Triangular Numbers Table

A complete reference table for triangular numbers T(1) through T(50). A triangular number counts the objects that can be arranged into an equilateral triangle — the n-th triangular number is the sum of the first n positive integers, given by the formula T(n) = n(n+1)/2.

Triangular Number Calculator

Find the nth triangular number, T(n) = n(n + 1) / 2.

T(10)55

What is a Triangular Number?

The n-th triangular number T(n) is defined as:

  • T(n) = 1 + 2 + 3 + … + n = n(n+1) / 2
  • T(1) = 1, T(2) = 3, T(3) = 6, T(4) = 10, T(5) = 15, …

Each value equals the previous triangular number plus n: T(n) = T(n−1) + n. This means the difference column in the table below simply counts up by 1 each row.

Triangular Numbers T(1) to T(50)

The table shows n, T(n), and the difference T(n) − T(n−1) = n to illustrate how each term is built from the previous one.

nT(n)nT(n)
1126351
2327378
3628406
41029435
51530465
62131496
72832528
83633561
94534595
105535630
116636666
127837703
139138741
1410539780
1512040820
1613641861
1715342903
1817143946
1919044990
20210451,035
21231461,081
22253471,128
23276481,176
24300491,225
25325501,275

Key Properties

  • Consecutive sum: T(n) + T(n−1) = n² — every perfect square is the sum of two consecutive triangular numbers.
  • Combinatorial identity: T(n) = C(n+1, 2) — the number of ways to choose 2 items from n+1.
  • 8T(n) + 1 is always a perfect square: e.g. 8×6 + 1 = 49 = 7².
  • Square triangular numbers: numbers that are both square and triangular: 1, 36, 1,225, 41,616, …
  • Gauss's formula: T(n) = n(n+1)/2 was famously derived by Carl Friedrich Gauss as a child to quickly sum 1 through 100.
  • Every positive integer is the sum of at most three triangular numbers (Gauss's Eureka theorem).

References

See also