11.

INFINITE SEQUENCES AND SERIES

11.1 Sequences

A sequence is a list of numbers

a1 , a2 , a3 , , an ,

in a given order. Each of a1 , a2 , a3 and so on represents a number. These are the terms of the

sequence. For example the sequence

2, 4,6,8,10,12, , 2n,

has first term a1 = 2, second term a2 = 4 and nth term an = 2n. The integer n is called the

index of an , and indicates where an occurs in the list. We can think of the sequence

a1 , a2 , a3 , , an ,

as a function that sends 1 to a1 , 2 to a 2 , 3 to a3 , and in general sends the positive integer n to

the nth term an . This leads to the formal definition of a sequence.

DEFINITION (Infinite Sequence)

An infinite sequence of numbers is a function whose domain is the set of positive

integers.

(See pages 747-748 for more detailed information.)

Convergence and Divergence

Sometimes the numbers in a sequence approach a single value as the index n increases.

This happens in the sequence

 1 1 1 1 
1, , , , , , 
 2 3 4 n 

whose terms approach 0 as n gets large, and in the sequence

 1 2 3 4 1 
0, , , , , ,1 − , 
 2 3 4 5 n 

whose terms approach 1. On the other hand, sequences like

  1, 2, 3, , n, 
have terms that get larger than any number as n increases, and sequences like

1, −1,1, −1,1, −1, , ( −1)

n+1
, 
bounce back and forth between 1 and −1, never converging to a single value. The following
definition captures the meaning of having a sequence converge to a limiting value. It says that
if we go far enough out in the sequence, by taking the index n to be larger then some value N,
the difference between an and the limit of the sequence becomes less than any preselected

number   0 .

DEFINITIONS (Converges, Diverges, Limit)

The sequence an  converges to the number L if to every positive number  there

corresponds an integer N such that for all n,

n  N  an − L   .

If no such number L exists, we say that an  diverges.

If an  converges to L, we write lim an = L , or simply an → L and call L the limit of

n →

the sequence (Figure 11.2, p.749).

The definition is very similar to the definition of the limit of a function f ( x ) as x

tends to  . We will exploit this connection to calculate limits of sequences (See the examples
on 749-750).

DEFINITION (Diverges to Infinity)

The sequence an  diverges to infinity if for every number M there is an integer N

such that for all n larger than N , an  M . If this condition holds we write

lim an =  or an → .
n →

Similarly if for every number m there is an integer N such that for all n  N we have
an  m , then we say an  diverges to negative infinity and write
 lim an = − or an → −.
n →

A sequence may diverge without diverging to infinity or negative infinity. We saw

this in Example 2, and the sequences 1, −2,3, −4,5, −6, 7, −8,  and 1, 0, 2, 0,3, 0,  are also

examples of such divergence.

Calculating Limits of Sequences

If we always had to use the formal definition of the limit of a sequence, calculating
with  ’s and N’s, then computing limits of sequences would be a formidable task.
Fortunately we can derive a few basic examples, and then use these to quickly analyze the
limits of many more sequences. We will need to understand how to combine and compare
sequences. Since sequences are functions with domain restricted to the positive integers, it is
not too surprising that the theorems on limits of functions given in Chapter 2 have versions
for sequences.

THEOREM 1

Let an  and bn  be sequences of real numbers and let A and B be real numbers. The

following rules hold if lim an = A and lim bn = B.

n → n →

1. Sum Rule: lim ( an + bn ) = A + B

n →

2. Difference Rule: lim ( an − bn ) = A − B

n →

3. Product Rule: lim ( an  bn ) = A  B

n →

4. Constant Multiple Rule: lim ( k  bn ) = k  B ( k is any number )

n →

an A
5. Quotient Rule: lim = if B  0.
n → bn B

(See example 3 on 751.)

THEOREM 2 (The Sandwich Theorem for Sequences)

Let an  , bn  , and cn  be sequences of real numbers. If an  bn  cn holds

 for all n beyond some index N, and if lim an = lim cn = L , then lim bn = L also.
n → n → n →

An immediate consequence of Theorem 2 is that, if bn  cn and cn → 0 , then bn → 0

because −cn  bn  cn . We use this fact in the next example (See example 4 on 752).

The application of Theorems 1 and 2 is broadened by a theorem stating that applying a

continuous function to a convergent sequence produces a convergent sequence.

THEOREM 3 (The Continuous Function Theorem for Sequences)

Let an  be a sequence of real numbers. If an → L and if ƒ is a function that is

continuous at L and defined at all an , then f ( an ) → f ( L ) .

