SOLUTIONS CHAPTER 9.

MATH 549 AU00

1b

Proof. Limit Comparison Test against Σ n1 :

n
(n+1)(n+2) n2 1
lim 1 = lim = lim =1
n
(n + 1)(n + 2) (1 + n )(1 + n2 )
1

hence the series is divergent, since the series Σ n1 is.



2b
1
Proof. Limit Comparison Test against the series Σ 3 :
n2
1 √
1
(n2 (n+1)) 2 n n
lim = lim √
1 =
3 n n+1
n2
r s
n 1
= lim = lim =1
n+1 1 + n1
Since the power at which n appears in the series Σ 13 is bigger than 1, it
n2
means it’s convergent, hence so is our series. 
3a

Proof. Limit Comparison Test against Σ n1 :

1
1 1 1 p −1
(log(n))p n p p l’Hospital pn 1 1
lim 1 = (lim ) = (lim 1 )p = (lim n p )p =
n
log(n) n
p
=∞
Date: 11/04/2000.
1
2 MATH 549 AU00

hence the top series is bigger than the bottom series; but since the bottom
series diverges (Σ n1 ), so does the top; hence our series is divergent.
Another way you can prove this is by using Cauchy’s Condensation
n
Test ... try it out! (lim n2 p = ∞) 

3b

Proof. Try Root Test:

p 1
lim n
log(n)−n = lim =0
n→∞ n→∞ log(n)
hence it’s convergent. 

3c

Proof. Use Cauchy Condensation Test:

1 2n 2
Σ2n n log(2 n) = Σ n
= Σ( )n
log(2 ) n n
but since n2 ≤ 23 for n ≥ 3 we have that, by Comparison Test, that the
above series converges:
1 2
Σ2n < 2 + 1 + Σn≥3 ( )n < ∞
log(2n )log(2n ) 3
so the original series is also convergent. 

Proof.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2
+ 3 + 2 + ··· < 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ··· < ∞
1 2 3 1 2 3 4
(we know that the right-hand side is convergent)
For the two tests we need the general formula for the series’ term: a2k =
1 1
(2k)3
and a2k+1 = (2k+1) 2.

The Ratio Test applied here gives two cases:

1
(2k)3 (2k + 1)2
lim 1 = lim =0
k→∞
(2k+1)2
8k 3
 SOLUTIONS CHAPTER 9.2 3

and
1
(2k+1)2 8k 3
lim 1 = lim =∞
k→∞
(2k)3
(2k + 1)2
Since we have two subsequences, one that is in the first case of the Ratio
Test (the condition of being less than r) and the other one is in the case
when it’s bigger than 1, we cannot apply this test here.
The Root Test applied here also needs to cases to be looked at:
s
1 1 3 3
lim 2k = lim( 1 ) = 1 = 1
k→∞ (2k)3 (2k) 2k
and s
1 1
lim 2k+1
2
= lim( 1 )2 = 12 = 1
k→∞ (2k + 1) (2k + 1) 2k+1
q q
1 1
and both 2k
(2k)3
and 2k+1 (2k+1) 2 are less than 1. Hence the Root Test

tells us nothing here (we cannot find the r like in the Theorem 9.2.3) 

7a

Proof.
1 1
<
2∗1+1 2
2 2 1
< =
2∗2+1 2∗2 2
..
.
n n 1
< =
2n + 1 2n 2
Multiply all and we get:
1 ∗ 2 ∗ 3 ∗ ··· ∗ n 1 1 1 1
< ∗ ∗ · · · ∗ = n ⇐⇒
3 ∗ 5 ∗ 7 ∗ · · · ∗ (2n + 1) 2 2 2 2
n! 1
⇐⇒ < n
3 ∗ · · · ∗ (2n + 1) 2
so by Comparison Test we get that the series with the above general term
is convergent. 
10

Proof. We have that:

|xn+1 | ≤ r|xn |
|xn+2 | ≤ r|xn+1 | ≤ r2 |xn |
..
.
|xn+k | ≤ r|xn+k−1 | ≤ · · · ≤ rk |xn |
4 MATH 549 AU00

Since
|s − sn | = |xn+1 + xn+2 + . . . | ≤ |xn+1 | + |xn+2 | + · · · ≤
1
≤ r|xn | + r2 |xn | + · · · = |xn |(r + r2 + . . . ) = |xn |r
1−r
done. 
17

Proof. First of all notice that if p > q then the general term is always bigger
than 1
p+1
>1
q+1
p+2
>1
p+2
and so on, and hence
(p + 1)(p + 2) . . . (p + n)
>1
(q + 1)(q + 2) . . . (q + n)
so the series diverges obviously. Same if p = q ... the general term equals 1,
and Σ1 is divergent too.
Let’s restrict our attention now to p < q. Let’s use Raabe’s Test:
(p+1)(p+2)...(p+n+1)
(q+1)(q+2)...(q+n+1)
lim(n(1 − (p+1)(p+2)...(p+n)
)) =
(q+1)(q+2)...(q+n)
p+n+1 q−p n
lim(n(1 − )) = lim(n( )) = (q − p) lim =q−p
q+n+1 q+n+1 q+n+1
We made sure that q − p > 0, so everything is nice and dandy. As by the
test, when q − p > 1 ⇐⇒ q > p + 1 the series is convergent (well, it
says absolutely convergent, but when we talk about positive terms series it’s
equivalent) and when q − p < 1 ⇐⇒ q < p + 1 it’s divergent. There’s only
one more case to discuss, namely q = p + 1:
(p + 1)(p + 2) . . . (p + n) p+1
=
(p + 2)(p + 3) . . . (p + n)(p + n + 1) p+n+1
but by Limit Comparison Test we have that, since
p+1
p+n+1 n(p + 1)
lim 1 = lim =p+1
n→∞
n
p+n+1
the series is behaving same as Σ n1 which is divergent. So this case also gives
us divergence.
Cumulating the results now gives: q > p + 1 convergence, q ≤ p + 1
divergence.