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    Sums of Powers of Integers

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    Stonk

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    Sums of Powers of Integers

    Uploaded by

    Stonk
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    Sums of powers of integers

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    Sums of Powers of Integers

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    Stonk

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Sums of powers of integers Bruce Tonks

    14 January 2024

    We will derive a formula for the sum of the first n positive integers, and then extend the technique to
    derive formulae for the sums of the squares and the cubes of the first n positive integers. There is a
    simpler and more familiar way to derive the first of these results, but our method illustrates a general
    pattern that can be used for squares, cubes, and higher powers.
    Consider the difference between two consecutive squares,
    k 2 − (k − 1) 2 = k 2 − (k 2 − 2k + 1)
    = 2k − 1.
    Let us sum a series of such terms from k = 1 to n:
    n n
    ∑(k 2 − (k − 1) 2 ) = ∑(2k − 1).
    k=1 k=1
    On the left-hand side, all but one of the squares cancel out:
    (1 2 − 0 2 ) + (2 2 − 1 2 ) + (3 2 − 2 2 ) + ⋯ + (n 2 − (n − 1) 2 ) = n 2 ,
    leaving
    n
    n 2 = ∑(2k − 1)
    k=1
    n n
    = 2∑k − ∑1
    k=1 k=1
    n
    = 2 ∑ k − n.
    k=1
    Rearranging,
    n
    2 ∑ k = n 2 + n,
    k=1
    which yields the formula for the sum of the first n positive integers
    n
    .
    n(n + 1)
    ∑k =
    k=1
    2
    Now consider the difference between two consecutive cubes,
    k 3 − (k − 1) 3 = k 3 − (k 3 − 3k 2 + 3k − 1)
    = 3k 2 − 3k + 1.
    As before, when we sum a series of such terms from k = 1 to n, all but one of the cubes on the left-hand
    side cancel out, leaving
    n
    n 3 = ∑(3k 2 − 3k + 1)
    k=1
    n n n
    = 3 ∑ k2 − 3 ∑ k + ∑ 1
    k=1 k=1 k=1
    n
    + n.
    n(n + 1)
    = 3 ∑ k2 − 3
    k=1
    2
    Rearranging,
    n
    3n(n + 1)
    3 ∑ k2 = n3 + −n
    k=1
    2
    2n 3 + 3n(n + 1) − 2n
    =
    2
    n(2n 2 + 3n + 1)
    = ,
    2
    which yields the formula for the sum of the squares of first n positive integers
    n
    .
    n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
    ∑ k2 =
    k=1
    6
    Now consider the difference between two consecutive fourth powers,
    k 4 − (k − 1) 4 = k 4 − (k 4 − 4k 3 + 6k 2 − 4k + 1)
    = 4k 3 − 6k 2 + 4k − 1.
    As before, when we sum a series of such terms from k = 1 to n, all but one of the fourth powers on the
    left-hand side cancel out, leaving
    n
    n 4 = ∑(4k 3 − 6k 2 + 4k − 1)
    k=1
    n n n n
    3 2
    = 4∑k − 6∑k + 4∑k − ∑1
    k=1 k=1 k=1 k=1
    n
    − n.
    n(n + 1)(2n + 1) n(n + 1)
    = 4 ∑ k3 − 6 +4
    k=1
    6 2
    Rearranging,
    n
    4 ∑ k 3 = n 4 + n(n + 1)(2n + 1) − 2n(n + 1) + n
    k=1
    = n(n + 1)((2n + 1) − 2 + (n 2 − n + 1))
    = n(n + 1)(n 2 + n)
    = n 2 (n + 1) 2 ,
    which yields the formula for the sum of the cubes of first n positive integers
    n
    n 2 (n + 1) 2
    ∑ k3 = .
    k=1
    4

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