2 Sequences of real numbers

Outline:

• The limit of a sequence of real numbers, bounded/monotone/Cauchy/convergent sequences

• Cauchy’s theorem for sequences
• Passing to the limit in inequalities
• Sufficient conditions for convergence: convergence of monotone sequences, squeeze theorem
• Operations with sequences which have a limit
• Césaro-Stolz theorem and the Root Criterion for sequences

Definition 2.1 A sequence of real numbers is a function  : N → R.

For the convenience of the notation, it is customary to identify the function (sequence)  with its values 0 =
 (0)  1 =  (1)  2 =  (2)  3 =  (3)  . We will adopt this convention, and we will henceforth write sequences
as ( )∈N , ( )  or simply  .
An important notion in the study of sequences is that of convergence. Intuitively, a sequence of numbers
converge to a certain number if the terms of the sequence “crowd” around that number. For example, the terms
of the sequence  = 1 are 1 12  13  14     and intuitively you can see that these numbers crowd around the value 0
(they become closer and closer to 0). The precise definition is the following.

Definition 2.2 (convergent sequence, limit of a sequence) We say that the sequence ( )∈N converges to
 ∈ R if
for any   0 there exists  () ∈ N such that | − |   for any  ≥  () 
The number  is called the limit of the sequence ( )∈N , and we write lim→∞  =  or  −→ .
→∞

Remark 2.3 If for any   0 there exists  () ∈ N such that  ≥  for any  ≥  (), we say that the sequence
 has the limit +∞. Similarly, if for any   0 there exists  () ∈ N such that  ≤ − for any  ≥  (), we
say that the sequence  has the limit −∞. We write lim→∞  = +∞ respectively lim→∞  = −∞, but we do
not say that the sequence  is convergent (this requires the limit to be finite! We may say that the sequence 
diverges to +∞, respectively −∞).

As we will see below, the notion of convergent sequence is closely related to that of Cauchy sequence, as defined
below.

Definition 2.4 (Cauchy sequence) We say that ( )∈N is a Cauchy sequence if

for any   0 there exists  () ∈ N such that | −  |   for any   ≥  () 

The number  is called the limit of the sequence ( )∈N , and we write lim→∞  =  or  −→ .
→∞

Some of the terminology used for sequences is contained in the following.

Definition 2.5 Given a sequence ( )∈N , we say that the sequence is:
a) bounded above, if there exists  ∈ R such that  ≤  , for any  ∈ N;
b) bounded below, if there exists  ∈ R such that  ≤  , for any  ∈ N;
c) bounded, if it is bounded above and below;
d) increasing, if  ≤ +1 for any  ∈ N (if the previous inequality is strict, we say that the sequence is strictly
increasing);
e) decreasing, if  ≥ +1 for any  ∈ N (if the previous inequality is strict, we say that the sequence is strictly
decreasing);
f ) monotone, if it is either increasing or decreasing.

With this preparation, we can now show that if a sequence has a limit, then the limit is unique (it is not possible
for a sequence to have two different limits).

15
Proposition 2.6 If the limit of a sequence exists, it is unique.

Proof. Assume there exists 1  2 ∈ R such that the sequence ( )∈N converges to 1 and 2 . Given   0, there
exists 1 () and 2 () such that
| − |    ≥ 1 () 
and
| − |    ≥ 2 () 
It follows that we have

|1 − 2 | = |1 −  − (2 −  )|

≤ | − 1 | + | − 2 |
 +
= 2

for any  ≥ max {1 ()  2 ()} 

Thus |1 − 2 |  2 for any   0, and therefore |1 − 2 | = 0, that is 1 = 2 .
A subsequence of a given sequence ( )∈N is a sequence ( )∈N , where  are natural numbers with 0 ≤ 1 
2   For example a subsequence of the sequence  =  (that is 0 1 2 3 4 5   ) is 2 = 2 (that is the even
terms of the original sequence, 0 2 4 6   ); note that there are many possible subsequences of a given sequence:
2+1 = 2 + 1 and 2 = 2 are for example two other subsequences of the sequence  =  (the subsequence of
odd terms, respectively the subsequence of perfect squares of the sequence).
A first connection between Cauchy and convergent sequences is contained in the following.

Proposition 2.7 Let ( )∈N be a sequence of real numbers. We have the following:
a) If ( )∈N is a convergent sequence, then ( )∈N is also a Cauchy sequence.
b) If ( )∈N converges to , then any subsequence ( )∈N converges to .
c) If ( )∈N is a Cauchy sequence which has a convergent subsequence, then ( )∈N is also a convergent
sequence.

