1 Algebra - Partial Fractions

Definition 1.1 A polynomial P (x) in x is a function that may be written in the form

P (x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + ... + a1 x + a0 .

an 6= 0 and n is the degree of the polynomial, n = deg(P ).

an , an−1 , ..., a1 , a0 are given real numbers called coefficients.
an xn is the leading term, an the leading coefficient, and a0 is the constant term.

Note: n is a non-negative integer and is the highest power of x occurring.

Example 1.2 The following are polynomials in x:

x3 + 3x2 − 2 (4x + 1)(x − 2)
1 6 2
2
x − 17x + 1 3

Example 1.3 The above polynomials have the following degrees:

3 2
6 0

Definition 1.4 A rational function R(x) is the ratio of two polynomials N (x), D(x)
N (x)
R(x) =
D(x)
R(x) is called proper if deg(N ) < deg(D) and improper if deg(N ) ≥ deg(D).

Example 1.5 The rational functions on the left are proper, while those on the right are im-
proper:

x+1 x3 + x2 + 1
x2 + 5x + 6 x2 + 2x − 1

x2 x5 − 1
x3 + 1 x5 + 1

Theorem 1.6 An improper rational function, R(x), may be expressed as the sum of a polyno-
mial Q(x) and a proper rational function.
N M
=Q+
D D
where deg(M ) < deg(D) and deg(Q) = deg(N ) − deg(D)
Example 1.7 (1)
x 1
=1−
x+1 x+1
(2)
x6 − 2x4 + x2 − 2 12x + 10
2
= x4 + x3 + x2 + 3x + 6 + 2
x −x−2 x −x−2
Corollary 1.8 If M = 0 then N = QD and so D is a factor of N (i.e. N factorises into QD).

An important special case occurs when the denominator is linear D(x) = x − a,

N (x) M
= Q(x) +
x−a x−a
where M is now a number.

Corollary 1.9 The Remainder Theorem: M = N (a)

N (x) = (x − a)Q(x) + N (a)

Corollary 1.10 x − a is a factor of the polynomial N (x) if and only if N (a) = 0.

The process of finding Q(x), M (x) is called polynomial long division.

Example 1.11 Let

N (x) x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4
R(x) = = ,
D(x) x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2
then

x− 2 = Q(x) quotient
x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2 x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4
x4 + 4x3 + 5x2 + 2x
−2x3 − 7x2 − 3x + 4
−2x3 − 8x2 − 10x − 4
x2 + 7x + 8 = M (x) remainder

Hence
x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 x2 + 7x + 8
= x − 2 +
x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2 x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2
x2 + 7x + 8
and 3 is proper, as required.
x + 4x2 + 5x + 2
We may combine two rational functions into one by cross-multiplying, e.g.
1 2 1(x + 2) + 2(x − 1) 3x
+ = = 2
x−1 x+2 (x − 1)(x + 2) x +x−2
It is sometimes necessary (e.g. integration) to carry out the reverse procedure, i.e. to split a
rational function into the sum of two (or more) simpler ones, known as summands. There are
five steps.

(I) Use long division to obtain a proper rational function.

(II) Factorise the denominator.
(III) Select the summand types.
(IV) Cross–multiply to get rid of the denominator.
(V) Determine the constants.

Note: In step (II) it is always possible to factorise a polynomial so that all the factors are linear
(of the form ax + b) or irreducible quadratics (of the form ax2 + bx + c where b2 < 4ac).

1.0.1 Summand Types

If the denominator has

Type 1: a unique factor ax + b, then there will be a summand of the form

A
,
ax + b
where A is a constant to be determined.

Type 2: precisely n factors ax + b, then there will be summands of the form

A1 A2 A3 An
, 2
, 3
, ..., ,
ax + b (ax + b) (ax + b) (ax + b)n
where the n constants A1 , A2 , A3 , ..., An are to be determined.

Type 3: a unique factor ax2 + bx + c, then there will be a summand of the form

Ax + B
,
ax2 + bx + c
where A and B are a constants to be determined.

