summation

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summation

by yellowho » Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:37 pm
2 - 4 + 6 - 8 + 10 - 12 + . . . 994 - 996 + 998 - 1000 =

let's see multiple ways to do this.
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by Anurag@Gurome » Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:57 pm
yellowho wrote:2 - 4 + 6 - 8 + 10 - 12 + . . . 994 - 996 + 998 - 1000 =

let's see multiple ways to do this.
(2 - 4) + (6 - 8) + (10 - 1 2) +...+ (994 - 996) + (998 - 1000)
-2 + (-2) + (-2) + ... + (-2) + (-2)
Now to find how many times we are adding -2, find the number of even integers between 2 and 1000, inclusive, and divide that number by 2.
Number of even integers between 2 and 1000, inclusive = 1000/2 = 500, but number of times we are adding -2 is half of 500, that is 250.
So, 2 - 4 + 6 - 8 + 10 - 12 + . . . 994 - 996 + 998 - 1000 = (-2) * 250 = -500
Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
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