Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Seventh Edition

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 0073383090
ISBN 13: 978-0-07338-309-5

Chapter 2 - Section 2.4 - Sequences and Summations - Exercises - Page 169: 36

Answer

$\Sigma_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k(k+1)}=\frac{n}{n+1}$

Work Step by Step

$\Sigma_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k(k+1)}=\Sigma_{k=1}^{n}\left(\frac{1}{k}-\frac{1}{k+1}\right)=\Sigma_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k}-\Sigma_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k+1}$ $=1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{3}+\ldots \ldots+\frac{1}{n}-\left[\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{4}+\ldots+\frac{1}{n+1}\right]$ $=1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{3}+\ldots+\frac{1}{n}-\frac{1}{2}-\frac{1}{3}-\ldots .-\frac{1}{n}-\frac{1}{n+1}$ $=1-\frac{1}{n+1}=\frac{n}{n+1}$ result: $\Sigma_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k(k+1)}=\frac{n}{n+1}$
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