AlgebraDifficulty 4.5AIMEFind the answerUnited States
The Fibonacci numbers are defined by F1=1, F2=1, and Fn=Fn−1+Fn−2 for n≥3. What is F1F2+F2F4+F3F6+⋯+F10F20?
A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.
Solution
The Fibonacci sequence starts out 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,233,377,610,987,1597,2584,4181,6765,… so the given sum is 11+13+28+321+555+8144+13377+21987+342584+556765, which equals 1+3+4+7+11+18+29+47+76+123=319.
The Fibonacci sequence starts out 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55, so the given sum starts out 11+13+28+321+555=1+3+4+7+11.
It appears that these summands satisfy the same recurrence relation, namely FnF2n=Fn−1F2(n−1)+Fn−2F2(n−2).
To prove the identity for (Ln) displayed above, recall Binet's formula, Fn=51(ϕn−ψn), where ϕ=21+5 and ψ=21−5 are the roots of the polynomial x2−x−1. Then Ln=FnF2n=ϕn−ψnϕ2n−ψ2n=ϕn+ψn. Therefore Ln−1+Ln−2=ϕn−1+ϕn−2+ψn−1+ψn−2=ϕn−2(ϕ+1)+ψn−2(ψ+1)=ϕn−2⋅ϕ2+ψn−2⋅ψ2=ϕn+ψn=Ln.
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