Exercise · ZW-PENTAGONAL-NUMBER-THEOREM-001 · ★☆☆ Basic
What sign does the term with exponent \(k(3k-1)/2\) have when \(k=1\) in the theorem's sum?
Choose one option.
Show answer
- B. Negative
Exercise · ZW-PENTAGONAL-NUMBER-THEOREM-001 · ★☆☆ Basic
Choose one option.
With \(k=1\), the sign is \((-1)^1=-1\), so the term is negative. Positive would be correct only for even \(k\).
Euler's pentagonal number theorem states that the product \(\prod_{n\ge1}(1-x^n)\) equals an alternating sum of powers of \(x\) indexed by generalized pentagonal numbers.