xholicwriter Messages 76 Reaction score 0 Thread starter Jun 29, 2011 #1 Given N= 1.2.3 + 2.3.4 + ... + n(n+1)(n+2), prove that 4N + 1 is a square (n is a positive integer)
micromass Staff Emeritus Science Advisor Homework Helper Insights Author Messages 22,170 Reaction score 3,335 Jun 29, 2011 #2 It's easy to see that (see www.math.uic.edu/~kauffman/DCalc.pdf on how to find such things) [tex]1.2.3+...+n(n-1)(n-2)=\frac{(n+1)n(n-1)(n-2)}{4}[/tex] Thus it suffices to show that [tex](n+1)n(n-1)(n-2)+1[/tex] is a square. Which is a much simpler problem.
It's easy to see that (see www.math.uic.edu/~kauffman/DCalc.pdf on how to find such things) [tex]1.2.3+...+n(n-1)(n-2)=\frac{(n+1)n(n-1)(n-2)}{4}[/tex] Thus it suffices to show that [tex](n+1)n(n-1)(n-2)+1[/tex] is a square. Which is a much simpler problem.