Analyzing the Setup
The equation f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y) is known as Cauchy's Functional Equation. It defines an additive function, which, under the assumption of continuity or other mild conditions in the realm of real numbers, forces the function to take the linear form:
This equation represents a straight line passing through the origin (0,0), where c acts as a constant scaling factor or the slope of the line.
The Detective Work
Finding the Constant
We are provided with the specific condition f(1)=7. This serves as our anchor point to determine the value of the constant c.
By substituting x=1 into our general form f(x)=cx, we obtain:
Since we know f(1)=7, it follows immediately that c=7. Thus, the function is uniquely identified as:
The Grand Summation
Our objective is to calculate the sum ∑r=1nf(r). Substituting our derived function f(r)=7r into the summation, we get:
Using the linearity property of the summation operator, we can factor out the constant 7:
Recalling the standard formula for the sum of the first n natural numbers, ∑r=1nr=2n(n+1), we substitute this into our expression:
The final result of the summation is: