All Exams Test series for 1 year @ ₹349 only
Question

The sum of all possible products taken two at a time out of the numbers ± 1, ± 2, ±3, ± 4 is

This question was previously asked in
CDS I 2018 Elementary Mathematics Previous Year Paper (04-Feb-2018)
The correct answer is

-30

Calculating the Sum of Products Taken Two at a Time

The problem asks us to find the sum of all possible products when we take two distinct numbers from the given set of numbers: \(\pm 1, \pm 2, \pm 3, \pm 4\).

The set of numbers is \(\{1, -1, 2, -2, 3, -3, 4, -4\}\). There are 8 distinct numbers in this set.

To find the sum of products taken two at a time from a set of numbers \(\{x_1, x_2, \dots, x_n\}\), we can use a helpful identity relating the square of the sum of the numbers to the sum of their squares and the sum of products taken two at a time.

The identity is:

\(\left( \sum_{i=1}^n x_i \right)^2 = \sum_{i=1}^n x_i^2 + 2 \sum_{1 \le i < j \le n} x_i x_j\)

Let \(S = \sum_{i=1}^n x_i\) be the sum of the numbers, and \(P_2 = \sum_{1 \le i < j \le n} x_i x_j\) be the sum of products taken two at a time. The identity can be written as:

\(S^2 = \sum x_i^2 + 2 P_2\)

We want to find \(P_2\), so we can rearrange the formula:

\(2 P_2 = S^2 - \sum x_i^2\)

\(P_2 = \frac{1}{2} \left( S^2 - \sum x_i^2 \right)\)

Step-by-Step Calculation

First, let's find the sum of the numbers (\(S\)) in the set \(\{1, -1, 2, -2, 3, -3, 4, -4\}\):

\(S = 1 + (-1) + 2 + (-2) + 3 + (-3) + 4 + (-4)\)

\(S = (1 - 1) + (2 - 2) + (3 - 3) + (4 - 4)\)

\(S = 0 + 0 + 0 + 0\)

\(S = 0\)

Next, let's find the sum of the squares of the numbers (\(\sum x_i^2\)):

The numbers are \(\pm 1, \pm 2, \pm 3, \pm 4\).

  • Square of \(\pm 1\) is \(1^2 = (-1)^2 = 1\).
  • Square of \(\pm 2\) is \(2^2 = (-2)^2 = 4\).
  • Square of \(\pm 3\) is \(3^2 = (-3)^2 = 9\).
  • Square of \(\pm 4\) is \(4^2 = (-4)^2 = 16\).

So, the sum of the squares is:

\(\sum x_i^2 = 1^2 + (-1)^2 + 2^2 + (-2)^2 + 3^2 + (-3)^2 + 4^2 + (-4)^2\)

\(\sum x_i^2 = 1 + 1 + 4 + 4 + 9 + 9 + 16 + 16\)

\(\sum x_i^2 = 2 \times (1 + 4 + 9 + 16)\)

\(\sum x_i^2 = 2 \times (30)\)

\(\sum x_i^2 = 60\)

Now, we can calculate the sum of products taken two at a time (\(P_2\)) using the formula \(P_2 = \frac{1}{2} \left( S^2 - \sum x_i^2 \right)\):

\(P_2 = \frac{1}{2} \left( (0)^2 - 60 \right)\)

\(P_2 = \frac{1}{2} \left( 0 - 60 \right)\)

\(P_2 = \frac{1}{2} \left( -60 \right)\)

\(P_2 = -30\)

Thus, the sum of all possible products taken two at a time out of the numbers \(\pm 1, \pm 2, \pm 3, \pm 4\) is -30.

Final Answer

The calculated sum of products taken two at a time is -30.

Calculation Step Result
Set of numbers \(\{\pm 1, \pm 2, \pm 3, \pm 4\}\)
Sum of the numbers (\(S\)) 0
Sum of the squares (\(\sum x_i^2\)) 60
Sum of products two at a time (\(P_2\)) \(-30\)

Revision Table for Sum of Products

Concept Description Formula
Sum of numbers Adding all numbers in the set \(S = \sum x_i\)
Sum of squares Adding the squares of all numbers in the set \(\sum x_i^2\)
Sum of products two at a time Adding all unique products of pairs of numbers \(P_2 = \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j\)
Relationship Connects the sum, sum of squares, and sum of products two at a time \((\sum x_i)^2 = \sum x_i^2 + 2 \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j\)

