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    Task_1_Infinite_series

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    Keshav Prakash
    A latex typset of infinite series

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    Task_1_Infinite_series

    Uploaded by

    Keshav Prakash
    3 views2 pages
    A latex typset of infinite series

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    A latex typset of infinite series

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    3 views2 pages

    Task_1_Infinite_series

    Uploaded by

    Keshav Prakash
    A latex typset of infinite series

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    1 Infinite Series

    P∞ 1
    Find the value of the infinite series n−1 n ln(1 + n1 ).

    Solution
    The very first thought in my mind is to check whether the series is convergent
    or not. In the process of checking so,an method to sum the series may also
    be revealed.

    I will first try to verify whether the nth term has limit zero. If it does
    not, the series is divergent and the sum does not exist. To find the limit, we
    can use the properties of the log function. That is,
    1 n+1
       
    ln 1 + = ln = ln(n + 1) − ln(n).
    n n

    The nth term is then ln(n+1)n


    − ln(n)
    n
    .Observe that both the terms have
    limit 0 as n tends to infinity due to L’Hopital’s rule.

    The above argument does not ensure the convergence of the series. For
    that I observe that the ln(x) < x for all x > 0.

    And therefore, ln(1 + n1 ) < 1 + n1 < n1 . I see now that


    the nth term can be compared to the series n12 as an = n1 ln(1 + n1 ) < 1
    P
    n2

    Since the latter series converges, so does the series in question by Com-
    parison Test.

    However, I am still wondering how to sum the series. The above argument
    does not lead to a method to sum the series. The usual tests and tricks are
    not quite applicable. Nor is this a telescoping series, where the terms can be
    cleverly cancelled up. I have the observation that lnN ≤ N 1 1
    P
    PN 1 N n−1 n ln(1 + n ) =
    n+1
    n−1 n ln( n ) ≤ lnN but this observation does not lead to a sum at all.

    1
    It strikes me now that I can use a definite integral to sum this series, since
    it can be expressed as a function of n1 .
    We have a result from theory that limn→∞ nr−1 f ( nr ) = ab f (x) dx
    P R

    However, I now realise that an is actually cannot be expressed in the form


    of nr .

    Now, I am out of ways to find an exact sum and thus will look for an
    approximation. Observe that an is a decreasing and positive function of n.In
    fact, the function falls rapidly as n increases. Thus, I will approximate the
    sum as N
    P
    n−1 an for an appropriate N for which the residual is small.

    R∞
    I know that the choice of N is determined by the integral N f (x) dx,where
    f (n) = an .

    For the choice of N=200, this integral is ≈ 0.004. This is a good enough
    threshold. The sum of the series for N=200 is 1.2528.

    Thus the sum of the series can be approximated as


    X∞ 1
    ln(1 + ) ≈ 1.2528
    n−1 n

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