(See examples 5 and 6 on page 752.)

Using l’Hôpital’s Rule

The next theorem enables us to use l’Hôpital’s Rule to find the limits of some
sequences. It formalizes the connection between lim an and lim f ( x ) .
n → x →

THEOREM 4

Suppose that f ( x ) is a function defined for all x  n0 and that an  is a sequence of

real numbers such that an = f ( n ) for n  n0 . Then

lim f ( x ) = L  lim an = L.
x → n →

(See the proof on pages 752-753 and also examples 7 and 8).

EXAMPLE 9 (Applying L’Hôpital’s Rule to Determine Convergence)

Does the sequence whose nth term is

 n +1 
n

an =  
 n −1 

converge? If so, find lim an .

n →

Solution The limit leads to the indeterminate form 1 . We can apply l’Hôpital’s Rule
if we first change the form to  0 by taking the natural logarithm of an :
  n +1   n +1 
n

ln an = ln   = n ln  .
 n −1   n −1 

Then,

1  n + 1 
 n +1 n + 1  n − 1 
ln  
 n + 1  0  n − 1  0/0
lim ln an = lim n ln   = lim = lim n − 1
n → n →
 n − 1  n→ 1/ n n → −1/ n 2
n − 1 n − 1 − ( n + 1) n − 1 −2
−2 / ( n 2 − 1)
. .
n +1 ( n − 1) n + 1 ( n − 1)2
2

= lim = lim = lim

n → −1/ n 2 n → −1/ n 2 n → −1/ n 2
2n 2
= lim = 2.
n → n 2 − 1

Since ln an → 2 and f ( x ) = e x is continuous, Theorem 4 tells us that

an = e ln an → e 2 .

The sequence an  converges to e2 .

Commonly Occurring Limits

The next theorem gives some limits that arise frequently.

THEOREM 5
The following six sequences converge to the limits listed below:

ln n
1. lim =0
n → n

2. lim n n = 1
n →

3. lim x1/ n = 1
n →
( x  0)

4. lim x n = 0
n →
( x  1)
n
 x
5. lim 1 +  = e x ( any x )
n →
 n
 xn
6. lim
n → n !
=0 ( any x )

In Formulas (3) through (6), x remains fixed as n →  .

(See proof and example 10 on pages 754-755.)

Recursive Definitions

So far, we have calculated each an directly from the value of n. But sequences are

often defined recursively by giving

1. The value(s) of the initial term or terms, and

2. A rule, called a recursion formula, for calculating any later term from terms that
precede it (See example 11 on 755).

Bounded Nondecreasing Sequences

The terms of a general sequence can bounce around, sometimes getting larger,
sometimes smaller. An important special kind of sequence is one for which each term is at
least as large as its predecessor.

DEFINITION (Nondecreasing Sequence)

A sequence an  with the property that an  an +1 for all n is called a nondecreasing

sequence (See example 12 on 755).

DEFINITIONS (Bounded, Upper Bound, Least Upper Bound)

A sequence an  is bounded from above if there exists a number M such that

an  M for all n. The number M is an upper bound for an  . If M is an upper bound for

an  but no number less than M is an upper bound for an  , then M is the least upper bound
for an  .

(See example 13 on 756.)

THEOREM 6 (The Nondecreasing Sequence Theorem)

A nondecreasing sequence of real numbers converges if and only if it is bounded from

above. If a nondecreasing sequence converges, it converges to its least upper bound.
 Theorem 6 implies that a nondecreasing sequence converges when it is bounded from

above. It diverges to infinity if it is not bounded from above.

11.2 Infinite Series

DEFINITIONS (Infinite Series, nth Term, Partial Sum, Converges, Sum)

Given a sequence of numbers an  , an expression of the form

a1 + a2 + a3 + + an +

is an infinite series. The number an is the nth term of the series. The sequence sn  defined

by

s1 = a1
s2 = a1 + a2

n
sn = a1 + a2 + + an =  ak
k =1

is the sequence of partial sums of the series, the number sn being the nth partial sum. If the

sequence of partial sums converges to a limit L, we say that the series converges and that its
sum is L. In this case, we also write

n
a1 + a2 + + an + =  an = L.
n =1

If the sequence of partial sums of the series does not converge, we say that the series diverges.

Geometric Series

Geometric series are series of the form


a + ar + ar 2 + + ar n −1 + =  ar n −1
n =1


in which a and r are fixed real numbers and a  0. The series can also be written as  ar
n =0
n
.

