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Algebra Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Find the answer

Example 2 Let the terms of the sequence {an}\left\{a_{n}\right\} be
1,1,2,2,2,2,2,,n,n,,n(3n1), 1,1,2,2,2,2,2, \cdots, \underbrace{n, n, \cdots, n}_{(3 n-1) \uparrow}, \cdots \text {. }

Find ana_{n} and SnS_{n}.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Solution: By the formula for the sum of an arithmetic sequence, the sum of the first (m1)(m-1) segments of the sequence ana_{n} is
2+5+8++(3m4)=12(m1)(3m2). \begin{array}{l} 2+5+8+\cdots+(3 m-4) \\ =\frac{1}{2}(m-1)(3 m-2) . \end{array}

It is evident that, if and only if
12(m1)(3m2)+1n12m(3m+1) \frac{1}{2}(m-1)(3 m-2)+1 \leqslant n \leqslant \frac{1}{2} m(3 m+1)

then, an=ma_{n}=m. Solving the inequality (2) for mm, we get
1+24n+16m5+24n236. \frac{-1+\sqrt{24 n+1}}{6} \leqslant m \leqslant \frac{5+\sqrt{24 n-23}}{6} .

The number of identical terms is (3m1)(3 m-1) for m=1,2,m=1,2, \cdots.
0<5+24n2361+24n+16<1 \because 0<\frac{5+\sqrt{24 n-23}}{6}-\frac{-1+\sqrt{24 n+1}}{6}<1 \text {, }
m\therefore m is the integer part of 16(5+24n23)\frac{1}{6}(5+\sqrt{24 n-23}), denoted as m=[5+24n236]m=\left[\frac{5+\sqrt{24 n-23}}{6}\right].
Thus, an=[5+24n236]a_{n}=\left[\frac{5+\sqrt{24 n-23}}{6}\right].
Therefore, the sum of the first nn segments of the sequence {an}\left\{a_{n}\right\} is
SnP2=1×2+2×5+3×8++n(3n1)=3(12+22++n2)(1+2++n)=3×16n(n+1)(2n+1)12n(n+1)=n2(n+1). \begin{array}{l} S_{n P 2}=1 \times 2+2 \times 5+3 \times 8+\cdots+n(3 n-1) \\ =3\left(1^{2}+2^{2}+\cdots+n^{2}\right)-(1+2+\cdots+n) \\ =3 \times \frac{1}{6} n(n+1)(2 n+1)-\frac{1}{2} n(n+1) \\ =n^{2}(n+1) . \end{array}

Substituting nn with (m1)(m-1), we get the sum of the first (m1)(m-1) segments as S12(m1)(3m2)=m(m1)2S_{\frac{1}{2}(m-1)(3 m-2)}=m(m-1)^{2}.
an=m \because a_{n}=m \text {, }
\therefore the sum of the first nn terms of the sequence {an}\left\{a_{n}\right\} is
Sn=S12(m1)(3m2)+[n12(m1)(3m2)]m=m(m1)2+mn12m(m1)(3m2)=mn12m2(m1), where m=[5+24n236]. \begin{aligned} S_{n} & =S_{\frac{1}{2}(m-1)(3 m-2)}+\left[n-\frac{1}{2}(m-1)(3 m-2)\right] m \\ = & m(m-1)^{2}+m n-\frac{1}{2} m(m-1)(3 m-2) \\ & =m n-\frac{1}{2} m^{2}(m-1), \\ \text { where } & m=\left[\frac{5+\sqrt{24 n-23}}{6}\right] . \end{aligned}

Note: From the above two examples, it can be seen that only by deeply understanding the dual role of nn in the sequence {an}\left\{a_{n}\right\}, which is to determine the number of terms (or segments) and the elements, can such problems be correctly solved. The variable nn not only determines the elements of each term (or segment) in the summation but also decides the number of terms (or segments).

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.