Type 4: precisely n factors ax2 + bx + c, then there will be summands of the form

A1 x + B1 A2 x + B2 A 3 x + B3 An x + Bn
, , , ..., ,
ax2 + bx + c (ax2 + bx + c)2 (ax2 + bx + c)3 (ax2 + bx + c)n
where the 2n constants A1 , A2 , A3 , ..., An and B1 , B2 , B3 , ..., Bn are to be determined.
Example 1.12 Let f (x) be any polynomial such that each of the given rational functions is
proper:

Summands:

f (x) A B
= +
(x + 1)(x − 2) x+1 x−2

f (x) A B C D
= + + +
(x + 1)3 (x − 2) x + 1 (x + 1) 2 (x + 1) 3 x−2

f (x) Ax + B C
= +
(x2 + 1)(x − 2) 2
x +1 x−2

f (x) Ax + B Cx + D E
= + 2 +
(x2 + 1)2 (x − 2) 2
x +1 (x + 1) 2 x−2

1.0.2 Finding the Constants

Having chosen the summands, the next step is to find the values of the ‘constants to be deter-
mined’. First, multiply both sides by the left–hand denominator.
(1) Method of Convenient Values

Example 1.13 Split

5x − 1
x2−x−2
into partial fractions.
5x − 1 5x − 1
=
x2 −x−2 (x + 1)(x − 2)
A B
= +
x+1 x−2
A(x + 1)(x − 2) B(x + 1)(x − 2)
5x − 1 = +
(x + 1) (x − 2)
= A(x − 2) + B(x + 1)

Let x = −1 then −6 = −3A and A = 2

Let x = 2 then 9 = 3B and B = 3.
Hence
5x − 1 2 3
= + .
x2 −x−2 x+1 x−2
Always check your answer by combining back into a single rational function:
2 3 2(x − 2) + 3(x + 1) 5x − 1
+ = = .
x+1 x−2 (x + 1)(x − 2) (x + 1)(x − 2)
(2) Method of Comparing Coefficients

Example 1.14 Split

x2 + 1
x3 + 7x
into partial fractions
x2 + 1 x2 + 1 A Bx + C
= = + 2
x3 + 7x x(x2 + 7) x x +7
Ax(x2 + 7) (Bx + C)x(x2 + 7)
x2 + 1 = +
x (x2 + 7)
x2 + 1 = A(x2 + 7) + (Bx + C)x

Let x = 0 then 1 = 7A and A = 17 .

6
Comparing coefficients of x2 gives 1 = A + B. Hence B = 7
Comparing coefficients of x gives 0 = C i.e. C = 0. So
1 6
x2 + 1 x
3
= + 27
7
x + 7x x x +7
1 6x
= +
7x 7(x2 + 7)
Example 1.15 Split the improper rational function
x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4
x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2
into partial fractions.
The first step is to use polynomial long division,
x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 x2 + 7x + 8
= x − 2 +
x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2 x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2
The second step is to factorise the cubic denominator f (x) = x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2.
Now f(0)=2, f(1)=12, f(-1)=0. By the factor theorem x + 1 is a factor. Hence

x3 + 4x2 + 5x + 2 = (x + 1)(x2 + ax + b) = (x + 1)(x2 + 3x + 2)

Now take the proper rational function and split into partial fractions
x2 + 7x + 8 x2 + 7x + 8 A B C
3 2
= 2
= + 2
+
x + 4x + 5x + 2 (x + 1) (x + 2) x + 1 (x + 1) x+2
Cross–multiplying:
2 A(x + 1)2 (x + 2) B(x + 1)2 (x + 2) C(x + 1)2 (x + 2)
x + 7x + 8 = + +
(x + 1) (x + 1)2 (x + 2)
= A(x + 1)(x + 2) + B(x + 2) + C(x + 1)2
Let x = −1 then 2 = B.
Let x = −2 then −2 = C.
Comparing coefficients of x2 gives 1 = A + C and so A = 3. Hence
x2 + 7x + 8 3 2 2
3 2
= + 2
−
x + 4x + 5x + 2 x + 1 (x + 1) x+2
Finally
x4 + 2x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 3 2 2
3 2
=x−2 + + 2
−
x + 4x + 5x + 2 x + 1 (x + 1) x+2

2 Algebra - Sequences and Series

Definition 2.1 A sequence is an ordered set of numbers, each being called a term.

Example 2.2
2, 5, 10, 17, 26, ..., k 2 + 1, ..., 10001
is a sequence of 100 numbers, the k th term being obtained by squaring k and adding 1. The
term k 2 + 1 is known as the general term.

Definition 2.3 A series is the sum of the terms in a sequence.

Example 2.4 The series corresponding to the example above is

2 + 5 + 10 + 17 + 26 + ... + (k 2 + 1) + ... + 10001

The sum is 338450.

Often, the sigma notation is used with series. The series in the example would be written as
100
X
(k 2 + 1)
k=1

It is also possible to have sequences and series with infinitely many terms. The sum of an
infinite series is defined as a limit, which may or may not exist. For example, in
X ∞
3
k
= 0.3 + 0.03 + 0.003 + 0.0003 + ... = 0.3333...
k=1
10

we can say that the sum of this series is 13 .

