Handout: Examples of lim sup and lim inf

Example Calculate lim sup an and lim inf an for an = (1)n (n + 5)/n. Solution Dene n = sup {ak |k n}. Then n = sup (1)n (n + 5)/n, (1)n+1 (n + 6)/(n + 1), . . . = (n + 5)/n for n even, and(n + 6)/(n + 1) for n odd 1 as n . Therefore lim sup an = 1. Similarly lim inf an = 1.

Example Calculate lim sup an and lim inf an for an = (1)n n/(n + 8). Solution Dene n = sup {ak |k n}. Then n = sup 3 + (1)n n/(n + 8), 3 + (1)n+1 (n + 1)/(n + 9), . . . = 4 4 as n . Therefore lim sup an = 4. Similarly lim inf an = 2.