Chapter 8: Problem 5
Explain why the magnitude of the remainder in an alternating series (with terms that are nonincreasing in magnitude) is less than or equal to the magnitude of the first neglected term.
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Chapter 8: Problem 5
Explain why the magnitude of the remainder in an alternating series (with terms that are nonincreasing in magnitude) is less than or equal to the magnitude of the first neglected term.
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Stirling's formula Complete the following steps to find the values of \(p>0\) for which the series \(\sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1 \cdot 3 \cdot 5 \cdots(2 k-1)}{p^{k} k !}\) converges. a. Use the Ratio Test to show that \(\sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1 \cdot 3 \cdot 5 \cdots(2 k-1)}{p^{k} k !}\) converges for \(p>2\). b. Use Stirling's formula, \(k !=\sqrt{2 \pi k} k^{k} e^{-k}\) for large \(k,\) to determine whether the series converges when \(p=2\). (Hint: \(1 \cdot 3 \cdot 5 \cdots(2 k-1)=\frac{1 \cdot 2 \cdot 3 \cdot 4 \cdot 5 \cdot 6 \cdots(2 k-1) 2 k}{2 \cdot 4 \cdot 6 \cdots 2 k}\) (See the Guided Project Stirling's formula and \(n\) ? for more on this topic.)
Repeated square roots Consider the expression \(\sqrt{1+\sqrt{1+\sqrt{1+\sqrt{1+\cdots}}}},\) where the process continues indefinitely. a. Show that this expression can be built in steps using the recurrence relation \(a_{0}=1, a_{n+1}=\sqrt{1+a_{n}}\), for \(n=0,1,2,3, \ldots . .\) Explain why the value of the expression can be interpreted as \(\lim _{n \rightarrow \infty} a_{n},\) provided the limit exists. b. Evaluate the first five terms of the sequence \(\left\\{a_{n}\right\\}\) c. Estimate the limit of the sequence. Compare your estimate with \((1+\sqrt{5}) / 2,\) a number known as the golden mean. d. Assuming the limit exists, use the method of Example 5 to determine the limit exactly. e. Repeat the preceding analysis for the expression \(\sqrt{p+\sqrt{p+\sqrt{p+\sqrt{p+\cdots}}},}\) where \(p>0 .\) Make a table showing the approximate value of this expression for various values of \(p .\) Does the expression seem to have a limit for all positive values of \(p ?\)
An early limit Working in the early 1600 s, the mathematicians Wallis, Pascal, and Fermat were calculating the area of the region under the curve \(y=x^{p}\) between \(x=0\) and \(x=1,\) where \(p\) is a positive integer. Using arguments that predated the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, they were able to prove that $$\lim _{n \rightarrow \infty} \frac{1}{n} \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\left(\frac{k}{n}\right)^{p}=\frac{1}{p+1}$$ Use what you know about Riemann sums and integrals to verify this limit.
Evaluate the limit of the following sequences or state that the limit does not exist. $$a_{n}=\frac{4^{n}+5 n !}{n !+2^{n}}$$
Consider the following situations that generate a sequence. a. Write out the first five terms of the sequence. b. Find an explicit formula for the terms of the sequence. c. Find a recurrence relation that generates the sequence. d. Using a calculator or a graphing utility, estimate the limit of the sequence or state that it does not exist. Population growth When a biologist begins a study, a colony of prairie dogs has a population of \(250 .\) Regular measurements reveal that each month the prairie dog population increases by \(3 \%\) Let \(p_{n}\) be the population (rounded to whole numbers) at the end of the \(n\) th month, where the initial population is \(p_{0}=250\).
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