In this section, we will concentrate on two special types of sequence, the arithmetic and
geometric progressions, and their associated series.
Definition 2.5 An arithmetic progression is a sequence of the form:

a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, ..., a + (k − 1)d, ..., a + (n − 1)d

where a and d are constants: a is the first term and d the common difference.

Each term is obtained by adding d to the previous term. Note that the k th term is a + (k − 1)d.

Example 2.6
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, ..., 77

is an arithmetic progression with a = 5 and d = 2.

Theorem 2.7 The sum Sn of the first n terms of an arithmetic progression is

1
Sn = n (2a + (n − 1)d)
2
Proof: We write down the sum twice: once forwards, then backwards, and add them.

Sn = a + (a + d) +...+ (a + (n − 2)d) + (a + (n − 1)d)

Sn = (a + (n − 1)d) + (a + (n − 2)d) +...+ (a + d) + a
2Sn = (2a + (n − 1)d) + (2a + (n − 1)d) +...+ (2a + (n − 1)d) + (2a + (n − 1)d)

Note that all of the terms in 2Sn are the same, and there are n of them. Hence, we see that
Sn = 21 n (2a + (n − 1)d) as required.

Example 2.8 Find the sum of the 37 terms of the sequence

5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, ..., 77

Solution: We have a = 5 and d = 2, so Sn = 12 37 (10 + (37 − 1)2) = 1517. Note that since the
last term is a + (n − 1)d, we can rewrite the formula Sn = 12 n(a + z), where z is the last term.

Example 2.9 Find the sum of the first n natural numbers:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ... + (n − 1) + n

Solution: We have a = 1 and d = 1, so Sn = 21 n (2 + (n − 1)) = 12 n(n + 1).

Example 2.10 The 8th term of an arithmetic progression is − 12 , and the 13th term is −8. Find
the first term, the common difference, and the sum of the first 15 terms.
Solution: We can solve for a and d:
 13th term = a + 12d = −8
8th term = a + 7d = − 12
subtracting 5d = − 15
2

¡ ¢
which gives d = − 32 . Substituting, we get a = 10. Now, the sum S15 = 21 15 20 + (14).− 32 =
− 15
2
.

Definition 2.11 A geometric progression is a sequence of the following form

a, ar, ar2 , ar3 , ..., ark−1 , ..., arn−1

where a and r are constants: a is the first term and r is the common ratio.

Example 2.12
3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, ...
is a geometric progression with a = 3 and r = 2.
1 1 1 1
1, , , , , ...
2 4 8 16
is a geometric progression with a = 1 and r = 21 .

Theorem 2.13 The sum Sn of the first n terms of a geometric progression is

a (1 − rn )
Sn =
1−r
if r 6= 1. Otherwise if r = 1 then Sn = an.

Proof: The case when r = 1 is obvious, so we assume r 6= 1. Now

Sn = a + ar + ar2 +...+ arn−2 + arn−1

multiplying by r:
rSn = ar + ar2 + ar3 +...+ arn−1 + arn
and subtracting
(1 − r)Sn = a − arn

from which we deduce the result.

Example 2.14 Calculate the sum of the first six terms of a geometric progression with a = 1
and r = 10.
Solution: Using the formula:
1. (1 − 106 ) −999999
S6 = = = 111111
1 − 10 −9
which is as expected as the series is

1 + 10 + 100 + 1000 + 10000 + 100000

Example 2.15 In the following geometric progression

3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, ...

after how many terms will the sum be greater than 9999 ?
Solution: We have a = 3 and r = 2. The formula for Sn is
3. (1 − 2n )
Sn = = 3 (2n − 1)
1−2
so we must find n for which 3 (2n − 1) > 9999. This means that 2n − 1 > 3333 or 2n > 3334.
We can use logarithms to solve this:

2n > 3334 =⇒ ln 2n > ln 3334

ln 3334
=⇒ n ln 2 > ln 3334 =⇒ n >
ln 2
and using a calculator
8.112
n> = 11.703
0.693
and so after 12 terms, the sum will be greater than 9999 (in fact it is 12285).

Example 2.16 Calculate the sum of the first eight terms of a geometric progression with a = 1
and r = 21 .
Solution: Using the formula:
³ ´
8
1. 1 − 12 28 −1
2. (28 − 1) 510
28
S8 = = = = ≈ 1.992
1 − 21 1
2
28 256
In fact, if we continue adding terms of the above progression, we get values closer and closer
to 2. This is an example of a convergent series. Provided |r| < 1 a geometric series always
converges, and the sum can be computed by the following formula.

