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Thread: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-09, 05:22 AM (ISO 8601)
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Math: Addition "factorial"???
I'm sure there must be a term for this, but if I ever learned it I have forgotten.
I remember factorials for multiplication. Four factorial (4!) = 4x3x2x1 = 24.
What is the equivalent term for addition? 4+3+2+1 = 10. What is the term for that? Is there a standard notation, as in using ! for factorials?
This is in connection with a homebrew, but didn't seem appropriate to post in that subforum, so I hope this is the right place to ask.Last edited by SpaceBadger; 2012-02-09 at 05:24 AM. Reason: added question icon
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2012-02-09, 05:26 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
No, pretty sure there isn't. The only option is Σni=1i
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2012-02-09, 05:32 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Just "Sum". Or if you need to specify the range or other limitations "Sum from 4 to 8", "Sum of even numbers from 42 to 116".
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2012-02-09, 09:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
As far as a term for them goes, they are called triangular numbers. You'll see people saying things like "The fifth triangular number is 15", so that has some intuitive and semi-common meaning.
It isn't really useful enough to deserve a concise notation like factorial has. Also, it's really just n(n+1)/2, so I figure most people just write it like that.
But as long as you are upfront and consistent with your notation, you've have flexibility to create notation in your own context. For instance if you want to say 7△=28, knock yourself out.
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2012-02-09, 09:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
They're called triangle numbers because of this:
1
22
333
4444
55555
Add up one number from each tier of the right angled triangle there and you get the 5th triangle number, 15. And as Tirian said, the algebraic formula is used most often for it, but feel free to invent your own. Perhaps !5 could be 15, so that we preserve a little bit of that factorial love.
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2012-02-09, 12:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Thanks, y'all!
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2012-02-09, 07:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-02-09, 07:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-09, 09:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
There are two categories of series. Convergent and divergent. Divergent series are simple. They diverge to infinity, and example being 1+2+3+4+5+....
Convergent series are not so simple. They converge to a particular number, that is, instead of approaching infinity, they come infinitely close to a finite value. An example is 1/3+1/9+1/27+1/81+.... This can be written in sigma notation as Σ 1/(3^k) with k starting at 1. This series is part of a group called "geometric series." This particular one converges to 1/2. It's difficult to explain this with the limited graphics of a forum posting. I recommend looking it up or finding someone who knows basic calculus.
Edit: Heliomance, how did you get the sigma symbol into your post? I had to copy and paste it from yours. Did you just copy and paste it from somewhere else?Last edited by Riverdance; 2012-02-09 at 09:17 PM.
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2012-02-10, 01:33 AM (ISO 8601)
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2012-02-10, 08:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-10, 07:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Yeah. There isn't really special notation for it because it's really easy to evaluate that sum:
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-11, 02:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Not really, at least for geometric series. Paraphrased from Wikipedia:
Take a geometric series with first term a and common ratio r
Let s=a+ar+ar2+...+arn-1
Therefore, s-rs=a-arn
Factor: s(1-r)=a(1-rn)
Divide by (1-r): s=a(1-rn)/(1-r)
For |r|<1, rn gets increasingly close to zero as n grows (i.e. as you add increasing many terms). This step is technically basic calculus, but should be understandable to anyone with a reasonable grasp of algebra.
Therefore, if each term of a geometric series is closer to zero than the previous one, the infinite sum is a/(1-r)
In the example above, a=1/3=r. 1-1/3=2/3. (1/3)/(2/3)=1/2.Spoiler
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2012-02-11, 08:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Last edited by Dogmantra; 2012-02-11 at 08:36 PM.
BANG → !
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2012-02-12, 12:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
I just Google "sigma" or any mathematical symbol or foreign letter. The top hit will be for the wikipedia page and the Unicode expression will be in the description. Copy it into your clipboard and off you go.
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2012-02-12, 06:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Geometric series represent only a tiny fraction of convergent series. For instance Σ1/ln(k) starting at 1 is convergent (though I didn't double check this), but the infinite geometric series formula is completely worthless, and calculus is actually necessary. In any case, regarding the original question the term is "arithmetic series", though 1+2+3+4....+(n-1)+(n) is only one of them.
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2012-02-25, 11:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
That one doesn't actually diverge. The infinite sum can be expressed as the partial sum from 1 to n as n approaches infinity. In your example, the limit simply does not exist. That is different from diverging.
I've always called them Gaussian Sums, myselfAvatar by Venetian Mask. It's of an NPC from a campaign I may yet run (possibly in PbP) who became a favorite of mine while planning.
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2012-02-25, 11:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-26, 08:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Your answer is right, but the logic is wrong.
Direct Comparison Test (what you tried):
If 0<a<b for all n,
If b converges, so does a. And if a diverges, so does b
Nth Term:
lim(n -> infinity) [1/(ln n)]
1/(ln infinity) = 1/infinity = 0
Because the limit equals 0, the sum convergesAvatar by Venetian Mask. It's of an NPC from a campaign I may yet run (possibly in PbP) who became a favorite of mine while planning.
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2012-02-26, 11:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
That's what he did.
x > lnx is the same as 1/x < 1/lnx
Both are greater than zero, so the direct comparison works.
And your second method doesn't confirm that it converges. All it does is say that it might converge. (or rather, that the series itself converges) You need another method to see if the partial sums converge.Thanks Uncle Festy for the wonderful Ashling Avatar
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2012-02-26, 12:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
I see what I did wrong. I confused all my signs then tried to argue the wrong point. I confirmed it with the Integral Test (easier for me because it's more math and less conceptual):
integral(2 to infinity) [1/(ln n) dn]
integration by parts-
u = 1/(ln n)
du = 1/(n * ln n * ln n) dn
dv = dn
v = n
The first term is n/(ln n)
Plug in infinity, it's infinity/infinity. L'Hôpital gives 1/(1/n) = n = infinity
Yep, it diverges! My badAvatar by Venetian Mask. It's of an NPC from a campaign I may yet run (possibly in PbP) who became a favorite of mine while planning.
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2012-02-26, 08:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Then we are using different definition. For me, a series converges to a real number, say L, if for every positive epsilon there exists a natural number N blah blah blah.
It diverges, by definition, if it does not converge. So yes, the series I was describing diverges. It does *not* diverge to plus or minus infinity, but it does diverge.
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-26, 11:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Yeah, but if the integral's not too hard, the integral test is fun! I like getting to plug infinity into functions
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2012-02-27, 08:08 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2012-02-27, 08:20 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
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2014-09-20, 08:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Hello! (i joined solely for this) i have the same issue, and have been recently using this notation, (with explanation)
n(+!)=n+(n-1)+...+2+1
so 4(+!)=10; 3(+!)=6
note on paper: 'additive factorial, add all smaller whole positive numbers.'
the full definition: +! additive-factorial, factorial style, with + instead of *
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2014-09-21, 08:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Math: Addition "factorial"???
Yes, if a series does not converge to a single number, it diverges. I have not seen a math text that disagrees.
"starting at 1"?
Am I the only one who noticed that the first term is undefined?
Since they are triangular numbers, on the rare occasions I need them, I refer to them as △(n) or △n, or just use the formula n(n+1)/2.