Cieslinski 1

Raymond Cieslinski
Scot Acre
AP Calculus
31 March 2016
Sequences and Series
In mathematics, scenarios are often modeled with the use of continuous functions the
describe behavior. The reality though, is that not all scenarios can be modeled continuously.
Some cases need to be modeled discretely. Consider a ball that is bouncing on the ground. If we
were to model the height that the ball was to rebound to after each bounce, it would not make
any sense to use a continuous model because we cannot have a half or any other subdivision of a
bounce, for bounces are discrete. Instead of using a function, we would use a sequence to model
the balls height. A sequence is simply a discretely-defined function, meaning that it is only
defined at integer values. Because of this, we typically do not use function notation, such as f(x).
Instead, a sequence is normally defined as tn. Instead of using x as an independent variable, we
also use n, being the nth term. Sequences are also normally defined for positive values of n, so a
negative nth term is not usually defined.
Aside from being discrete, sequences tend to behave in the same way as functions,
meaning that if a function approached a limit as x approached infinity, then the corresponding
sequence, which would be defined by switching out the xs with ns, would also come to that

1
limit as n approached infinity. For example, we consider the function f ( x )= x , along with the

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1
sequence t n= n . Even though the function is continuous and the sequence is only defined at
integer values of n, they both approach zero as n approaches infinity.
Though sequences may behave the same way as their corresponding functions, they
cannot be integrated like a function, for they are not continuous. With that being said, we can add
all of, or some of, the terms of the sequence together, similarly to an integral. This is what we
call a series, which is the summation of a series. Sequences and series are similar to each other in
that they are discrete functions based off of the nth term; however, a series is an ordered
collection of terms, while a series is the sum of those terms. A series can be a partial series that
consists of n terms of a sequence, or a series can be infinite, which is the addition of every term
in a series. How can we add every term of a sequence together though? Since infinity is not a
number, how can we even find infinity terms. The truth is, we cannot do this directly. Instead of
evaluating a sequence with an infinite number of terms, we use the concept of convergence and
divergence.
So what is convergence and divergence? Well a sequence or series converges if it
approaches a particular value as the number of terms approaches infinity. If it does not approach
a certain value, then the sequence or series is said to diverge. For example, lets consider our

1
sequence from earlier, which was t n= n . Shown below is our sequence.

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1
Figure 1. Plot of t n= n .
If we look at our sequence, we see that the terms approach zero as n approaches infinity.
We can prove that the sequence converges to zero by using LHopitals rule as shown below.
lim

1
0
=lim =0
n n 1

Figure2. Using LHopitals rule to prove that the sequence approaches zero.
As shown above in figure 2, we can see that the sequence converges to zero as n

approaches infinity. Now it would make sense that the series

1n
n=1

, which is known as the

harmonic series, would also converge since the terms of the sequence approach zero. There are
many tests that we can use to see if the series converges, but we will be using the integral test of
convergence. As we discussed earlier, a sequence cannot be directly integrated; however, we can
integrate the corresponding function on the interval [1,] to see if our infinite series will
converge. This is because our sequence is bound by the corresponding function, and the series
will be bound by the improper integral of the function. With that, we can test for convergence as
shown below.
a

lim

a 1

1
dx=lim ln |x| a
x
a
1

Figure 3. Integral test of convergence of harmonic series.

As we can see above in figure 3, using the integral test shows that the harmonic series
will approach infinity as the number of terms approaches infinity. Because of this, we know that
the harmonic series diverges. How is this possible though? How can it be that the sequence can

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converge but the series based off the sequence diverges? This happens because even though the
sequence converges to zero, the terms approach zero relatively slowly, so the sum of the series
keeps growing to infinity. A series will also diverge if the sequence converges to a non-zero
number.
With this all, lets test for convergence of a few series. The first series we will try is

n 2 +1
5 n2 +7
n=0
Figure 4. The first series to test.
With this series, there are a number of ways that we could test for convergence. The test
we will use is limit comparison to the harmonic series, which we know to diverge. Because we
are using the harmonic series, we will adjust the index to start at n = 1 instead of zero. This
allowed because the tail is what determines divergence, not the first few terms. So in order to test
using limit comparison, we find the limit as n approaches infinity of the quotient of the two
sequences that define the series, as shown below.
3
2

3
1
n +1
5 2
15 2
5
n +1
n
1
2
5 n +7
n 2 +n
2
4
3 2
lim
=lim 2 = lim
=lim
=lim n
1
10 n
n
n 5 n +7
n
n 10
n 8
n

Figure 5. Testing for divergence using limit comparison.

