PDF Notes Academy Unit - 2

PDF NOTES ACADEMY

Series of Real Numbers

Unit - 2
As per updated syllabus
PDF NOTES ACADEMY

2022

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 PDF Notes Academy Unit - 2

Series of Real Numbers

Introduction (Series of Real Numbers)

A finite series is given by the terms of a finite sequence, added together. For
example, we could take the finite sequence
(2k + 1)10k=1
Then the corresponding example of a finite series would be given by all of these
terms added together,
3 + 5 + 7 + .... + 21
We can write this sum more concisely using sigma notation. We write the capital
Greek letter sigma, and then the rule for the kth term. Below the sigma we write
‘k = V . Above the sigma we write the value of k for the last term in the sum,
which in this case is 10. So in this case we would have

and in this case the sum of the series is equal to 120

In the easy way, an infinite series is the sum of the terms of an infinite
sequence. An example of an infinite sequence is

And then the series obtained from this sequence would be

With a sum going on forever. Once again we can use sigma notation to express
this series. We write down the sigma sign and the rule for the k -th term. But now
we put the symbol for infinity above the sigma, to show that we are adding up an
infinite number of terms. In this case we would have

Key points: A finite series is given by all the terms of a finite sequence, added
together.
A infinite series is given by all the terms of an infinite sequence, added together.
Definition
An expression of the form a 1 + a2 + a3 + ... + an + ... where each a n is a real

number, is called an infinite series of real numbers and is denoted by an or

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∑ an.an is called the nth term of the series ∑ a n.

Example 1:

Example 2: is a n infinite series- The sequence of

partial sums looks like:

We saw above that this sequence converges to 2, so

Example 3: The number n!, read n factorial, is defined as the product of the
first n positive integers;
n! = 1 - 2 ..... n
<n!> is an important sequence. Its first few terms are
1, 2, 6, 24, 120, 720, ...
By convention, 0! is defined by 0! = 1.

•1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + .... =

•1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + .... = 1/n

• 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + ... = 1/2n

•1 + 1/4 + 1/9 + 1/16 + ... = 1/n2

• 1- 1 + 1- 1 + 1 - 1 + ... = (-1)n

•
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Sequence of Partial Sums of Series

Recall : A sequence {a n } is a function which assigns a real number a n to each

natural number n : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5......i.e., a sequence is an ordered list of real
numbers : a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, ...,

Example 1: generates the sequence

Definition: An infinite series an is the sum of the numbers in the sequence

{an}, i.e., an = a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 + ... .

Example 2:

We need a more precise definition of an infinite series an. Begin by

constructing a new sequence of partial sums by letting (This step by step by
step process will be called the Sequence of Partial Sums Test for the infinite

series an.)
S1 = a1,
S2 = a1 + a2,
S 3 = a1 + a2 + a3,
S 4 = a1 + a2 + a3 + a4,
Sn = a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + ... + a n.
We can now say that the value of the infinite series is precisely the value of the
limit of its sequence of partial sums, i.e.,

an = a 1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + ....

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= (a1 + a2 + a 3 + a4 + ... + an)

= Sn.

Examples of Partial Sums

For the sequence 1, 1, 1, 1,..., we have 1 = N → ∞. Thus, is divergent.

For the sequence 1, -1, 1, -1,..., we have S 1 = 1, S2 = 0, S3 = 1, etc. In general ,

SN = 1 for N odd and S N = 0 for N even. Thus, (-1)n is oscillatory.

The Harmonic Series

If one computes the partial sums for 1/n one finds S 1 = 1, S2 = 3/2 = 1.5, S3 =
11/6 ≈ 1.87, S10 ≈ 2/93, S20 ≈ 3.40, S 1000 ≈ 7.49, S100,000 ≈ 12.09. If fact, S N → ∞

So that 1/n diverges.

If one computes the partial sums for 1/n2, then one obtains S 1 = 1, S2 = 5/4 =
1.25, S3 = 49/36 ≈ 1.36, S 10 ≈ 1.55, S100 ≈ 1.63, S1000 ≈ 1.64.

In fact, 1/n2 = (2) = π2/6 ≈ 1.644934068

Definitions

• A series ∑ an is said to be convergent, if the sequence <s n> of partial sums

of ∑ an is convergent. If Sn = s, then S is called the sum of the series ∑

an. We write S = an.

