closely
related to squares. (The problem of number of representations of a given number as
sums of squares was first studied by Greek mathematicians and has interesting con-
nections to the study of the geometry of lattice points in a plane. For an interesting
account see [9].)

We now fix some notation and recall some relevant results from [2]. Let r2 (n) be
the number of representations of n as a sum of two squares, and let t2 (n) denote the
number of representations of n as a sum of two triangular numbers:

r2 (n) = {(x, y) ∈ Z2 : x2 + y2 = n} ,

t2 (n) = {(x, y) ∈ Z2 : x(x + 1) + y(y + 1) = 2n} .

Further, let di (n) be the number of divisors of n which are of the form i (mod 4).
Then one has the following nice connections (see [2]):

Theorem 3.2.

t2 (n) = d1 (4n + 1) − d3 (4n + 1), r2 (4n + 1) = 4t2 (n).

8 ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI

One may ask, more generally, about how many representations n has as a sum of k
triangular numbers. The analysis of this question is difficult and reveals connections
with the theory of modular forms, an extremely active area of current research. For
details see [7].

One of the results used in the analysis of this problem is Jacobi’s well known
triple product identity (see [6], page 238). Another theorem of Jacobi which arises
in the context of partitions of numbers (see [5], Theorem 357) and involves the
triangular numbers is:
∞ ∞
∏ (1 − xn)3 = ∑ (−1)m(2m + 1)xm(m+1)/2.
n=1 m=0

The relation between triangular numbers and partitions of natural numbers is very
deep, and we offer the following result as another example (see [5], Theorem 355).
We know that the generating function
1
(1 − x)(1 − x3 )(1 − x5 ) · · ·
enumerates the partitions of natural numbers into odd parts, whereas
1
(1 − x2 )(1 − x4 )(1 − x6 ) · · ·
enumerates the partitions into even parts. The astonishing formula which ties these
two generating functions to triangular numbers reads:
∞
(1 − x2 )(1 − x4 )(1 − x6 ) · · ·
3 5
= ∑ xn(n+1)/2 .
(1 − x)(1 − x )(1 − x ) · · · n=0

Thus, these simple looking numbers take us a long way into current areas of research
in number theory.

4. OTHER FIGURATE NUMBERS

Similar questions to those asked above can be asked for numbers arising from
other geometrical figures like squares, pentagons, hexagons, etc; see Figure 5.
Numbers related to such figures are called figurate numbers and they exhibit many
 ∆ TRIANGULAR NUMBERS ∆ 9

•
• • • • • •
• •
• • • • • •
• •
• •
• • • • • •
• • •
• • • • • •

• • • •

1, 4, 9, 16, . . . 1, 5, 12, 22, . . .

F IGURE 5. Square numbers and pentagonal numbers

interesting properties. Thus, one can define pentagonal numbers, hexagonal num-
bers, heptagonal numbers, and so on. The formula for the r-th k-gonal number is:


r (k − 2)r − (k − 4)
.
2
We refer the reader to an article by Richard K. Guy [4] for a list of some unsolved
problems associated with these families of numbers. There are many interesting
relations between these numbers and we leave it to the reader to find algebraic and
pictorial proofs for them.

Acknowledgement. The authors thank Prof. Shripad Garge and Prof. Ajit Kumar
for their help in making this article colourful. They also thank the anonymous
referee for useful suggestions that helped to improve the content of this article.

R EFERENCES

[1] Burton, David M. Elementary number theory. Second edition. W C Brown Publishers,
Dubuque, IA, 1989.
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(1992), no. 8, 752–757.
[3] Ewell, John A. On representations of numbers by sums of two triangular numbers. Fibonacci
Quart. 30 (1992), no. 2, 175–178.
[4] Guy, Richard K. Every number is expressible as the sum of how many polygonal numbers?
Amer. Math. Monthly 101 (1994), no. 2, 169–172.
[5] Hardy, G. H., Wright, E. M.An introduction to the theory of numbers, sixth edition, Oxford
university press.
 10 ANURADHA S. GARGE AND SHAILESH A. SHIRALI

[6] N Juluru, Arni S R Srinivasa Rao. Mahlburg’s work on crank functions, Ramanujan’s Partitions
visited, Resonance, March 2010, Volume 15, Number 13, 232–243.
[7] Ono Ken, Robins Sinai, Wahl Patrick T. On the representation of integers as sums of triangular
numbers. Aequationes Math. 50 (1995) no. 1-2,73–94.
[8] S A Shirali. http://www.mathcelebration.com/PDF/TriangleNumPDF.pdf
[9] S A Shirali. Madhava, Gregory, Leibnitz, and Sums of two squares. Resonance, February 2010,
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[10] T Trotter. Some Identities for the Triangular Numbers, Journal of Recreational Mathematics,
Spring 1973, 6 (2).

C ENTRE FOR E XCELLENCE IN BASIC S CIENCES , K ALINA C AMPUS , M UMBAI U NIVERSITY,

M UMBAI 400 098, M AHARASHTRA .

C OMMUNITY M ATHEMATICS C ENTER , R ISHI VALLEY S CHOOL (KFI), R ISHI VALLEY 517
352, A NDHRA P RADESH .

E-mail address: [email protected]

E-mail address: [email protected]

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