Prove that the difference between the squares of any two consecutive integers is equal to the sum of these two integers.

A problem of this nature seems complex at first until you break it down and see what it is really asking you to find. We can represent two consecutive integers as x and x + 1. The problem asks us to prove something. It asks us to show that (x+1)2 - x2 is equal to the sum of x + (x+1) = 2x + 1.
Thanks to our notation, the answer falls into place quite easily. Expanding (x+1)2, as it is an algebraic identity, and solving for the difference between the two squares gives us the desired result.

Answered by • Maths tutor

16960 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Find the coordinates of the two points where the lines y=x²+4x+6 and y=x+4 meet.


A linear sequence is as follows: a+b, a+3b, a+5b .... The 2nd term is equal to 15. The 6th term is 47. What is the value of a? What is the value of b? Show your working.


Please factorise fully: 2a^2 + 6a


Expand (2x-1)(x+3)