THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS

2013, Vol. XVI, 2, pp. 82–88

NEW METHODS FOR CALCULATIONS OF SOME LIMITS

D.M. Bǎtineţu-Giurgiu, Neculai Stanciu

Abstract. The purpose of the present paper is to establish some properties of

certain classes of sequences.
MathEduc Subject Classification: D55, I35
MSC Subject Classification: 97D50, 97I30
Key words and phrases: Limits of sequences; problem solving.

1. Introduction

Teaching is a dynamic process involving many aspects such as learning, ques-

tioning/responding and interpersonal skills. The most inspiring teachers are those
who can transmit enthusiasm for their subject to students. If the teacher cannot
get excited about the subject, then why should the students?
We take it as a personal responsibility to pass on to others the techniques
and concepts that have been acquired. We attempt to do so in a cheerful way by
injecting humor whenever possible. The adopted teaching philosophy can best be
summed up by the phrase: teach by examples, and that is what we do here.
We present a method for finding limits of sequences which appeared in problem
solving math journals.

2. Main results

Throughout the paper we denote: R∗+ = (0, +∞), R+ = [0, +∞), R =

(−∞, +∞), N = {0, 1, 2, . . . }, N∗ = {1, 2, 3, . . . }. Our aim is to give a general
method to calculate the limits of sequences from some special classes. In what
follows:
• (an )n>1 is a positive real sequence with lim an = a ∈ R∗+ and
n→∞
lim n(an+1 − an ) = b ∈ R;
n→∞
• f : R∗+ → R∗+ is a function having a continuous derivative f 0 : R∗+ → R;
• (xn )n>1 is a positive real sequence such that for some t ∈ R,
xn+1
lim = x ∈ R∗+ .
n→∞ nt+1 xn

Theorem.
1. lim n(f (an+1 ) − f (an )) = bf 0 (a).
n→∞
 New methods for calculation of some limits 83

µ ¶n bf 0 (a)
f (an+1 ) f (a)
2. lim =e .
n→∞ f (an )
nt+1 et+1
3. lim √ = .
n→∞ n xn x
√
n+1 x
n+1 nt
4. If un = ·√ , n > 2, then lim un = 1 and lim unn = e.
(n + 1)t n x
n n→∞ n→∞
µ n+1
√ √ ¶
xn+1 n x
n
5. lim − = xe−(t+1) .
n→∞ (n + 1)t nt
√
n+1 x
√
n x
n+1 n
6. If Bn = f (an+1 ) · t
− f (a n ) · , n > 2, then
(n + 1) nt
x
lim Bn = t+1 (f (a) + bf 0 (a)).
n→∞ e
Proof of 1. On each interval [an , an+1 ], n ∈ N∗ the function f verifies the
conditions of Lagrange Theorem, hence there exists ξn situated between an and
an+1 , such that f (an+1 ) − f (an ) = (an+1 − an )f 0 (ξn ), which is equivalent to
n(f (an+1 − f (an )) = n(an+1 − an )f 0 (ξn ), n ∈ N∗ . Passing to the limit as n → ∞
we obtain
lim n(f (an+1 − f (an )) = lim n(an+1 − an )f 0 (ξn ) = bf 0 ( lim ξn ).
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
∗
Since ξn is situated between an and an+1 , n ∈ N and lim an = lim an+1 =
n→∞ n→∞
a, by the continuity of function f 0 we have that lim f 0 (ξn ) = f 0 ( lim ξn ) =
n→∞ n→∞
f 0 ( lim an ) = f 0 ( lim an+1 ) = f 0 (a), which yield that lim n(f (an+1 ) − f (an )) =
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
bf 0 (a).
f (an+1 ) f (a)
Proof of 2. Since lim = = 1, it follows that
n→∞ f (an ) f (a)
µ ¶n
f (an+1 )
lim
n→∞ f (an )
 f (an )  n(f (an+1 )−f (an ))
µ ¶ f (an )
f (an+1 ) − f (an ) f (an+1 )−f (an ) 
= lim  1 +
n→∞ f (an )
n(f (an+1 )−f (an )) bf 0 (a)
lim f (an ) f (a)
= en→∞ =e .

