General
What Is the Sum of the First Five Perfect Squares?
What is the sum of the first five perfect squares (1²+2²+3²+4²+5²)?
People also ask
What is the answer to 1²+2²+3²+4²+5²?
The answer is 55. Add the squares: 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 = 55.
Why do people answer 25 instead?
25 is the trap. It equals 1+2+3+4+5, the sum of the base numbers, not their squares. You must square each number first, then add.
Is there a formula for the sum of the first n squares?
Yes: n(n+1)(2n+1)/6. For n=5 that gives 5×6×11/6 = 55.