Let us consider the sum:
S=n+11+n+21+⋯+3n+11
There are (3n+1)−(n+1)+1=2n+1 terms in the sum.
We will compare this sum to the integral:
∫n+13n+2x1dx=ln(3n+2)−ln(n+1)=ln(n+13n+2)
Note that for k=n+1,…,3n+1, we have:
k1>∫kk+1x1dx
Therefore,
S>∫n+13n+2x1dx=ln(n+13n+2)
We want to show that S>1, so it suffices to show that ln(n+13n+2)>1 for all positive integers n.
Let us check:
ln(n+13n+2)>1
This is equivalent to:
n+13n+2>e
Let us solve for n:
3n+2>e(n+1)3n+2>en+e3n−en>e−2(3−e)n>e−2
Since e≈2.718, 3−e≈0.282, so for n sufficiently large, this is true. Let's check for small n:
For n=1:
1+13⋅1+2=25=2.5<e
For n=2:
2+13⋅2+2=38≈2.666<e
For n=3:
3+13⋅3+2=411=2.75>e
So for n≥3, ln(n+13n+2)>1, and thus S>1.
For n=1:
S=21+31+41+51=21+31+41+51=0.5+0.333...+0.25+0.2=1.283...>1
For n=2:
S=31+41+51+61+71=0.333...+0.25+0.2+0.166...+0.142...=1.091...>1
So the inequality holds for all positive integers n.
Therefore,
n+11+n+21+⋯+3n+11>1
for all positive integers n.