How many poles will there be in a stack of telephone piles if there are 58 in the first layer, 57 in the second, 56 in the third, and so on, with 12 in the top layer?

Respuesta :

Answer:

1,645 poles

Step-by-step explanation:

Here, we want to calculate the total number of poles

We can have an arithmetic progression here

Where the last term is the 58 piles , the first term is the top layer which is 12 and the common difference between the piles is 1

Firstly, we calculate the number of stacks which can be obtained using the nth term formula;

Tn = a + (n-1)d

58 = 12 + (n-1)1

58 = 12 + n - 1

58 = n + 11

n = 58-11

n = 47

So we have the stack high up to 47 units

So, using the sum of terms in an arithmetic sequence formula, we have;

Sn = n/2 ( a + L)

where a is the first term 12 and L is the last term 58

Thus, we have

Sn = 47/2( 12 + 58)

Sn = 47/2 * 70

Sn = 1,645