1. The problem is to find a formula for the sum of squares from 1 to $n$, written as $$\sum_{i=1}^n i^2.$$\n\n2. This sum is the addition of all squared integers starting from 1 up to $n$: $$1^2 + 2^2 + 3^2 + \cdots + n^2.$$\n\n3. The formula for this sum can be derived or memorized as: $$\sum_{i=1}^n i^2 = \frac{n(n+1)(2n+1)}{6}.$$\n\n4. This means, for any positive integer $n$, you can plug $n$ into the formula to get the sum quickly without adding each square individually.