Sum over a Triangular Grid of Arithmetic Progressions

Problem

figure

As shown in the figure (which illustrates the case n=4n = 4), an equilateral triangle ABCABC is divided into nn rows of congruent small equilateral triangles, n2n^2 small triangles in all. A number is placed at every vertex of the resulting grid so that along each line of the grid, whenever the line contains at least 33 vertices, the numbers at those vertices, taken in order, form an arithmetic progression. The three numbers placed at AA, BB, CC are pairwise distinct and their sum is 11. Find SnS_n, the sum of the numbers at all the vertices.

Answer

Solution

Difficulty6/10
Topicscombinatorics, Arithmetic Progression, sequences, Symmetry

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