Chapter2

Infinite series
Chapter Outline
 Sequences and limit of a sequence.
 Infinite series of constant terms.
 Convergence tests, alternating series and
absolute convergence.
 Power series,The ratio test, and radius of
convergence.
 Taylor and MacLaurin seriesIntegrals involving
logarithmic, exponential and hyperbolic
functions.
 Improper Integrals.
Sequences:
A sequence can be thought of as a list of numbers written in a
definite order:
a1,a2,a3,……,an,……
The number a1 is called the first term, a2 is second term, & in
general an is the nth term.

Notation: The sequence {a1,a2,a3,……} is denoted by

{an } or
Example: Write the sequence of

(i)

(ii)
Example: Find a formula for the general term of the sequence

Solution: Given that

Numerators: 3,4,5,6,7.. (Start with 3 and increase by 1)

First term =3=1+2, nth term= n+2
Denominators: 5,25,125,625,3125.. ( Powers of 5)
So, an=5n
Sign of the terms are alternately positive and negative, so we
need to multiply by a power of -1.

Example : Find a formula for the Fibonacci Sequence.

Limit of a sequence :
Definition 1: A sequence {an} has the limit L & we write

If exists, then the sequence converges (or is convergent).

Otherwise, we say the sequence diverges (or is divergent).

Definition 2: A sequence has the limit L & we write

if for every є >0 there is a corresponding integer N such that

if n>N then
Limit Laws for Sequences:
If {an} & {bn } are convergent sequences & k is a constant,

6.

7.

Theorem: If
Example:
Find

Solution: Divide numerator and denominator by the highest power of n &

then use the Limit Laws
Series (or) Infinite Series:
Add the terms of an infinite sequence , we get an expression of
the form a1+ a2 + a3 +……. + an +……….
which is called an infinite series (or just a series) & is denoted, by

It would be impossible to find a finite sum for the series

1+2+3+4+……..+n+……..
Because if we start adding the terms we get the cumulative sums
1,3,6,10,15,21,…… &, after the nth term, we get n(n+1)/2, which
becomes very large as n increases.
So, consider the partial sums
s1=a1
s2= a1+a2
s3= a1+a2 +a3
& in general sn= a1+a2 +a3+………+ an=
Convergence Test:
Definition: Given a series , let sn denote its nth
partial sum:
sn =

If the sequence {sn } is convergent & exists as a real number,

then the series∑an is called convergent & we write

a1+ + ……..+ +……= s or

The number s is called the sum of the series. Otherwise, the series is called
divergent.
The geometric series is convergent if
and its sum is

If , the geometric series is divergent.

Theorem: If the series is convergent, then

Example:
Is the series convergent or divergent?
Solution: Let’s rewrite the nth term of the series in the form arn-1

In this a=4 &

Since r>1, the series diverges.
Example: Show that the series , is convergent, & find its Sum.
Solution: Notice that this series start with n=0 & so the first term is x0=1.
(with series, we adopt the convention that x0=1 even when x=0). Thus

The series with a=1 & r=x.

Since , it converges &
Alternating Series:
An alternating series is a series whose terms are alternately positive &
negative.
Example:

In the above example that the nth term of an alternating series is of the form

Where bn is a positive number

The Alternating Series Test: If the alternating series

Satisfies (i) for all n (ii) then the series is convergent.

The picture gives the idea behind the proof. We first plot
s1=b1 on a number line.
To find s2 we subtract b2, so s2 is to the left of s1. Then to find
s3 we add b3, so s3 is to the right of s2. But, since b3< b2, s3 is
to the left of s1.
Continuing in this manner, we see that the partial sums
oscillate back and forth. Even sums s2, s4, s6,… are
increasing & the odd partial sums s1, s3, s5, …… are
decreasing.
Example:
The alternating harmonic series

Satisfies (i)
(ii)

So, the series is convergent by the alternating series test.

