Suppose the nth term of a series is $1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. If

Suppose the nth term of a series is $1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. If there are 20 terms in the series, then the sum of the series is equal to

1360
1450
1500
1560
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2021
The correct answer is D) 1560.
The nth term of the series is $a_n = 1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. We need to find the sum of the first 20 terms, $S_{20} = \sum_{n=1}^{20} a_n$.
$S_{20} = \sum_{n=1}^{20} (1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}) = \sum_{n=1}^{20} 1 + \frac{1}{2}\sum_{n=1}^{20} n + \frac{1}{2}\sum_{n=1}^{20} n^2$
Using standard summation formulas:
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} c = Nc$
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} n = \frac{N(N+1)}{2}$
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} n^2 = \frac{N(N+1)(2N+1)}{6}$
Here, N = 20.
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} 1 = 20 \times 1 = 20$
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} n = \frac{20(20+1)}{2} = \frac{20 \times 21}{2} = 10 \times 21 = 210$
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} n^2 = \frac{20(20+1)(2 \times 20 + 1)}{6} = \frac{20 \times 21 \times 41}{6} = \frac{10 \times 7 \times 41}{1} = 2870$
Now substitute these values back into the sum expression:
$S_{20} = 20 + \frac{1}{2}(210) + \frac{1}{2}(2870)$
$S_{20} = 20 + 105 + 1435$
$S_{20} = 125 + 1435 = 1560$.
The problem requires separating the given nth term into terms based on powers of n and applying standard summation formulas for constants, linear terms, and quadratic terms. Careful calculation is needed for each part and then summing them up.