The ratio r can be positive, as in

 n−1
1 1 1
1+ + + +  + ,
2 4 2

or negative, as in

n−1
1 1  1
1− + − +−  + .
3 9  3

If r = 1, the nth partial sum of the geometric series is

sn = a + a (1) + a (1) + + a (1)

n −1
= na,
2

and the series diverges because lim sn =  , depending on the sign of a. If r = −1 , the series
n →

diverges because the nth partial sums alternate between a and 0. If r  1, we can determine

the convergence or divergence of the series in the following way:

sn = a + ar + ar 2 + + ar n −1
rsn = ar + ar 2 + + ar n −1 + ar n
sn − rsn = a − ar n
sn (1 − r ) = a (1 − r n )
a (1 − r n )
sn = , ( r  1) .
1− r

If r  1 , then r n → 0 as n →  and sn → a / (1 − r ) . If r  1 , then r n →  and the series

diverges.

If r  1, the geometric series a + ar + ar 2 + + ar n −1 + converges to a / (1 − r ) :


a
 ar
n =1
n −1
=
1− r
, r  1.

If r  1, the series diverges.

We have determined when a geometric series converges or diverges, and to what

value. Often we can determine that a series converges without knowing the value to which
it converges, as we will see in the next several sections. The formula a / (1 − r ) for the sum of

a geometric series applies only when the summation index begins with n = 1 in the expression
 

 ar n−1 (or with the index n = 0 if we write the series as

n =1
 ar
n =0
n
).

(See examples 1-5 on pages 764-766.)

Divergent Series

One reason that a series may fail to converge is that its terms don’t become small.

(See example 6 on page 766)

The nth-Term Test for Divergence


Observe that lim an must equal zero if the series
n →
a
n =1
n converges. To see why, let S

represent the series’ sum and sn = a1 + a2 + + an the nth partial sum. When n is large, both

sn and sn−1 are close to S , so their difference, an , is close to zero. More formally,

an = sn − sn−1 → S − S = 0.

This establishes the following theorem.

THEOREM 7


If a
n =1
n converges, then an → 0 .

The nth-Term Test for Divergence

a
n =1
n diverges if lim an fails to exist or is different from zero.
n →

(See examples on page 767).

Combining Series

Whenever we have two convergent series, we can add them term by term, subtract
them term by term, or multiply them by constants to make new convergent series.
 THEOREM 8

If a n = A and b n = B are convergent series, then

1. Sum Rule: (a n + bn ) =  an +  bn = A + B

2. Difference Rule: (a n − bn ) =  an −  bn = A − B

3. Constant Multiple Rule:  ka n = k  an = kA (Any number k ).

(See proof on page 767)

As corollaries of Theorem 8, we have

1. Every nonzero constant multiple of a divergent series diverges.

2. If a n converges and b n diverges, then (a n + bn ) and (a n − bn ) both

diverge.

CAUTION Remember that (a n + bn ) can converge when a n and b n both

diverge. For example, a n = 1+1+1+ and  b = ( −1) + ( −1) + ( −1) +

n diverge,

whereas (a n + bn ) = 0 + 0 + 0 + converges to 0.

(See example 9 on page 768).

Adding or Deleting Terms

We can add a finite number of terms to a series or delete a finite number of terms
without altering the series’ convergence or divergence, although in the case of convergence
 
this will usually change the sum. If  an converges, then
n =1
a
n=k
n converges for any k  1 and

 

 an = a1 + a2 +
n =1
+ ak −1 +  an .
n=k

 
Conversely, if a
n=k
n converges for any k  1, then a n =1
n converges. Thus,

 
1 1 1 1 1

n =1 5
n
= + + + 
5 25 125 n = 4 5n
and


1   1 1 1 1
5
n=4
n
=  n − − −
 n =1 5  5 25 125
.

Reindexing

As long as we preserve the order of its terms, we can reindex any series without
altering its convergence. To raise the starting value of the index h units, replace the n in the
formula for an by n − h :

 

 an =
n =1
a
n =1+ h
n−h = a1 + a2 + a3 + .

To lower the starting value of the index h units, replace the n in the formula for an by

n+h:

 

a
n =1
n = a
n =1− h
n+h = a1 + a2 + a3 + .

It works like a horizontal shift. We saw this in starting a geometric series with the index n = 0
instead of the index n = 1, but we can use any other starting index value as well. We usually
give preference to indexings that lead to simple expressions.

(See example 10 on page 769)