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Sec 106

This document discusses power series and their convergence properties. A power series is a series of functions of the form Σ anxn = a0 + a1x + a2x2 + ... where an are the coefficients. There are two main questions about a power series: 1) For what values of x does the series converge? 2) To what function does the series converge? The convergence set of a power series is the set of x values where it converges. Common convergence sets include a single point, an interval +/- some radius R, or all real numbers. Tests like the ratio test are used to determine the convergence set.

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91 views2 pages

Sec 106

This document discusses power series and their convergence properties. A power series is a series of functions of the form Σ anxn = a0 + a1x + a2x2 + ... where an are the coefficients. There are two main questions about a power series: 1) For what values of x does the series converge? 2) To what function does the series converge? The convergence set of a power series is the set of x values where it converges. Common convergence sets include a single point, an interval +/- some radius R, or all real numbers. Tests like the ratio test are used to determine the convergence set.

Uploaded by

Dane Sinclair
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Math 1220-1

Lecture Notes
Section 10.6

A power series is a series of functions. An example is


∞
X sin (nx) sin x sin 2x sin 3x
= + + + ···
n=1
n! 1! 2! 3!

Concerning a given power series, there are two major questions we would like to answer:
1. For what x values does the series converge?

2. To what function does a given power series converge?


The study of general power series is a topic for a more advanced calculus course. We will, however, study a
special case.

Definition 1 A power series in x has the form


∞
X
an xn = a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + · · ·
n=0

Example 1 For what values of x does the series


∞
X
cxn
n=0

converge and what is its sum? Assume c 6= 0.

Solution The above series is really a geometric series with initial term c and ratio term x. We know then
that the series converges for |x| < 1 and diverges otherwise. The sum is
c
(|x| < 1)
1−x
Definition 2 The set on which a power series converges is its convergence set.

Example 2 Find the convergence set for


∞
X xn
n=0
n!

Solution Apply the Absolute Ratio Test


n+1
n! xn+1

= lim |x| = 0
x / (n + 1)!
ρ = lim

= n→∞
lim

n→∞ xn /n! (n + 1)! xn n→∞ n + 1

The series converges if ρ < 1, and since ρ = 0, the series converges for all x.

Example 3 Find the convergence set for


∞
X
n! xn
n=0

1
Solution Applying the Absolute Ratio Test yields
(n + 1)! xn+1

= lim (n + 1) |x| = 0 if x = 0
ρ = lim
n→∞ n! xn n→∞ ∞ if x 6= 0

Hence the series converges only if x = 0.

Theorem 1 The convergence set for a power series in x is always one of the following types:
1. The single point x = 0.
2. An interval (−R, R), plus either one or both endpoints.
3. All real numbers.
The radius of convergence is 0, R, and ∞ for each case, respectively.

Theorem 2 A power series in x converges absolutely on the interior of its interval of convergence.

Definition 3 A power series of the form


∞
X n
cn (x − a)
n=0

is called a power series in (x − a).

Theorem 3 The convergence set for a power series in (x − a) is always one of the following types:
1. The single point x = a.
2. An interval (a − R, a + R), plus either one or both endpoints.
3. All real numbers.

Example 4 Find the convergence set for


∞ n
X (x − 1)
2
n=0 (n + 1)

Solution We apply the Absolute Ratio Test and obtain


2
(x − 1)n+1 / (n + 2)2 
n+1
ρ = lim = lim |x − 1| = |x − 1|

n→∞ (x − 1)n / (n + 1)2 n→∞ n + 2

Therefore, the series converges for |x − 1| < 1 and diverges for |x − 1| > 1. This gives us the interval (0, 2).
We must now check the endpoints. For x = 2 we have
∞
X 1
2
n=0 (n + 1)

which converges. For x = 0 we have


∞ n
X (−1)
2
n=0 (n + 1)
which also converges. Hence, the convergence set is the interval [0, 2].

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