C++ Program to Calculate Sum of Natural Numbers

To understand this example, you should have the knowledge of the following C++ programming topics:


Positive integers 1, 2, 3, 4... are known as natural numbers.

This program takes a positive integer from user( suppose user entered n ) then, this program displays the value of 1+2+3+....+n.


Example: Sum of Natural Numbers using loop

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int n, sum = 0;

    cout << "Enter a positive integer: ";
    cin >> n;

    for (int i = 1; i <= n; ++i) {
        sum += i;
    }

    cout << "Sum = " << sum;
    return 0;
}

Output

Enter a positive integer: 50
Sum = 1275

This program assumes that user always enters positive number.

If user enters negative number, Sum = 0 is displayed and program is terminated.

This program can also be done using recursion. Check out this article for calculating sum of natural numbers using recursion.

Challenge

Write a function to calculate the sum of first n natural numbers.

  • Return the sum of first n natural numbers.
  • For example, if n is 5, the return value should be 15.
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