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s4.4.3

Sum of the Reciprocals of Triangular Numbers

1,000 questions

This problem involves finding the sum of the reciprocals of a series of consecutive triangular numbers. The solution relies on knowing the starting term number (nn) and the ending term number (mm) of the triangular numbers in the sequence.

1Tn+1Tn+1++1Tm=2(1n1m+1)\frac{1}{T_n} + \frac{1}{T_{n+1}} + \dots + \frac{1}{T_m} = 2(\frac{1}{n} - \frac{1}{m+1})

For example, 16+110+115+121\frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{10} + \frac{1}{15} + \frac{1}{21} corresponds to the sum from the 3rd to the 6th triangular number. So, n=3n=3 and m=6m=6. The sum is 2(1317)=8212(\frac{1}{3} - \frac{1}{7}) = \frac{8}{21}.

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