As shown above in figure 5, the limit as n approaches infinity of the quotient of the two
sequences approaches infinity, which proves our series to diverge. This is because the limit
comparison test is the limit of the ratio of the terms of the series. Since the ratio approaches
infinity, we know that our series will approach zero slower than the harmonic series, which
diverges, implying that our series diverges as well.

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The next series that we will consider is shown below.

(1 )n
ln n
n=2
Figure 6. The series we will test.
As before, there are many tests that can be used to test for convergence of a series. The
test we will use for this series is the alternating series test. Since we know that the natural

logarithm function approaches infinity as n approaches infinity, then

1
ln n

must approach

zero, and the terms will always be getting smaller than the previous term. Since we have each
term multiplied by negative one to the nth power, the series will alternate. These are all of the
conditions for the alternating series test, which are all met for this series. Since all of the
conditions are met, we can say that this series must converge.
The last series that we will consider for convergence is the series shown below.

n=0

4
3

()

(1 )

Figure 7. The series we will test for convergence.

This series is also an alternating series like the previous series was. For this series, we
will also use the alternating series test to test for convergence. Since we have a negative one to

th

the n power, the series alternates, so that condition is met. The only issue is that

lim

4
3

()

does not converge to zero it approaches infinity. Because of this, we know that this series must
diverge.

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Up until this point, we have only discussed series of numbers. These are not the only
types of series that we can do though. For example, lets consider the following series

( 2 x )n
n+1
n=0
Figure 8. Polynomial series
As before, our series is written in terms of n, but now theres an x. What this will yield is
a series of polynomials with different coefficients. The question is, for what values of x will this
series converge? We need to find what is called the interval of convergence. This is the domain
of x values that this series will converge for. To find this, we will use the ratio test, which is the
limit as n approaches infinity of the ratio of the (n+1)th term to the nth term. We set up and solve
the limit as shown below.

( 2 x )n +1
n+2
n+1
1
lim
=2 x lim
=2 x lim =2 x
n
n ( 2 x )
n n+2
n 1
n+1
Figure 9. Applying the ratio test of convergence to the series.
As shown above, we end up with a limit of 2x. In order for a series to converge under the
ratio test, the limit must be less than one, so we end up with the inequality 1<2 x <1 . In
order to solve for the interval of convergence, we divide everything by two to get the interval

1
1
< x< . Now we know that all values within this interval will make the series converge,
2
2

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but what about the endpoints? In order to test them, we plug them into the series for x and test

for convergence as we previously did. So first, we will test

n=0

1
2 .

21 n

2
(1 )n
=
n+1
n =0 n+1

Figure 10. The series with

With

1
2

1
2

plugged in for x.

plugged into the series as shown in figure 10, we end up with an alternating

harmonic series, which converges by the alternating series test. We know this because the terms
alternate, the terms approach zero as n approaches infinity, and the terms only decrease. With

1
2

this, we know that the endpoint

converges. Now we must test our second endpoint, which

1
2 . We do this as we did for our other endpoint.

is

n=0

21 n

2
( 1 )n 1
=
=
n+1
n=0 n+1
n=0 n+1

( )

Figure 11. The series with

1
2

plugged in for x.

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When we plug in

1
2

for x, we end up with a harmonic series, which we know to

diverge. With this in mind, we can say that the series will diverge when x =

our interval of convergence [

1
2 . This makes

1 1
,
2 2 .

Now that we have discussed polynomial series, it is time that we discuss two special
types of polynomial series the Taylor and Maclaurin series. Taylor series are polynomial series
that are used to approximate values of functions. A Taylor series is written in the form

f (n )
n=0

( a )( xa )n
n!

Figure 12. Closed form of a Taylor series.

