To prove this by induction, we need to verify that the statement holds for the base case and show that if it holds for an arbitrary case n=k, then it also holds for the case n=k+1.
Base case: For n=1, the left side is 12, and the right side is 31(2⋅12+1)=33=1. So the statement holds.
Inductive step: Assume the statement holds for n=k:
12+22+…+(k−1)2+k2+(k−1)2+…+22+12=3k(2k2+1)
Now, we need to prove it for n=k+1. We must add (k+1)2 and k2 to the sum, as we increment n by 1, resulting in:
12+22+…+(k−1)2+k2+(k+1)2+k2+(k−1)2+…+22+12
From the inductive hypothesis, we already have 3k(2k2+1), so we need to add:
(k+1)2+k2
Combining this with the inductive hypothesis, we get:
3k(2k2+1)+(k+1)2+k2=3k(2k2+1)+3(k+1)2+3k2
To prove that this equals 3(k+1)(2(k+1)2+1), we need to expand and simplify the numerator:
k(2k2+1)+3(k2+2k+1)+3k2
=2k3+k+3k2+6k+3+3k2
=2k3+6k2+7k+3
=(2k3+4k2+2k)+(2k2+6k+3)
=2k(k2+2k+1)+(2k2+6k+3)
=2k(k+1)2+(2k+1)(k+1)
To express this as a single fraction, we need it to match the format of 3(k+1)(2(k+1)2+1), which is:
3(k+1)(2k2+4k+2+1)=3(k+1)(2k2+4k+3)
=32k3+6k2+7k+3
The two expressions are equivalent, thus the induction step is proved, and the expression that needs to be added to the left side when moving from n=k to n=k+1 is:
(k+1)2+k2