Note:
(i) A p-series [ ∑ 1/np converges if p>1 & diverges if p<=1]
(ii) A geometric series [∑ arn-1 converges if lrl <1 & diverges if lrl >=1]
Absolute Convergence:
Given any series ∑ an , we can consider the corresponding series

Whose terms are the absolute value of the terms of the original series.
Defintion: A series ∑ an is called absolutely convergent if the series of
absolute values ∑ is convergent.

Example: The series is absolutely convergent

because

is a convergent p-series (p=2).

Definition: A series ∑an is called conditionally convergent if it is convergent
but not absolutely convergent.
Example:
We know that the alternating harmonic series

is convergent, but it is not absolutely convergent because

the corresponding series of absolute value is

which is the harmonic series (p-series with p=1) & is

therefore divergent.

Theorem: If a series ∑ an is absolutely convergent, then it

is convergent.
The Ratio Test:
(i) If , then the series is absolutely
convergent( and therefore convergent).
(ii) If , then the series is
divergent.
(iii) If , the Ratio Test is inconclusive; that is, no
conclusion can be drawn about the convergence or
divergence of ∑an
Example: Test the series for absolute
convergence.
Solution: We use the ratio test with

Thus by the Ratio Test, the given series is absolutely

convergent & therefore convergent.
Power Series:
A power series is a series of the form
Where x is a variable & cn’s are constants called the coefficients
of the series.
• For each fixed x, the series (1) is a series of constants that we
can test for convergence or divergence.
• A power series may converge for some value of x & diverge
for other values of x.
• The sum of the series is a function
f(x)=c0+ c1x+c2x2 +…. + cnxn+… whose domain is the set
of all x for which the series converges.
• If we take cn=1 for all n, the power series becomes the
geometric series

Which converges when -1<x<1 & diverges when

More generally, a series of the form

is called a power series in (x-a) or a power series centered at a

or a power series about a.
• When n=0 in (1) & (2) (x-a)0=1 even when x=a.
• When x=a, all of the terms are 0 for n>=1 & so the power
series (2) always converges when x=a.
Example: For what values of x is the series convergent?
If we have

By the Ratio Test, the series diverges when .

Thus the given series converges only when x=0.
Radius of Convergence:
Theorem: For a given power series there are only 3
possibilities (i) The series converges only when x=a.
(ii) The series converges for all x.
(iii) There is a positive number R such that the series converges
if lx-al < R & diverges if lx-al > R.
Radius of Convergence:
The number R in case (iii) is called the Radius of convergence
of the power series.
In case (i) R=0, in case (ii) R=
Example: Find the radius of convergence of the series
Solution: If

Using the Ratio Test, we see that the series converges if

& diverges if So, it converges if <3 & diverges if
>3. Thus the Radius of convergence is R=3.
Taylor & Maclaurin Series:
Suppose f is any function that can be represented by a power
series
Let’s try to determine what the coefficients cn must be in terms of f
To begin, notice that if we put x=a in (1), then all terms after the
first one are 0 & we get f(a)=c0
Differentiate the series in (1) term by term

& substitution of x=a in (1) gives

Now differentiate both sides of (2)

Again put x=a in (3) gives

If we continue to differentiate & substitute x=a, we obtain

Solving this equation for nth coefficient cn, we get

This formula remains valid even for n=0 if we adopt the
conventions that 0!=1 & f(0)=f.
Theorem:
In f has a power series representation at a, that is, if

Then its coefficients are given by the formula

Substituting this formula for cn back into the series, we see that
if f has a power series expansion at a, then it must be of the
following form.

The series is called the Taylor series of the function at a (or

about a or centered at a).
For the special case a=0 the Taylor series becomes

The above series is Maclaurin Series.

Example:
Find the Maclaurin series of the function f(x)=ex & its
Radius of convergence
Solution: If f(x)=ex, then f(n)(x)=ex, so f(n) (0)=e0=1 for all n.
Therefore the Taylor series for f at 0 (Maclaurin Series) is

To find the Radius of Convergence , let an=xn/n!. Then

So, by the Ratio Test, the series converges for all x & the
radius of convergence is R=
Important Maclaurin Series & their radius of Convergence.