If we find the sum of all the multiples of 3 below 4133,
and add that to the sum of all the multiples of 5 below 4133,
we will have added the multiples of 15 below 4133 twice. So
then if we subtract the sum of all the multiples of 15 from
that we'll have the desired sum.
We find the sum of the multiples of 3 below 4133:
The least multiple of 3 below 4133 is 3.
4133/3 = 1377.67 so the largest multiple of 3 less that 4133
is 1377*3 or 4131.
We want the sum of the arithmetic sequence:
3,6,9,...,4131
We use the sum formula
We need a1=3 and an=4131
It's obvious to me that the number of terms is n = 1377, but if
it's not obvious to you, just divide them all by 3 and
get the sequence
1,2,3,...,1377
and now you can see that indeed n = 1377.
We substitute in the sum formula
--------------------
We find the sum of the multiples of 5 below 4133:
The least multiple of 5 below 4133 is 5.
4133/5 = 826.6 so the largest multiple of 3 less that 4133
is 826*5 or 4130.
We want the sum of the arithmetic sequence:
5,10,15,...,4130
We use the sum formula again:
We need a1=5 and an=4130
As before, it's obvious to me that the number of terms is
n = 826, but again, if it's not obvious to you, just divide
them all by 5 and get the sequence
1,2,3,...,826
and now you can see that indeed n=826.
We substitute in the sum formula
---------------------------
We find the sum of the multiples of 15 below 4133:
The least multiple of 15 below 4133 is 15.
4133/15 = 275.33 so the largest multiple of 15 less that 4133
is 275*15 or 4125.
We want the sum of the arithmetic sequence:
15,30,45,...,4125
We use the sum formula
We need a1=15 and an=4125
Once more, it's obvious to me that the number of terms is
n = 275, but if it's not obvious to you, just divide them all
by 15 and get the sequence
1,2,3,...,275
and now you can see that indeed n=275.
We substitute in the sum formula
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So we add the sum of the multiples of 3 and the sum of the
multiples of 5, and get 2846259+1707755 = 4554014
That adds the multiples of 15 twice, since multiples of 15
are multiples of both 3 and 5.
So we subtract the sum of the multiples of 15 and get
4554014-569250 = 3984764 <-- answer
Edwin