In our Taylor series in figure 12, f(n)(a) is the nth derivative of f(x) at x = a, where a is the
center of the polynomial. An example of a Taylor series would be the series for the natural
logarithm function. In order to derive the terms for the series using the derivatives, we use the nth
derivatives ln(x) at x = 1. The 0th derivative of ln(x) (which is the value of ln(x)) at x = 1 is zero.
The first derivative at x = 1 is 1, the second derivative at x = 1 is -2, the third derivative is 6, the
fourth is -24, and so on. These values are equal to (-1)n+1(n-1)!. If we plug this into the format of
a Taylor series for the nth derivative, we get

(1 )
n=1

n+1

!( x1 )n (1 )n+1 ( x 1 )n
( n1 )
=
n!
n
n=1

Figure 13. Taylor Series for ln(x) about x = 1.

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As shown above in figure 13, the factorials cancel out and we end up with

1
n

instead

1
n! . Now that we have a general idea of what a Taylor series is, lets try one that does not

of

look like a Taylor series. This time, we have f(x) = 1 + (x+1) + (x+1)2 + (x+1)n + =

( x +1 )n
n=0

, which is defined for all real numbers of x that the series converges. First of all, we

should find the interval of convergence since it does not converge for all values. To do this, we
use the ratio test as before.
lim
n

( x +1 )n+1
=( x +1 )
( x+ 1 )n

Figure 14. Applying ratio test to find the interval of convergence.

As before, this value of x+1 must be less than 1, giving the interval 1< x +1<1 . With
this, we subtract 1 to get the true interval, which is 2< x <0 . Again, we must test both

(2+1 ) = (1 )
endpoints. If we plug in -2 for x, we get

n=0

. This series alternates from -1 to

n =0

1, but the series does not converge. Because of this, -2 is not included in the interval. Upon

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n

( 0+1 ) = ( 1 ) = 1
plugging in 0 for the interval, we get

n=0

n=0

. This series does not converge

n=0

either, it simply keeps adding 1 forever and will approach infinity as n approaches infinity.
Because of this, 0 is not included in the interval of convergence either, leaving the interval (-2,0).
Now that we have our interval, we need to look at this function as a Taylor series centered about
x = -1. Doesnt a Taylor series always have factorials though? As we found with the natural
logarithm function, not all Taylor series have factorials, for they may cancel out. So what
function is this Taylor series approximating? The actual function can be determined by finding
the infinite sum of the series. Since this series is geometric with a first term (x+1)0, which is 1,
and a ratio of (x+1), we can plug this into the formula for an infinite geometric series, assuming
that f(x) is on the interval (-2,0) that the series converges on.
S =

t1
1
1 1
=
=
=
1r 1( x +1) x x

Figure 15. Sum of the Taylor series.

By plugging in our first term and the ratio for the Taylor series, we end up with the

1
function being f ( x )= x . With this, we can define a function
integrating our function, we get

g ( x ) = f ( t ) dt . By
1

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|1|
ln |x|ln

x
|t| =
1
x
1
g ( x ) =
dt=ln
1 t
Figure 16. Integral of f(x).
As shown above, we get

g ( x ) =ln| x| . With our function, we can find other values,

such g(-0.5). Now we need to remember our interval for which f(x) is defined, for g(x) will be
defined on the same interval, which is (-2,0). Since -0.5 is in that interval, g(-0.5) does exist. By
plugging -0.5 into the function, we get g(-0.5) = 0.69315. What we can also do with our function
f(x) is make f(x) a composite function. For example, we consider h(x)= f(x2-1). Defining h(x) is
as simple as plugging (x2-1) into the Taylor series of f(x) for x. This yields

2 n

2n
h ( x )= ( (x 1)+1 ) = ( x ) = x
2

n=0

n=0

n =0

Figure 17. Defining h(x).

