5.2.

3 Difference method

Let f ( x) be a function of x and the r-th term of the series

n
 ur is of the form ur  f (r )  f (r  1) , then
r 1
n n
 ur    f (r )  f (r  1) 
r 1 r 1
  f (1)  f (0)    f (2)  f (1)    f (3)  f (2) 
  f (4)  f (3)   ...   f (n)  f (n  1) 
  f (0)  f (n)
 f (n)  f (0).

To conclude,
n
If ur   f  r   f  r  1  , then u r   f  n   f  0   .
r 1

Or equivalently
n
If kur   f  r   f  r  1 , then  ur 
1
 f  n   f  0   .
r 1 k
where k is a constant.

Note: If we fail to express ur into this form,

 f  r   f  r  1  , then this method cannot be used.

9
Example 8:

Express the r-th term of the series

1 2  2  3  3  4  ...  r  (r  1)  ... as the difference of two
functions of r and r – 1. Hence find the sum of the first n
terms of the series.

Solution:

Step 1: Find the general form of the r-th term:

Step 2: Form another sequence f (r ) by adding one more

factor to the end of the general term ur :

Step 3: Find f (r  1) :

Step 4: Form the difference:

f (r )  f (r  1) 

Step 5: Find the sum :

10
Tips:

ur , of the series is in "product" form,

(A) If the general term,
you can add one more factor to the end of the general term ur , so
as to form a sequence f (r ) and then apply the difference
method.

ur , is in "quotient" form, you can

(B) If the general term,
remove one more factor at the end of the general term ur , so as
to form a sequence f (r ) and then apply the difference method.

Example 9:

By using the difference method, find the sum of the first n

terms of the series
1 1 1 1
   ...  .
2 3 3 4 4 5 (n  1)(n  2)

Example (10):

Use the difference method; find the sum of the series

n
2
  r  2  r  3 .
r 1

11
5.3 Test of Convergence

5.3.1 Divergence Test


If  ar converges, then lim ar  0 . Equivalently, if
r 1 r 

lim ar  0 , or lim ar does not exist, then the series is

r  r 

diverges.

Example (11):

n2
Show that the series  2 diverges.
n 1 5n  4

Example 12:
r
Use Divergence Test to determine whether  diverges
r 1 ln r
or not.

12
5.3.2 The Integral Test

Suppose f is a continuous, positive, decreasing function on


1,  and let ar  f  r  . Then the series  ar is convergent
r 1


if and only if the improper integral  f  x  dx is
1

convergent. In other words

 
(a) If  f  x  dx is convergent, then  a
1
r 1
r
is

convergent.
 
(b) If  f  x  dx is divergent, then  a
1
r 1
r
is divergent.

Note: Use this test when f  x  is easy to integrate.

13
Example 13:

Use the Integral Test to determine whether the following

series converges or diverges.

14
5.3.3 Ratio Test


Let  ar be an infinite series with positive terms and let
r 1
ar 1
  lim .
r  ar

a) If 0    1, the series converges.

b) If   1 , or    , the series diverges.
c) If   1, the test is inconclusive.

Example 14:
Use the Ratio Test to determine whether the following
series converges or diverges.

15
5.4 Power Series

Definition

A power series about x  0 is a series of the form



n
a x
n 0
n
 a0  a1 x  a2 x 2
 a3 x 3
 a n x n


A power series about x  a is a series of the form



n
a (
n 0
x  a ) n
 a0  a1 ( x  a )  a2 ( x  a ) 2
 a n ( x  a ) n


in which the center a and the coefficients

a0 , a1 , a2, , an , are constants.

16
5.4.1 Expansion of Exponent Function

The power series of the exponent function can be written as

1 2 1 3 1 4
e  1  x  x  x  x 
x

2! 3! 4!

The expansion is true for all values of x. In general,


1 n
e  x .
x

n 0 n !

Example (15):
Given
1 2 1 3 1 4 1 n
e  1  x  x  x  x  x 
x

2! 3! 4! n!
Write down the first five terms of the expansion of the
following functions
2x
(a) e
x 1
(b) e

Example (16):
Write down the first five terms on the expansion of the
function, 1  x  e
2 x
in the form of power series.
17
5.4.2 Expansion of Logarithmic Function

The expansion of logarithmic function can be written as

1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5
ln(1  x)  x  x  x  x  x
2 3 4 5
1 6 1 7
 x  x 
6 7

The series converges for 1  x  1. Thus the series

ln 1  x  is valid for 1  x  1.
By assuming x with  x , we obtain
1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5
ln(1  x)   x  x  x  x  x
2 3 4 5
1 6 1 7
 x  x 
6 7
Thus, this result is true for 1   x  1 or 1  x  1.

18
Example (17):

Write down the first five terms of the expansion of the

following functions
(a) ln 1  3x 

(b) 3ln 1  2 x 2
 1  3x 

Example (18):

Find the first four terms of the expansion of the function,

1  x  ln 1  2 x  .
2 3

19
5.4.3 Expansion of Trigonometric Function

The power series for trigonometric functions can be written

as
x3 x5 x 7 x9
sin x  x     
3! 5! 7! 9!
x 2 x 4 x 6 x8
cos x  1     
2! 4! 6! 8!

Both series are valid for all values of x.

Example (19):

Given
x 2 x 4 x 6 x8
cos x  1     
2! 4! 6! 8!
Find the expansion of cos  2x  and cos  3x  . Hence, by
using an appropriate trigonometric identity find the first
four terms of the expansion of the following functions:
(a) sin  x
2

(b) cos  x 
3

20
5.5 Taylor and the Maclaurin Series

Example 20:
Obtain the Taylor series for f ( x)  3x 2  6 x  5 around the point
x  1.
Ans: 2 + 3(x-1)2
Example 21:
Obtain Maclaurin series expansion for the first four terms of
e x and five terms of sin x . Hence, deduct that Maclaurin series for
1 1
e x sin x is given by x  x 2  x3  x5  ...
3 30

Example 22:
Use Taylor’s theorem to obtain a series expansion of first five
 
terms for cos  x   . Hence find cos620 correct to 4 dcp.
 3

Ans: 0.4695

21
Example 23:
If y  ln cos x , show that
2
d2y  dy 
1    0
dx 2  dx 
Hence, by differentiating the above expression several times,
obtain the Maclaurin’s series of y  ln cos x in the ascending
power of x up to the term containing x 4 .

Solution:

22
Finding Limits with Taylor Series and Maclaurin Series.

Example 24:
ex 1  x
Find lim 2
.
x 0 x
Ans: ½

Example 25:
x 2  2cos x  2
Evaluate lim 4
.
x 0 3x
Ans: 1/36

Evaluating Definite Integrals with Taylor Series and Maclaurin

Series.

Example 26:

Use Maclaurin series to approximate the following definite

integral.
1 2
a)  e  x dx
0

1
b)  x cos( x3 )dx
0

Ans: 0.747, 0.440

23