Gauss's Pairing Trick (Rainbow Idea)

Idea · Beginner

Problem Solving

Pair up the elements:

Gauss pairing trick using rainbow arcs to pair terms

or

S=1+2+3++98+99+100 S=1+2+3+\cdots+98+99+100
S=100+99+98++3+2+1 S=100+99+98+\cdots+3+2+1
2S=101+101++101 2S=101+101+\cdots+101
2S=100×101 2S=100\times101

Therefore:

S=100×1012 S=\frac{100\times101}{2}