Question: If you have ever tried making patterns with a collection of coins, you have probably noticed that you can make hexagons in a natural way
If you have ever tried making patterns with a collection of coins, you have probably noticed that you can make hexagons in a natural way by packing circles as tightly as possible. The figure below shows how 19 circles fit into a hexagonal shape with 3 circles on each edge. Let H(n)
be the number of circles you need to form a hexagon with n circles on each edge. From the figure below, it is clear that H(2) = 7
and H(3) = 19.
It can be shown that increasing the number of circles on each edge gives the following recurrence relation:
H(n) =1if n = 1 H(n 1) + 6n 6if n > 1.
Calculate H(5).
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