With this, we find h(x) to be a Taylor series centered around x = 0, so a = 0. With this
series, we can find the first three nonzero terms, which would be 1 + x2 + x4, and so on. Looking
at the first term, which is 1, it is questionable how we calculated 00 to be 1. Since we cannot
directly define 00, we need to solve it as a limit, as shown below.

lim x =e

lim x ln x
x 0

=e

ln x
lim
x 0 1
x

lim
x0

=e

1
x
1
2
x

lim x

=e

x 0

Figure 18. Proof that

lim x =1
x 0

x0

=e 0=1

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With our first 3 terms, we can approximate h(0.5) by plugging 0.5 into the polynomial, so
h(0.5) 1 + 0.52 + 0.54 = 1.3125. We can also use the sum of an infinite geometric series to come
up with an actual function for h(x), as shown below.
0

t1
( x2 )
1
S =
=
=
2
1r 1x 1x 2
Figure 19. Actual function for h(x).
1
As shown above, we found our function h ( x )= 1x 2 . With our actual function of

1
h(x), we can plug in 0.5 to find h(0.5) exactly, which is 1 3 .
With our function h(x), we defined it as a Taylor series centered around x = 0, so a = 0.
This leads us to the Maclaurin series, which is simply a Taylor series centered around x = 0. The
Taylor and Maclaurin series are both power series, and are both calculated the same way. The
only difference between the two is that the Maclaurin series is always centered around zero;
therefore, the Maclaurin series is a special case of the Taylor series.
x
For an example of a Maclaurin series, we will look at the function f ( x )=e .

Since the nth derivative of ex is always ex, and e0 = 1, f(n)(0) for the Maclaurin series will always
be 1. With that said, the Maclaurin series for ex is

e =
x

n=0

xn
n!

Figure 20. Maclaurin Series for ex.

With that said, we can use part of that series to approximate something, such as e0.1. In
our case, we will use a 5th partial sum, which is the first 5 terms of the series. The first five terms

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2

x x x
of the sum are 1+ x+ 2 ! + 3 ! + 4 !

To approximate e0.1, we simply plug in 0.1 for x. This yields

0.1 0.1 0.1

e 1+0.1+ 2 + 6 + 24 =1.10517 . How close is this approximation though? There are
0.1

two ways to find error for a series approximation. The first, and most obvious, is to subtract the
approximation from the true value. By doing this with our approximation, we get
e 0.1 p ( 0.1 )=0.0000000847423 , showing that our approximation is very close to the actual
value. There is another way to find error, which is by Lagrange error. Lagrange error is used to
find the maximum possible error that there could be, and for this reason, it is always much larger
than the actual error. Lagrange error is calculated as shown below.

|En|= f n+1

( z )( xa )n+1
( n+1 ) !

Figure 21. Formula for Lagrange error.

Shown above, Lagrange error is calculated by finding the (n+1)th derivative of f(z), where
z is the value (x or a) that will give the maximum value for fn+1(z), x is the point that we are
estimating, and a is the center of the polynomial. In our case, fn+1(x) = ex since ex is the derivative
of ex. Also because of this, the value of z that we will use will be 0.1 because e0.1 > e0. Now to
find the error for the fifth partial sum, which is E4 (since the index is going up to n = 4), we plug
everything in, as shown below.

e 0.1( 0.1 )5
|E 4|= ( 5 ) ! =0.000000092098
Figure 22. Calculation of Lagrange error.

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As seen above in figure 22, the Lagrange error is small, but still larger than the actual
error that we calculated previously.
There is actually one more way to calculate error for a series, but this method only
pertains to alternating series. For this we will consider the alternating harmonic series, which is

n=1

(1 )n +1
. For this example, we want to estimate the sum with a 4th partial sum, which is
n

1 1 1
1 + =0.583 . Since the terms only decrease as n increases, the maximum error for
2 3 4
the nth term of an alternating series is the next term. In our case, the maximum error is the 5th

term, which is

1
5 , which is 0.2. The alternating harmonic series actually converges to ln(2),

which is 0.693147, which is within 0.2 of our partial sum of 0.583.

Throughout this essay, we have built a strong foundation of what a sequence and a series
is. We have discussed the idea of convergence and divergence, as well as why a sequence may
converge while the series diverges. We used these ideas to derive power series for functions that
can approximate values of functions. While all of these concepts are interesting mathematically,
there is no use for things like Taylor and Maclaurin series outside of a classroom right? Well
no. The main use for these types of series is to approximate values of functions. This may seem
unimportant because we can get exact values from a calculator; however, the calculator is using
these series to approximate the values that it outputs. So in all, the reason we learn how to do this
is to be smarter than our phones and calculators, for a smartphone is only as smart as the person
who is using it.