Proof of 3. By the equality of Cauchy-D’Alembert limits, we have

s
nt+1 n n
n(t+1)
(n + 1)(n+1)(t+1) xn
lim √ = lim = lim · n(t+1)
n→∞ n xn n→∞ xn n→∞ xn+1 n
à µ ¶(n+1)(t+1) !
xn · nt+1 n+1 1 et+1
= lim · = · et+1 = .
n→∞ xn+1 n x x
84 D.M. Bǎtineţu-Giurgiu, N. Stanciu

Proof of 4. We have
√
xn+1 nt+1 n + 1
n+1
un = · √ · , ∀n ∈ N∗ \ {1},
(n + 1)t+1 n xn n
x et+1 un − 1
so lim un = t+1 · · 1 = 1 and then lim = 1.
n→∞ e x n→∞ ln un
Also we haveà !
µ ¶n(t+1)
n xn+1 n 1
lim un = lim √
n→∞ n→∞ xn n+1 n+1 x
n+1
à µ ¶(n+1)(t+1) !
xn+1 n (n + 1)t+1 −t e
t+1
= lim √ = x · e · = e.
n→∞ nt+1 xn n + 1 n+1 x
n+1 x
Proof of 5. We have
√
n+1 x
√
n x
√
n x
√
n x
n+1 n n n un − 1
Cn = − = (un − 1) = · · ln unn ,
(n + 1)t nt nt nt+1 ln un
for all n ∈ N∗ \ {1}, so we deduce that
√n x
n un − 1
lim Cn = lim · lim · lim ln unn
n→∞ n→∞ nt n→∞ ln un n→∞
−(t+1)
= xe · 1 · ln( lim un ) = xe−(t+1) ln e = xe−(t+1) .
n
n→∞
Proof 1 of 6. We have
√
n x
µ ¶ √
n x
n f (an+1 ) n
Bn = f (an ) · · u n − 1 = f (a n ) · (vn − 1),
nt f (an ) nt
f (an+1 ) f (a)
for all n > 2, where vn = · un . We obtain lim vn = · 1 = 1, so we
f (an ) n→∞ f (a)
vn − 1
get lim = 1. Taking this into account, we deduce that
n→∞ ln vn
µ ¶n bf 0 (a) f (a)+bf 0 (a)
n f (an+1 ) n f (a) f (a)
lim vn = lim · lim un = e ·e=e .
n→∞ n→∞ f (an ) n→∞
√n x
n vn − 1
Since Bn = f (an ) · t+1 · · ln vnn , for all n > 2, we obtain
n ln vn
f (a)+bf 0 (a)
x f (a) f (a) · x(f (a) + bf 0 (a))
lim Bn = f (a) · · 1 · ln e =
n→∞ et+1 f (a) · et+1
x(f (a) + bf 0 (a))
= .
et+1
Proof 2 of 6. We have
√
n+1 x
√n x
n+1 n
Bn = f (an+1 ) · t
− f (a n ) ·
(n + 1) nt
√
n+1 x
√n x
√
n x
√
n x
n+1 n n n
= f (an+1 ) · t
− f (a n+1 ) · t
+ f (a n+1 ) · t
− f (an ) ·
(n + 1) n n nt
µ n+1
√ √ ¶ √
xn+1 n x
n
n x
n
= f (an+1 ) t
− t
+ (f (an+1 ) − f (an )) · n,
(n + 1) n nt+1
 New methods for calculation of some limits 85

for all n ∈ N∗ \ {1}, and passing to the limit as n → ∞, we obtain that

x x
lim Bn = f (a) · t+1 + t+1 · lim ((f (an+1 ) − f (an )) · n)
n→∞ e e n→∞
0 −(t+1)
= x(f (a) + bf (a))e .

3. Applications

We will present some examples of applications of the previous results.