Theorem 2.17 The sum to infinity S∞ of a geometric progression with |r| < 1 is
a
S∞ =
1−r
a (1 − rn )
Proof: We have Sn = , and we note that as n gets larger, the value of rn becomes
1−r
smaller, since |r| < 1. In fact, we can say that as n → ∞, rn → 0. Thus, letting n → ∞ in Sn ,
we get
a (1 − 0) a
S∞ = =
1−r 1−r
which completes the proof.
Example 2.18 We check the aforementioned series:

0.3, 0.03, 0.003, 0.0003, 0.00003, ...

a
which has first term a = 0.3 and common ratio r = 0.1. The sum to infinity is S∞ = =
1−r
0.3
= 13 as we would expect.
1 − 0.1

3 Algebra - Binomial Theorem

The binomial theorem is used when we want to multiply out expressions of the form (a + b)n .
We shall limit ourselves to the case where n is a positive integer, but there are analogues for
negative, and non–integer values of n
(a + b)1 = a+b
2
(a + b) = a2 + 2ab + b2
(a + b)3 = a3 + 3a2 b + 3ab2 + b3
(a + b)4 = a4 + 4a3 b + 6a2 b2 + 4ab3 + b4
(a + b)5 = a5 + 5a4 b + 10a3 b2 + 10a2 b3 + 5ab4 + b5

In each term of the expansions, the power of a plus the power of b is equal to n, i.e. each term
is of the form an−r br , where r takes the values 0, 1, ..., n successively, multiplied by a number
called a coefficient. The coefficients in the expansions may be written as follows.

Pascal’s Triangle
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1
1 8 28 56 70 56 28 8 1
Thus, the coefficients in the expansions may be obtained from the numbers in Pascal’s
Triangle. Denote
à this coefficient by n Cr then each term is of the form n Cr an−r br . An alternative
!
n
notation is . An alternative way of writing n Cr is
r
Definition 3.1 k!, pronounced k factorial is the product of all integers from k down to 1, i.e.

k! = k(k − 1)(k − 2)...3.2.1

Also 0! = 1.

For example 5! = 5.4.3.2.1 = 120.

Proposition 3.2 For any positive integer n, and r = 0, 1, ..., n n then

n!
Cr =
(n − r)!r!
Example 3.3 In the case n = 5, we compute the coefficients:
5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C0 = = =1
5!0! 5.4.3.2.1.1

5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C1 = = =5
4!1! 4.3.2.1.1

5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C2 = = = 10
3!2! 3.2.1.2.1

5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C3 = = = 10
2!3! 2.1.3.2.1

5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C4 = = =5
1!4! 1.4.3.2.1

5 5! 5.4.3.2.1
C5 = = =1
0!5! 1.5.4.3.2.1

giving the fifth row of Pascal’s triangle.

Theorem 3.4 The Binomial Theorem If n is a positive integer, and a and b are any
numbers then
n
X
n n
(a + b) = Cr an−r br
r=0

n!
where n Cr = .
(n − r)!r!
Example 3.5

(a + b)5 = 5 C0 a5 b0 + 5 C1 a4 b + 5 C2 a3 b2 + 5 C3 a2 b3 + 5 C4 ab4 + 5 C5 a0 b5

= a5 + 5a4 b + 10a3 b2 + 10a2 b3 + 5ab4 + b5 .

An alternative way of writing is
5 5×4 3 2 5×4×3 2 3 5×4×3×2 4
(a + b)5 = a5 + a4 b + ab + ab + ab + b5 .
1 2×1 3×2×1 4×3×2×1
= a5 + 5a4 b + 10a3 b2 + 10a2 b3 + 5ab4 + b5 .

as before

Example 3.6 Expanding (1 + 2x)5 , we let a = 1 and b = 2x, which gives:

(1 + 2x)5 = a5 + 5a4 b + 10a3 b2 + 10a2 b3 + 5ab4 + b5

= 1 + 5(2x) + 10(2x)2 + 10(2x)3 + 5(2x)4 + (2x)5

= 1 + 10x + 40x2 + 80x3 + 80x4 + 16x5

Example 3.7 Approximate (0.98)5 to 4 decimal places.

Solution: We use the previous example, substituting x = −0.01:

(0.98) = 1 − 0.1 + 0.004 − 0.00008 + ... ≈ 0.9039

(we don’t care about the last two terms as they are obviously insignificant to 4 decimal places).

Example 3.8 Find the coefficient of x2 in the expansion of (3x − x1 )8 .

Solution: We need the term where xr ( x1 )8−r = x2 , which is clearly when r = 5. Now we have

8 8! 8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1
C5 = = = 56
3!5! 3.2.1.5.4.3.2.1
and so the required term is 56(3x)5 (− x1 )3 = −56.35 x2 = −13608x2 .