Special Series

Convergence of Power Series

MATH115

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lecture presentation, the students

should be able to:
Recognize the three special kinds of series (arithmetic,
harmonic and geometric)
Determine the radius of convergence of power series

Series

A series is a summed list of numbers

= 1 + 2 + 3 + . +

=1

Sn is the partial sum of n terms of the series

Special Series
Arithmetic series a series which has a constant difference
between terms.. the first term is , the common
difference is , and the number of terms is
= + + + + 2 + . + + 1

+ 1
=1

Example:

5 = 1 + 4 + 7 + 10 + 13

Special Series
Summing Arithmetic Series

= 2 + 1
2

Example:
= 1 + 2 + 3 + . +

= 1 +
2

Special Series
Geometric Series a series which has a constant ratio
between terms. the first term is , the common ratio is ,
and the number of terms is
= + + 2 + . . + 1

=
Example:

=1

6 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32

Series
Summing Geometric Series
2

= + + + . +

= + + 2 + . + 1
Closed Form:

1
=
1

Special Series
Infinite Geometric Series
= + + 2 + . .

As n increases:

=1

lim = lim
=

1
1

for r<1

Special Series
Harmonic Series
1 1 1
= 1 + + + + .
2 3 4

=
=1

Alternating Harmonic Series

1 1 1
= 1 + + .
2 3 4

=
=1

1 +1

Series Convergent
A series is convergent if the sequence of its partial sums
converges; in other words, it approaches a given number

The series

=1

will converge if
lim = 0

and will diverge otherwise

Series Convergent
The infinite series

=1

will converge if

lim =

and will diverge otherwise

Power Series

A Power Series is an infinite series of the form

= 0 + 1 0 + 2 0

=0

Where:
0 , 1 , 2 , coeff of the series (constant)

a variable
0
the center of the series

+ 3 0

Power Series

If in particular 0 = 0, the Power Series in powers of x is

= 0 + 1 + 2 2 + 3 3 +
=0

Familiar examples of power series are Maclaurin Series

Power Series
A power series could also be written as:

= 0 +
=1

Similarly,

= 0 + 1 + 2 2 +

=3

Convergence of Power Series

Since power series are functions of x and we know that not
every series will in fact exist, it then makes sense to ask if a
power series will exist for all values of x.
This question is answered by looking at the convergence of
the power series.
A power series will converge if

=
=0

is a finite number

Convergence of Power Series

Given a power series there will exist a number
0

so that the power series will converge for

0 <

and diverge for

0 >

This number (R) is called the Radius of Convergence

Convergence Interval
Convergence interval is formed if there are further values
of x for which the series converges
0 <
Divergence

Convergence

Divergence

0 +

Convergence of Power Series

To determine the radius of convergence of a power series,
ratio test can be used

=
=0

<1
>1
=1

+1
= lim

the series converges

the series diverges
the series may converge or diverge

Convergence of Power Series

To determine the radius of convergence of a power series,

ratio test can be used

0
=0

<1
>1
=1

+1 0
= lim

the series converges

the series diverges
the series may converge or diverge

+1

Sample Problems

Determine the radius of convergence for the following

power series.

5
3
1.
3.

=0

2.
=1

+1

=1

4.
=0

Sample Problems
Determine the radius of convergence and the interval of
convergence for the following power series.

2+1

+
3
4
1.
3.

=0

2.

=1

4+1

+2
51

=0

4.

=1

5+1

+3

2
4 8

END