Lemma 2.8 (Cesaro’s Lemma) Any bounded sequence contains a convergent subsequence.

From the previous proposition and lemma, we obtain the following:

Theorem 2.9 (Cauchy’s theorem for sequences) A sequence is convergent if and only if it is Cauchy.

Remark 2.10 We can use the previous theorem to show for example that the sequence ( )∈N with  = 1 + 12 +
 + 1 is not convergent. By contradiction, if ( )∈N were convergent, then it were also Cauchy, and therefore
| −  | can be made arbitrarily small for all  and  sufficiently large. But
¯ ¯
¯ 1 1 1 ¯¯
|2 −  | = ¯ ¯ + +  +
+1 +2 2 ¯
1 1 1
= + +  +
+1 +2 2
1 1 1
 + +  +
2 2 2
1
= 
2
for any  ≥ 1, which shows that ( )∈N is not Cauchy, and therefore not convergent.

The following proposition gives sufficient conditions for the convergence of a sequence:

Proposition 2.11 (Convergence of monotone and bounded sequences) If the sequence ( )∈N is increas-
ing and bounded above (or decreasing and bounded below), then it is convergent.

16
Proof. Suppose that the sequence ( )∈N is increasing, and there exists  ∈ R such that  ≤  for any  ∈ N.
Let  = sup∈N  ∈ R (note that since  ≤  , we have  ≤   +∞).
By the definition of the supremum, given   0, there exists  () ∈ N such that

 −    () 

Since the sequence  is increasing, for any  ≥  () we have

 −   () ≤  ≤    + 

or equivalent
| − |    ≥  () 
which shows that the sequence ( )∈N is convergent to 
Similar proof for the case when the sequence ( )∈N is decreasing and bounded below.

Remark 2.12 If the sequence is not monotone, or if it is not bounded, then it may not be convergent. To see this,

consider for example the sequences ( )∈N with  = (−1) (bounded, but not monotone) or  =  (increasing,
but not bounded above).

From the previous remark we see that not any sequence ( )∈N is convergent.¡ However,¢ we can define two
important “limits” for any sequence, using the previous proposition (by noticing that sup≥  ∈N is a decreasing
sequence, respectively (inf ≥  )∈N is an increasing sequence), as follows.

Definition 2.13 We define the superior limit / lim sup of a sequence ( )∈N by

lim sup  = lim sup  ∈ R ∪ {+∞} 

→∞ ≥

and the inferior limit / lim inf by

lim sup  = lim inf  ∈ R ∪ {−∞} 

→∞ ≥

Remark 2.14 It can be shown that lim inf  ≤ lim sup  for any sequence ( )∈N , and that the sequence ( )∈N
is convergent if and only if we have equality, that is
³ ´
lim inf  = lim sup  = lim  
→∞

It can also be shown that lim sup  is the largest limit of a convergent subsequence of the sequence ( )∈N , and
lim inf  is the smallest limit of a convergent subsequence of a the sequence ( )∈N .

Example 2.15 The sequence ( )∈N given by  = (−1) is not convergent, so lim→∞  does not exist.
However, it is easy to see that sup≥  = 1 and inf ≥  = −1 for all  ∈ N, and therefore

lim inf  = −1  +1 = lim sup  

Remark 2.16 (Passing to limit in inequalities) If ( )∈N and ( )∈N are sequences such that  ≤  for
any  ∈ N, it is easy to see that we have
lim inf  ≤ lim inf 
and
lim sup  ≤ lim sup  
If in particular lim→∞  and lim→∞  exists, then we also have

lim  ≤ lim  
→∞ →∞

Remark 2.17 It is important to note that even if    for all  ∈ N (the inequalities are strict), the resulting
inequalities may not be strict, as it can be see by considering  = 1  1 + 1 =  , for which we have lim→∞  =
1 = lim→∞  .

As another sufficient condition for convergence, we have the following:

17
Theorem 2.18 (Squeeze theorem) If  ≤  ≤  for all  ∈ N and the sequences ( )∈N and ( )∈N are
convergent to the same limit , then the sequence ( )∈N is also convergent and it has the limit .

Proof. Passing to the limit (inferior limit) in the given inequality, we obtain

lim inf  ≤ lim inf  ≤ lim inf  

and since the sequences  and  are convergent to , we obtain

 ≤ lim inf  ≤ 

that is lim inf  = .