A1. If xn = n!, an = n1/n , n ∈ N∗ ; f : R∗+ → R∗+ , f (x) = x, then:
xn+1 (n + 1)!
lim = lim = 1 = x, t = 0, a = 1,
n→∞ nxn n→∞ n · n!
√ √
b = lim n(an+1 − an ) = lim n( n+1 n + 1 − n n)
n→∞ n→∞
√ √ √
= lim (((n + 1) n+1 n + 1 − n n n) − n+1 n + 1) = 1 − 1 = 0.
n→∞
Therefor in this case,
√ p √ √
Bn = n+1 n + 1 n+1 (n + 1)! − n n n!, ∀n ∈ N∗ \ {1}, and lim Bn = e−1 .
n

n→∞

A2. If xn = n!; f : R∗+ → R∗+ , f (x) = 1 and (an )n>1 is a positive real sequence,
then:
p √
n
p √
n
n+1
(n + 1)! n! n+1
(n + 1)! n!
Bn = f (an+1 ) · − f (a n ) · = − ,
(n + 1)t nt (n + 1)t nt
t = 0, a = lim an , x = 1, so we obtain
n→∞
p √
∀n ∈ N∗ \ {1},
n
Bn = n+1 (n + 1)! − n!,
i.e., we obtain the sequences considered by T. Lalescu in [3], with lim Bn = e−1 .
n→∞
A3. Let (un )n>1 , (vn )n>1 be real positive sequences and let there exist t ∈ R∗
un+1 vn+1
such that lim t+1 = u ∈ R∗+ , lim t+1 = v ∈ R∗+ . Then we can calculate
n→∞ n un n→∞ n vn
(as a generalization of [4])
µ r r ¶
un+1 un
lim n+1 − n .
n→∞ vn+1 vn

un+1 vn un+1 nt vn u
Solution. We have lim = lim t+1 · lim = ∈ R∗+ , and
n→∞ nvn+1 un n→∞ n n→∞ vn+1 v
un xn+1
taking f : R∗+ → R∗+ , f (x) = 1; xn = , n ∈ N∗ , we get that lim =x=
vn n→∞ nxn
u
∈ R∗+ , t = 0 and
v
µ r r ¶
un+1 un x x u
lim n+1 − n = (f (a) + bf 0 (a)) = = ,
n→∞ vn+1 vn e e ve
where (an )n>1 is a positive sequence with lim an = a ∈ R∗+ , lim n(an+1 − an ) = b.
n→∞ n→∞
86 D.M. Bǎtineţu-Giurgiu, N. Stanciu

an+1 bn+1
If un = bn , vn = an , an , bn ∈ R∗+ , n ∈ N∗ , lim = lim 3 = a ∈ R∗+ ,
n→∞ n2 an n→∞ n bn
then às r !
bn+1 bn a
lim n+1
− n
= = e−1 ,
n→∞ an+1 an ae
i.e., we have solved Problem 24 from the journal MathProblems [4].
A4. Let f, g : R → R, f (x) + g(x) = 1 for all x ∈ R, and
¡ p √ ¢
Bn (f, g) = nf (x) ( n+1 (n + 1)!)g(x) + ( n!)g(x) .
n

Then we can calculate lim Bn (f, g).

n→∞
Solution. We note that
à √ !g(x)
√ n
n!
Bn (f, g) = nf (x) ( n!)g(x) (wn (x) − 1) = nf (x)+g(x)
n
(wn (x) − 1)
n
à √ !g(x) à √ !g(x)
n n
n! n! wn (x) − 1
=n (wn (x) − 1) = · ln(wn (x))n ,
n n ln wn (x)
p à !g(x)
(n + 1)!
n+1

