Sum of odd numbers

Question

The sum of first N consecutive odd integers is N^2 . What is the sum of all odd integers between 13 and 39, inclusive?

351

364

410

424

450

My question is why can we find out the sum with the formula of evenly spaced set, I mean a set containing odd numbers has all evenly spaced integers the isn't (39+13)/2 giving us the mean which thereby helps us to find the sum of the set

Brent@GMATPrepNow · Answer

shibsriz@gmail.com wrote:The sum of first N consecutive odd integers is N^2 . What is the sum of all odd integers between 13 and 39, inclusive? 351 364 410 424 450 If we examine the sequence of consecutive odd integers, we get: term1 = 1 term2 = 3 term3 = 5 term4 = 7 term5 = 9 term6 = 11 term7 = 13 . . . term20 = 39 NOTICE that termk = 2k - 1 We want to evaluate 13 + 15 + 17 + . . . + 37 + 39 Notice that 13 + 15 + 17 + . . . + 37 + 39 = (1 + 3 + 5 + . . . + 37 + 39) - (1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11) = (sum of first 20 odd integers) - (sum of first 6 odd integers) = (20²) - (6²) [by applying the given formula] = (400) - (36) = 364 Cheers, Brent

Brent@GMATPrepNow · Answer

shibsriz@gmail.com wrote:The sum of first N consecutive odd integers is N^2 . What is the sum of all odd integers between 13 and 39, inclusive? 351 364 410 424 450 My question is why can we find out the sum with the formula of evenly spaced set, I mean a set containing odd numbers has all evenly spaced integers the isn't (39+13)/2 giving us the mean which thereby helps us to find the sum of the set Sure, we can use the formula that says, If the terms are EQUALLY spaced, the sum = (average of first value and last value)(# of terms) How many odd terms are there from 13 to 39 inclusive? Well, judging from my first post, we're going from term7 to term20 inclusive. So, the number of terms = 20 - 7 + 1 = 14 So, applying the formula, the sum = [(13 + 39)/2][14] = [(52)/2][14] = [26][14] = 364 Cheers, Brent

GMATinsight · Answer

The sum of first N consecutive odd integers is N^2 . What is the sum of all odd integers between 13 and 39, inclusive?

351

364

410

424

450

My question is why can we find out the sum with the formula of evenly spaced set, I mean a set containing odd numbers has all evenly spaced integers the isn't (39+13)/2 giving us the mean which thereby helps us to find the sum of the set

You can use it the way you have tried.

The average is certainly (13+39)/2 = 52/2 = 26

Total terms are = 20 (Odd numbers from 1 to 39) - 6 (Odd numbers from 1 to 12) = 14

Therefore required Sum = 26 x 14 = [spoiler]364 Option B[/spoiler]

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GMATinsight · Answer

Another way to look at it...

The Sum of first and last term (one pair) = (13+39) = 52

Total terms are = 20 (Odd numbers from 1 to 39) - 6 (Odd numbers from 1 to 12) = 14

Total pairs of terms = 14/2 = 7

Therefore sum of all such numbers = 7 x 52 = [spoiler]364 Option B[/spoiler]

GMATinsight · Answer

But the Developer wanted this question to be solved in this way... The sum of first N consecutive odd integers is N^2 . What is the sum of all odd integers between 13 and 39, inclusive? Therefore, Sum of first 20 Consecutive odd Integers (1 to 39) = 20^2 = 400 Sum of first 06 Consecutive odd Integers (1 to less than 13) = 6^2 = 36 Total numbers from 13 through 39 both inclusive = 400 - 36 = [spoiler]364 Option B[/spoiler]

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