A similar proof shows that lim sup  = , and therefore lim inf  = lim sup  = , which shows that the
sequences  is convergent and lim→∞  = .
The following proposition contains some properties of convergent sequences:

Proposition 2.19 If ( )∈N and ( )∈N are convergent sequences, then:

1. The sequence ( ±  )∈N is also convergent, and we have

lim ( ±  ) = lim  ± lim 

→∞ →∞ →∞

2. The sequence ( ·  )∈N is also convergent, and we have

lim ( ·  ) = lim  · lim 

→∞ →∞ →∞

³ ´

3. If  6= 0 and lim→∞  6= 0, then the sequence  is also convergent, and we have
∈N

lim ( ±  ) = lim  ± lim 

→∞ →∞ →∞

4. The sequence (| |)∈N converges to ||.

Proof. 1. If lim→∞  =  and lim→∞  = , then for any   0 we have

|( ±  ) − ( ± )| ≤ | − | + | − |

 2 + 2
= 

for any  ≥  (), since  and  are convergent sequences to , respectively , proving the claim
2. First note that since ( )∈N and ( )∈N are convergent sequences, they are bounded, so there exists   0
such that
| |  | |    ∈ N,
and passing to the limit we see that we also have ||  || ≤  .
Given   0 there exists  () such that

| − |  | − |    ∈ N.
2
For any  ≥  () we have:

|  − | = | ( − ) + ( − ) |

≤ | | | − | + || | − |
 
≤  +
2 2
 
= +
2 2
= 

18
which shows that the sequence ( ·  )∈N converges to  · .
3. Similar to the previous proof, for 0    ||
2 , we have by writing
¯ ¯
¯   ¯ |  −  | | ( −  ) +  ( − )|
¯ ¯
¯  −  ¯ = | |
=
|2 +  ( − )|

≤˙ | | | − | + | | | − |

||2 − || | − |
 + 
≤
2 − || 
2 
≤
 − || ||
2
2
4
= 
||2
which can be made arbitrarily small (here we need  6= 0), showing that lim→∞  =  .

The following theorem is often useful in exercises for computing limits of the type lim→∞  :

Theorem 2.20 (Cesaro-Stolz theorem) Let  be a sequence of positive numbers which is increasing to +∞.
Then
 +1 − 
lim = lim 
→∞  →∞ +1 − 

provided the last limit exists.

Proof. We will consider the case when  = lim→∞ +1 −

+1 −
is finite (when  = ±∞ the proof is similar).
From the definition of the limit it follows that for every   0 there is  such that for any  ≥  , we have :
+1 − 
−   + 
+1 − 
Because  is strictly increasing we can multiply the last equation with +1 −   0 to get:

( − )(+1 −  )  +1 −   ( + )(+1 −  )

Let  ≥  be a natural number. Summing the above relations for  =    + 1      we get :


X 
X 
X
( − ) (+1 −  )  (+1 −  )  ( + ) (+1 −  )
= = =

or equivalent
( − )(+1 −  )  +1 −   ( + )(+1 −  )
Dividing by +1 we obtain:
 +1  
( − )(1 − ) −  ( + )(1 − )
+1 +1 +1 +1
or equivalent
  +1  
( − )(1 − )+   ( + )(1 − )+ 
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1
 
Since  increases to +∞, +1 and +1 tend to 0 as  → ∞, and therefore there exists  such that
+1
( − )(1 − ) −    ( + )(1 − ) + 
+1
for all  ≥ , which shows that
+1 +1 − 
lim =  = lim 
→∞ +1 →∞ +1 − 
concluding the proof.
√
As an application, we have the following theorem, useful for computing limits of the type lim→∞   :

19
Theorem 2.21 (Root criterion for sequences) Let  be a sequence of positive numbers. Then
√ +1
lim 
 = lim 
→∞ →∞ 

provided the last limit exists.

Proof. Consider ³ ´ 1
√ ln 

 = ln 1
ln  = ln  = 
 
and apply Césaro-Stolz theorem above with  and  replaced by ln  , respectively .
We have
ln  ln +1 − ln  +1 +1
lim = lim = lim (ln +1 − ln  ) = lim ln = ln lim 
→∞  →∞ ( + 1) −  →∞ →∞  →∞ 

+1
Since lim→∞  exists, from the Césaro-Stolz theorem we obtain

√ ln  +1
ln lim 
 = lim = ln lim 
→∞ →∞  →∞ 

or equivalent
√ +1
lim 
 = lim 
→∞ →∞ 

concluding the proof.