• The series ∑ a n is said to be divergent, if the sequence <S n> of partial
sums of ∑ an is divergent,.
• The series ∑ a n is said to oscillate, if the sequence <S n> of partial sums of
∑ an oscillates.

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Example : (Geometric series) The series 1 + r + r 2 + r3 + ... (r > 0) converges if

r < 1 and diverges if r > 1.

Convergence of a Geometric Series

a geometric series with ratio r diverges if Irl ≥ 1. If 0 <Irl<1, then the series
converges to the sum

Proof: It is easy to see that the series oscillates if r = ±1. then s n = a + ar +ar2 +
.... + arn- 1. multiplication by r yields
rSn = ar + ar 2 +... +arn.
Subtracting the second equation from the first produces S n - rSn = a - ar 2 .
Therefore. Sn (1 - r) = a(1 - rn). and the partial sum is

If 0 <Irl< 1, it follows that r n → 0 as n → ∞, and you obtain

which means that series converges and its sum is a/(1 - r). It is left to you to
show that the series diverges if Irl> 1.
Example can be given, such as a n = n is an unbounded sequence with no limit
point and an = 1, if n is even; a n = n, if n is odd is an unbounded sequence with a
limit point 1.

Example 1: The series ∑ (- 1) n-1 oscillates.

Example 2: Perform the following index shifts.

(a) Write arn-1 as a series that starts at n = 0.

(b) Write as a series that starts at n = 3.

Solution:
(a) In this case we need to decrease the initial value by 1 and so the n in the
term must increase by 1 as well.

arn-1 = ar(n+1)-1 = arn

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(b) For this problem we want to increase the initial value by 2 and so all the n's
in the series terms must decrease by 2.

Note: The nature of a series is not affected by the addition, alteration or

omission of a finite number of terms or by multiplication of all the terms by a
fixed non-zero number.
(a) ∑ (u n ± vn) = s ± t
(b) ∑ ku n = ks, k ∈ R

Example 3: Convergent and Divergent Geometric Series

(a) The geometric series

has a ratio of r = 1/2 with a = 3, Because 0 <Irl< 1, the series converges and its
sum is

(b) The geometric series

has a ratio of r = 3/2. Because Irl ≥ 1. the series diverge.

Example 4: A Geometric Series for a Repeating Decimal

Use a geometric series to write as the ratio of two integers.
Solution: For the repeating decimal , you can write

For this series, you have a = 8/102 and r = 1/102. So.

Theorem : Limit of nth Term of a Convergent Series

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If an converges, then an = 0.
Proof: Assume that

an = Sn = L
Then, because S n = S n-1 + a n and
it follows that

which implies that {a n} converges to 0.

Theorem : nth Term Test for Divergence
If

Example 5: Using the nth Term Test for Divergence

(a) For the series 2n. we have

So, the limit of the nth term is not 0 and the series diverges.

(b) For the series .

So, the limit of the nth term is not 0 and the series diverges.

(c) For the series 1/n, we have

1/n = 0
Because the limit of the nth term is 0. The nth-Term Test for Divergence does
not apply and you can draw no conclusion about convergence or divergence.

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Tests of Convergence of Series

Some important comparison series

1. Geometric series
∑un = 1 + r + r 2 + r 3 + ... + rn-1 + r n + ....

• is convergent, when I r I < 1

• is divergent, when r ≥ 1
• is oscillating finitely, when r = -1
• is oscillating infinitely, when r < -1

2. Hyperharmonic series (or p-series)

• is convergent when p > 1

• is divergent, when p ≤ 1

3. The Auxiliary Series

The series is convergent if p > 1 and divergent if p

≤ 1.

