Proof Without Words:
From Floor to Stairs
J ULIJE J AKS ˇETIC´
W W e present a geometric interpretation of the identity
1X
1k¼1
r k j k
2¼ X
1k¼1
ð2k 1Þ r k j k
:
Julije Jaksˇetic´
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Section for Mathematics
Pierottijeva 6 10000 Zagreb Croatia
e-mail: jjaksetic@pbf.hr
1This identity can be found in many books on elementary number theory. The earliest mention appears to be in M. A. Heaslett and J. V. Uspensky,Elementary Number Theory, McGraw-Hill, 1939 (Problem 10, p. 98).
Ó2021 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature, Volume 43, Number 3, 2021 29
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-021-10111-8