20
2.1 Exercises
1. Show that if ( )≥1 converges, then (| |)≥1 also converges. Is the converse true? (either prove it or give
a counterexample).
¡√ ¢
2. Calculate lim→∞ 2 +  − 
√ p √
3. If 1 = 2 and +1 = 2 +  ,  ≥ 1, show that the sequence ( )≥1 converges and find its limit.
4. Compute the limits of the following sequences:
√ √
(a)  =  + 1 − 
√ √
+1− 
(b)  = 

√ ³ ´
1 
5. Let 1   and +1 = 2  +
,  ≥ 1, where   0 is given number. Show that ( )≥1 is a

√
decreasing, bounded sequence and its limit is lim→∞  = .
6. Find the limit of the following sequences:

3 + 1 32 + 4 42 + 2 − 1
 =  =  =
22 + 5 2 − 1 52 + 10

7. Find the limit of the following sequences:

4 2 + 3 5 − 2
 =  =  =
3 + 1 5 − 1 3 + 1

8. Find the limit of the following sequences:

√ √ √ √
 = √ 2 − 3 +√2 − 2 + 2 + 1  = 2√−1− +2
 = 4 + 3 − 4 − 2  =  − 2 − 3 + 2

9. Find the limit of the following sequences:

µ ¶2 µ ¶
3 4
 = 2 +  = 5 +
 

10. Find the limit of the following sequences:

+2 2 − 3
 = √  = √
3 + 4 23 + 1
2 − 2 − 1 p
 = √  = 3 − 2 + 1
44 − 33

11. Find the limit of the following sequences:

µ ¶52 +2 µ ¶ 2 +2 µ ¶ 2 +2
4 −2 3 +4 2 − 3 + 2 
 = 1+  =  =
−2 +3 2 + 4 + 4

12. Find the limit of the following sequences:

3 + 4 · 5 − 6 · 7 2 + 3 · 4 − 5 · 6
 =  =
2 + 3 · 4 + 5 · 7 µ4 − 2 · 5 + 7 ¶
¡ ¢ 3 + 4 1 1 1 (−1) + 4
 = 1 + 3 + 32 +    + 3  = 1 + + 2    + 
5 3 3 3 2 · 4

13. Find the limit of the following sequences:

p ¡√ √ ¢ p ³p p ´
 = 3 + 2  + 2 −  − 1  = 2 + 1 2 + 2 − 2 − 3

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14. Find the limit of the following sequences:
s s
 ( + 1)!  (( + 1)!)2
 =  =
(2 + 1)! · 3 (2 + 1)! · 3

15. Find the limit of the following sequences:

1+ 1
+  + 1 1+ √1 +  + √1 1
+ 1
+  + 1
2  2  ln 2 ln 3 ln 
 =  = √  =
  2

1 + 2 +    + 
16. Find the limit of the sequence lim where  ∈ N is a natural number.
→∞ +1
Additional exercises
17. Find the given limits
√
2+√
(a) lim→∞ 2− 
¡√ √ ¢
(b) lim→∞ +1− 
¡√ √ ¢
(c) lim→∞ 3  + 1 − 3 
P (+)10
(d) lim→∞ 100
=1 10 +1010
s r
q
√
(e) lim→∞  , where  = 2 2 2    2
| {z }
 radicals
¡
1 2 −1
¢
(f) lim→∞ 2 + 2 +    + 2
(g) lim→∞ (+1)(+2)(+3)
3
(h) lim→∞ 1+2+3++
2
³ ´
1+3+5+7++(2−1) 2+1
(i) lim→∞ +1 − 2
+(−1)
(j) lim→∞ −(−1)
2+1 +3+1
(k) lim→∞ 2 +3
2·3 +(−3)
(l) lim→∞ 4
3 +
(m) lim→∞ 4 +5 , where    0 are given numbers.
¡ ¢
(n) lim→∞ 12 + 14 + 18 +    + 21
³ ´
1 1 1 (−1)−1
(o) lim→∞ 1 − 3 + 9 − 27 +  + 3−1

18. Find the given limits (Hint: squeeze theorem).

(−1)
(a) lim→∞ 
cos2 
(b) lim→∞ 
(c) lim→∞ sin
2 +1
!

2
(d) lim→∞ !

(e) lim→∞ ! , where  ∈ R is a given number

(f) lim→∞ √
!
, where  ∈ R is a given number
P sin 
(g) lim→∞ =1 2 +
P
(h) lim→∞ √ 1
=1 2 +

22
 P 2 +
(i) lim→∞ =1 3 +
P
(j) lim→∞ =1 2 ++
cos 
2

P []+[22 ]+[32 ]++[2 ]

(k) lim→∞ =1 2 , where [] denotes the integer part of  (recall that [] ≤   []+1
for any  ∈ R)

19. Are the sequences with general term  = 1 + (−1) +1

10 , respectively  = 1 + (−1) +1
102 , convergent?
Why/why not?
20. Show that the given sequences ( )≥1 are convergent.
P 1
(a)  = =1 2 ,  ≥ 1.
P sin(2 )
(b)  = =1 2
,  ≥ 1.
P cos(!)
(c)  = =1 (+1) ,  ≥ 1
P cos 
(d)  = =1 (+1) ,  ≥ 1, where ( )≥1 is a given sequence of real numbers.