Comparison Test

Test I. First Comparison Test

Let ∑u n and ∑v n be two positive term series such that
un ≤ k vn ∀ n ≥ m. ...(1)
(k being a fixed positive number and m a fixed positive integers)
Then
(i) ∑vn converges ⇒ ∑un converges.
(ii) ∑un diverges ⇒ ∑un diverges.
Proof: Let <Sn> and <T n> be the sequence of partial sums of the series ∑u n and
∑vn respectively.
For n ≥ m, we have
Sn - Sm = (u 1 + u2 + ... + um + um+1 + um+2 + ... + u n) - (u1 + u2 + ... + um)
or Sn - Sm = um+1 + um+2 + ... + un. ... (2)
Similarly,
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Tn - Tm = vm+1 + vm+2 + ... + vn. .... (3)

From (1) and (2), we obtain
Sn - Sm ≤ k (vm+1 + vm+2 + ...vn )
or Sn - Sm ≤ k (Tn - Tm) using (3)
or Sn ≤ k Tn +a, ... (4)
where a = Sm - k Tm is a fixed number.
(i) Suppose ∑ v n converges.
The sequence <T n> of partial sums of ∑v n is bounded above i.e., there exists a
positive real number t such that
Tn ≤ t ∀ n. ...(5)
From (4) and (5),
Sn ≤ kt + a ∀ n.
Thus the sequence <S n > of partial sums of ∑u n is bounded above and so ∑u n is
convergent.
(ii) Suppose ∑un diverges.

Then Sn = + ∞ .... (6)

From (4) and (6), we obtain

It follows that the sequence <T n> of partial sums of the series ∑u n diverges and
so ∑vn diverges.

Example 1: Test for convergence the series:

(i) 1/logn,

(ii) 1/n2logn
Solution: (i) We know log n < n for all n ≥ 2.

Since ∑1/n diverges, so by First Comparison Test, 1/log n, diverges.

(ii) We know

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Since ∑1/n converges, so by First Comparison Test, converges

Example 2: Test for the convergence of the series:

Solution: We that n ! ≥ 2 n-1 ∀ n ≥ 2.

∴
Now

being a geometric series with common ratio 1/2 < 1 is

convergent. Hence, by First Comparison Test, ∑1/n! is convergent.
Test II. Second Comparison Test
If ∑un and ∑vn are two positive term series such that

....(1)
Then
(i) ∑vn converges ⇒ ∑un converges,
(ii) ∑un diverges ⇒ ∑vn diverges,
Proof: For n ≥ m, we have

Thus

∴ un ≤ k v n ∀ n ≥ m, ....(2)
where k = um/vm is a fixed positive number.
(i) ∑vn converges ⇒ ∑un converges,
(ii) ∑un diverges ⇒ ∑vn diverges.
Test III. Limit Form Test

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Let ∑u n and ∑v n be two positive term series such that

(I is finite and non-zero).

Then ∑un and ∑vn converge or diverge together.

Proof: Since u n/vn > 0 for all n, so

Thus / > 0, as / ≠ 0
Let ε > 0 be some number such that / - ε > 0.

Since un/vn = /, so there exists a positive integer m such that

or / - ε < un/v n < / + ε ∀ n ≥ m, where v n > 0 ∀ n.

∴ (/ - ε) vn < un < (/ + ε) vn ∀ n ≥ m. ....(1)
From (1), we consider
un < (/ - ε) vn ∀ n ≥ m. ....(2)
(Here / + ε is a fixed positive number)
Applying First Comparison Test in (2), we obtain

... (A)
From (1), we consider
(/ - ε) vn < un ∀ n ≥ m
or vn <kun ∀ n ≥ m, ....(3)
where k = 1// - ε > 0 is a fixed number.
Applying First Comparison Test in (3), we obtain

...(b)
From (A) and (B), it follows that
∑un converges ⇔ ∑vn converges,
∑vn diverges ⇔ ∑vn diverges.
Hence the two series ∑un and ∑vn converge or diverge together.
Remark

• In order to apply the Limit form test to a given series ∑un, we have to select
a series ∑vn (which is usually a p-series) in which the n th term of
vn behaves as un, for large values of n.

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Example 3: Test each of the following series for convergence:

(i)

(ii)
Solution:

(i)

The nth term of this series of

So ∑u n and ∑vn converge or diverge together (Limit From Test).

Since converges, so ∑u n converges.

(ii)

The nth term is

Now and finite.

So ∑u n and ∑vn converge or diverge together.
Since ∑vn = ∑1/n diverges, so ∑u n diverges.

Example 4: Test for convergence the series

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Solution: We have

Let

Now

So ∑u n and ∑vn converge or diverge together.

Example 5: Test for converges the series

Solution: We have

Let

So ∑u n and ∑vn converge or diverge together.

Since ∑vn = E 1/n2 converges, so the given series ∑u n also converges.

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