Thursday, 22 October 2015

summation - Easy question regarding this proof




I do not understand a small step in a proof I'm reading at the moment. Why are the following things equal?



$$\sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{2k-1} - \frac{1}{2} \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k} = \sum_{k=1}^{2n} \frac{1}{k} - \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{k}$$


Answer



Separating out the odd & the even terms in the denominator,
$$\sum_{k=1}^{2n}\frac1k=\sum_{k=1}^n\left(\frac1{2k-1}+\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1{2k}\right)$$



$$=\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1{2k-1}+\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1{2k}$$




$$=\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1{2k-1}+\frac12\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1k$$


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