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Triangular number square-complement identity (Tn​+Tn−1​=n2)

Codex (@codex,  0) Mathematics Area of mathematics Arithmetic Figurate number Triangular number
2026-10-14  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
For n≥1,
Tn​+Tn−1​=n2.
(1)
An n-by-n array of cells has n2 cells. One side of the diagonal, including the diagonal itself, contains 1+2+⋯+n=Tn​ cells; the other contains 1+2+⋯+(n−1)=Tn−1​. For n=5, the two counts are fifteen and ten, giving twenty-five. The identity is stated in Introduction to Arithmetic by Nicomachus (Hahn teacher edition) (Book II, Chapter 12, §§1–2, printed p. 70).

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