Additional Information on Symmetric Polynomials

The sum of products taken two at a time is an example of an elementary symmetric polynomial. For a set of variables \(x_1, x_2, \dots, x_n\), the elementary symmetric polynomials \(e_k(x_1, \dots, x_n)\) are defined as:

  • \(e_1 = \sum x_i\) (sum of the variables)
  • \(e_2 = \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j\) (sum of products taken two at a time)
  • \(e_3 = \sum_{i < j < k} x_i x_j x_k\) (sum of products taken three at a time)
  • ...
  • \(e_n = x_1 x_2 \dots x_n\) (product of all variables)

These polynomials are important in algebra, particularly in the study of roots of polynomials. For a polynomial \(P(t) = (t-x_1)(t-x_2)\dots(t-x_n)\), the coefficients are related to the elementary symmetric polynomials:

\(P(t) = t^n - e_1 t^{n-1} + e_2 t^{n-2} - e_3 t^{n-3} + \dots + (-1)^n e_n\)

In our problem, we calculated \(e_2\) for the set of numbers \(\{1, -1, 2, -2, 3, -3, 4, -4\}\). The relationship \((\sum x_i)^2 = \sum x_i^2 + 2 \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j\) is a specific case of Newton's sums or involving power sums and elementary symmetric polynomials.

The property that the sum of the numbers is zero (\(S=0\)) greatly simplified the calculation, as \(S^2\) became zero.

Was this answer helpful?

Similar Questions

  1. What is the HCF of acx3 + bcx+  adx2 + acdx + bdx + bcd and adx3 + acx2 + bdx2 + bcx + acdx + bcd if HCF (c, d) = 1, c ≠ d?

  2. If 2s = a + b + c, then what is s2 + (s - a)(s - b) + (s - b)(s - c) + (s - c)(s - a) equal to ?

  3. If 2x - 3y - 7 = 0, then what is the value of 8x 3 - 36x 2y + 54xy 2 - 27y 3 - 340 ?

  4. If \(A + B = \rm \frac{x^2 - 8}{x + 2} \ \ and \ A - B = \frac{-x^2 + 2x + 4}{x + 2}\)  then what is B equal to ?

  5. If \(96 - 64a^3 + \frac{8}{a^6} - \frac{48}{a^3 } - t^3 = 0\)  then what is a 2t + 4a 3 equal to ?

  6. The sum of all possible products taken two at a time out of the numbers \(\pm 1, \pm 2, \pm 3, \pm 4, \pm 5\)  is

  7. If \(\left( {{x^8} + \frac{1}{{{x^8}}}} \right) = 47\) , what is the value of  \(\left( {{x^6} + \frac{1}{{{x^6}}}} \right)?\)

  8. If \(\rm\frac{{61}}{{19}}{\rm{}} = {\rm{}}3{\rm{\;}} + {\rm{\;}}\frac{1}{{x\; + \;\frac{1}{{y\; + \;\frac{1}{z}}}}}\) where x, y and z are natural numbers, then what is z equal to?

  9. If (s − a) + (s − b) + (s − c) = s, then the value of \(\rm\frac{(s−a)^2+(s−b)^2+(s−c)^2+s^2}{a^2+b^2+c^2}\)  will be
  10. If x = 2 1/3 + 2 -1/3 , then the value of 2x 3- 6x - 5 is equal to


Important Questions from Identities

  1. Simplify.

    \(\frac{2.5 \times 2.5 \times 2.5-1.5 \times 1.5 \times 1.5}{2.5 \times 2.5+2.5 \times 1.5+1.5 \times 1.5}\)

  2. If \(2x + { {1} \over 3x}= 5, x ≠ 0\) , then what is the value of  \(27x^3+{{1} \over 8x^3}\) ?

  3. If x 2 + 4y 2 = 40, xy = 6 and x > 2y then the value of x - 2y is:

  4. \(\dfrac{(0.73)^3+(0.31)^3}{(0.73)^2-0.73\times0.31+(0.31)^2}\)
  5. \(\dfrac{(5.17-2.19)^2-(5.17+2.19)^2}{11.3223}\)
Need Expert Advice?
Test Series
CDS img
Defence
UPSC CDS 2026 Mock Test Series
536 Tests 4 Tests Free
1633 Attempts
4.3(174)
English, Hindi
More Questions from CDS

Start Your Preparation with Prepp Mobile App

Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Prepp Mobile App