TAOCP 1.2.3 Exercise 14

By the distributive law (4), \sum_{j=m}^n \sum_{k=r}^s jk = \left(\sum_{j=m}^n j\right)\left(\sum_{k=r}^s k\right).

Section 1.2.3: Sums and Products

Exercise 14. [11] Using the result of the previous exercise, evaluate $\sum_{j=m}^n \sum_{k=r}^s jk$.

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Solve time: 32s


Solution

By the distributive law (4),

$$ \sum_{j=m}^n \sum_{k=r}^s jk = \left(\sum_{j=m}^n j\right)\left(\sum_{k=r}^s k\right). $$

Exercise 13 gives the evaluation

$$ \sum_{j=m}^n j = \frac{1}{2}\bigl(n(n+1)-m(m-1)\bigr), $$

and similarly,

$$ \sum_{k=r}^s k = \frac{1}{2}\bigl(s(s+1)-r(r-1)\bigr). $$

Substituting these values into the product yields

$$ \sum_{j=m}^n \sum_{k=r}^s jk = \frac{1}{2}\bigl(n(n+1)-m(m-1)\bigr) \cdot \frac{1}{2}\bigl(s(s+1)-r(r-1)\bigr). $$

Therefore

$$ \boxed{ \sum_{j=m}^n \sum_{k=r}^s jk = \frac{ \bigl(n(n+1)-m(m-1)\bigr) \bigl(s(s+1)-r(r-1)\bigr) }{4} }. $$