Question

14. Suppose you begin with a pile of n stones and split this pile into n piles of one stone each by successively split-ting a pile of stones into two

smaller piles. Each time you split a pile you multiply the number of stones in each of the two smaller piles you form, so that if these piles have r and s stones in them, respectively, you computers. Show that no matter how you split the piles, the sum of the products computed at each step equals n(n – 1)/2.

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