for all n ∈ N∗ \ {1}, where wn (x) = √

n
. Hence,
n!
à à p !!g(x) µ ¶g(x)
n+1
(n + 1)! n n+1 1
lim wn (x) = lim · √ · = · e · 1 = 1,
n→∞ n→∞ n+1 n
n! n e
wn (x) − 1
and lim = 1.
n→∞ ln wn (x)
Also, we have
à à !n !g(x) Ã
p !g(x)
n (n + 1)!
n+1
(n + 1)! 1
lim (wn (x)) = lim √ = lim · p
n→∞ n→∞ n
n! n→∞ n! n+1
(n + 1)!
à !g(x)
n+1
p
= lim n+1 = eg(x) .
n→∞ (n + 1)!
Therefore,
µ ¶g(x)
1 g(x)
lim Bn (f, g) = · 1 · ln(eg(x) ) = g(x) = g(x)e−g(x) .
n→∞ e e
If f (x) = cos2 x, g(x) = sin2 x, x ∈ R, then
2
³ p 2 √ 2
´
Bn (f, g) = Ln (x) = ncos x ( n+1 (n + 1)!)sin x − ( n!)sin x ,
n

2
and lim Bn (f, g) = lim Ln (x) = sin2 x · e− sin x
, i.e., we have solved Problem 67
n→∞ n→∞
from MathProblems [5].
 New methods for calculation of some limits 87

Remark. By the methods used in the proofs given above, one can also solve
the following problems (as well as many others from various math problem solving
journals):
Problema 579, Gazeta Matematică, Vol. VI, 1900–1901, pp. 33-38;
Problem 692, The Pentagon, Vol. 71, No. 1, 2011, p. 54;
Problem 5208, School Science and Mathematics Journal, April 2012;
Problem 24, MathProblems, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2011, p. 33;
Problem 43, Math Problems, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2012, p. 91;
Problem 67, MathProblems, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2013, p. 140;
Problem 704, The Pentagon, Vol. 71, No. 2, 2012, p. 42;
Problem 11676, The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 119, No. 9, November
2012, p. 801;
Problem 3713, Crux Mathematicorum, Vol. 38, No. 2, February 2012, p. 63;
Problem 715, The Pentagon, Vol. 72, No. 1, p. 44;
Problem 234, La Gaseta de la RSME, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2013, p. 502;
Problem 241, Revista Escolar de la Olimpiada Iberoamericana de Matematica, No.
49, 2013;
Problem 3764, Crux Mathematicorum, Vol. 38, No. 7, September 2012, p. 285;
Problem W3, József Wildt International Mathematical Competition, The Edition
XXIII, 2013, Octogon Mathematical Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 1, April, 2013, p. 229;
Problem 75, MathProblems, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2013, p. 171.

4. Conclusion

Success in problem solving requires effort. There are three important aspects
of learning mathematics.
First, getting the idea or the concept.
Second, you must practice the skills that you hope to develop and need for
the homework problems. Without this skill development, the understanding of the
concepts will not get you very far.
The third aspect of learning mathematics is the assimilation process which
enables you to recognize ideas you have encountered in other contexts and gives
you the confidence to make the leap to solving problems, the likes of which you have
not seen before. This is where the problems of the “problem solving” journals come
in. These are not routine exercises. They are problems whose solutions depend of
trying something new.

REFERENCES

[1] M. Bătineţu-Giurgiu, On Lalescu sequences, Octogon Mathematical magazine, 13, (1A)

(2005), 198–202.
88 D.M. Bǎtineţu-Giurgiu, N. Stanciu

[2] D. M. Bătineţu-Giurgiu, Şiruri Lalescu, Revista Matematică din Timişoara, 65 (1–2) (1985),
33–38.
[3] T. Lalescu, Problema 579, Gazeta Matematică, VI (1900–1901), 33–38.
[4] D. M. Bătineţu-Giurgiu, N. Stanciu, Problem 24, MathProblems, 1 (4) (2011), 33.
[5] D. M. Bătineţu-Giurgiu, N. Stanciu, Problem 67, MathProblems, 3 (2) (2013), 140.

“Matei Basarab” National College, Bucharest, Romania

E-mail: dmb [email protected]
“George Emil Palade” Secondary School, Buzău, Romania
E-mail: [email protected]