Hint: convergent sequence ⇐⇒ Cauchy sequence

21. Show that the given sequences ( )≥1 converge, then find the corresponding limit.

(a) 1 = 1, +1 = 1+ , ≥1
2
(b) 1 = 1, +1 = 1+ ,  ≥ 1

(c) 1 = 1, +1 = 1+ ,  ≥ 1,
where    0 are given numbers.
¡ 2 ¢ 1
(d) 1 = 0, +1 =  +  ,  ≥ 1, where  ∈ [0 1] is a given number.
2
√ √
(e) 1 = , +1 =  +  ,  ≥ 1, where   0 is a given number.

22. Compute the limits of the given sequences ( )≥1 .

√ √ √
1+ 2+ √
3++ 
(a)  =  
1+ √12 + √13 ++ √1
(b)  = 
√ √ √
1+22 2+32 3 3++2  
(c)  = (+1)(+2)
ln ·ln !
(d)  = 
ln 
(e)  = 
1 +2 +3 ++ 
(f)  =  − +1
1
P  + √
(g)  =  =1  + , where    
√  0 are given numbers
21 +22 ++2
(h)  =  , where ( )≥1 is a sequence with lim→∞  = 5
³ ´
1 1 2 
(i)  =  1+1 + 1+ 2
+    + 1+ , where ( )≥1 is a sequence with lim→∞  = 0
√
(j)  = 
√
(k)  = 



(l)  = √

!
q
 33 (!)3
(m)  = (3)!
√
(n)  = 
1 + 2 + 3 +    +  , where  ∈ R is a given number.Does the answer depend on ?
√
(o)  =   where   0 is a given number
qP

(p)  =  =1 1

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 √

(q)  =  +  , where    0 are given numbers.
√
(r)  =   +  +  , where     0 are given numbers. Can you generalize?

23. For the given sequences ( )≥1 , first find a simplified formula for the general term  , then find its limit.
P 1
(a)  = =1 (+1)
P 2+1
(b)  = =1 2 (+1)2

(+1)2
(c)  =  =1
=1 (+1)(+2)

2−
(d)  = =0
 −
=0 3

23 −1 33 −1 3
(e)  = 23 +1 ·    · 3 −1
· 33 +1 +1
P ³ ´
2
(f)  = =2 log3 1 − (+1)
P
(g)  = =1 (2−1)2(2+1)2
P 2
+−1
(h)  = =1 (+2)!

24. Consider the sequence ( )≥0 defined by 0 = 1 and +1 =  + 1 . Does the sequence ( )≥0 have a
limit? Is the sequence ( )≥0 convergent?
³ ´
25. Consider the sequence ( )≥0 defined by 0 = 2 and +1 = 12  + 1 . Does the sequence ( )≥0 have
a limit? Is the sequence ( )≥0 convergent?
³ √ √ ´
26. Find lim→∞  ln + √+1+√+2 , where     0 are given numbers.
+ +2+ +3

33
27. Find lim→∞ 
(3+ 1 )3
¡ ¢
  P 1
28. Consider the sequences ( )≥1 and ( )≥1 defined by  = 1 +  and  = =1 (2−1)(2+1) , ≥1

(a) Find a simplified formula for 

(b) Find lim→∞ 
+1
(c) Find lim→∞ 

³ ´ 2+1
++1
2 −+1
29. Consider the sequence ( )≥1 defined by  = 2 +1 ,  ≥ 1, where  ∈ R is a given number

(a) Find  = lim→∞ 

P
(b) Find lim→∞  , where  = =1  ,  ≥ 1.

30. Find the indicated limits

P ¡ ¢
(a) lim→∞ =2 ln 1 − 12
³ P ´
(b) lim→∞ 43 =1 (+2)1

√ √ √
1+2 2+3 √3++ 
(c) lim→∞ 2
 
q
(!)
(d) lim→∞ 
()! , where  ∈ N∗ is positive natural number.
p
31. Consider the sequence ( )≥2 , where  = 
(−1) .

(a) Does the sequence ( )≥2 converge?

p
(b) What is wrong with the following “proof”? “By the root criterion for sequences, we have lim→∞ 
(−1) =
+1
lim→∞ (−1)
(−1) = lim→∞ −1 = −1, so the sequence ( )≥2 converges to −1”

24