Taylor Polynomials and Infinite Series. II.

Taylor Series
Taylor Series. If f is a function with derivatives of all order at a point a, pn ( x) is the nth-degree
Taylor polynomial at a for f, and an

a ( x a)
k 0

f ( n ) (a)
, n 0,1, 2, , then
n!

a0 a1 ( x a ) a2 ( x a )2 an ( x a ) n

is the Taylor series at a for f. The Taylor series converges at x if

n

lim pn ( x) lim ak ( x a ) k
n

k 0

exists and diverges at x if this limit does not exist. The set of values of x for which this limit
exists is called the interval of convergence.

Theorem 1 (Interval of Convergence). Let f be a function with derivatives of all order at a

f ( n ) (a)
point a, let an
, n 0,1, 2, , and let
n!

a ( x a)
k 0

a0 a1 ( x a ) a2 ( x a )2 an ( x a ) n

be the Taylor series at a for f. If an 0 for n n0 , then:

Case 1. If
1
an 1
L 0 and R ,
L
an
then the series converges for | x a | R and diverges for | x a | R .

lim
n

Case 2. If

lim
n

an 1
0,
an

then the series converges for all values of x.

Case 3. If

lim
n

an 1
,
an

then the series converges only at x a .

Notice that the set of values where a series converges can be expressed in interval
notation as (a R, a R ) in case 1 and as (, ) in case 2.
The requirement that all the coefficients be nonzero from some point on is necessary to
a
ensure that the ratio n 1 is well defined.
an
1

an 1
fails to exist so that none of the cases in Theorem 1 hold.
n a
n
In that event, the interval of convergence will still have one of the forms discussed above, but
other techniques are required to determine which one.

Remark. It is possible that lim

Example 1 (Finding the Interval of Convergence). The Taylor series at 0 for f ( x) e2 x is

22 2
2n n
1 2x x x .
2!
n!
Find the interval of convergence.
Solution.
2n
(Notice that an 0 for n 0 ),
n!
2n 1
an 1
,
(n 1)!
2n 1
an 1 (n 1)!
2n 1 n !
2

n
,
n
2
an
(n 1)! 2
n 1
n!
2
2
a
lim n 1 lim
lim
0.
n a
n n 1
n n 1
n
Case 2 in Theorem 1 applies, and the series converges for all values of x.
an

Example 2 (Finding the Interval of Convergence). The Taylor series at 0 for f ( x)

1
(1 5 x) 2

is
1 2 5 x 3 52 x 2 (1) n (n 1)5n xn .
Find the interval of convergence.

Solution.

an (1)n (n 1)5n (Notice that an 0 for n 0 ),

an 1 (1) n 1 (n 2)5n1 ,
an 1 (1)n 1 (n 2)5n 1 5(n 2)

,
an
(1) n (n 1)5n
n 1
10
5(n 2)
5(n 2)
5n 10
a
n 5.
lim n 1 lim
lim
lim
lim
n a
n
n

n
1
n

1
n

1
n

1
n
1
n
1
1
1
Applying case 1 in Theorem 1, we have L 5, R , and the series converges for x .
5
5
5
5

Representation of Functions by Taylor Series

Assumption on the Representation of Functions by Taylor Series. If f is a function with
derivatives of all order throughout the interval of convergence of its Taylor series at a, then f is
represented by its Taylor series throughout the interval of convergence. Thus, if pn ( x) is
f ( n ) (a)
the nth-degree Taylor polynomial at a for f and an
, n 0,1, 2, , then
n!

f ( x) lim pn ( x) ak ( x a )k ,
n

k 0

for any x in the interval of convergence of the Taylor series at a for f.

Consequently, the interval of convergence determines the values of x for which the
Taylor polynomials pn ( x) can be used to approximate the values of the function f.

Example 3 (Representation of a Function by Its Taylor Series). Let f ( x) ln x .

(A) Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial at a 1 for f.
(B) Find the Taylor series at a 1 for f.
(C) Determine the values of x for which f ( x) lim pn ( x) .
n

Solution. (A) We use the four-step process to find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial:
Step 1. Find the derivatives:
f ( x) ln x, f ( x) x 1 ,

f ( x) (1) x 2 ,

f (3) ( x) (1)(2) x 3 (1)2 2! x 3 ,

f (4) ( x) (1)(2)(3) x 4 (1)3 3! x 4 , , f ( n ) ( x) (1) n 1 (n 1)! x n .

Step 2. Evaluate the derivatives at a 1 :
f (1) ln1 0, f (1) 1,

f (1) 1,

f (3) (1) (1)2 2!,

f (4) (1) ( 1)3 3!, , f ( n ) (1) (1) n 1 (n 1)!.

Step 3. Find the coefficients of the Taylor polynomial:
f (1)
1
f (3) (1) (1)2 2! 1
a0 f (1) 0, a1 f (1) 1, a2
, a3

,
2!
2
3!
3!
3
n 1
n 1
(4)
3
(n)
f (1) (1) 3!
1
f (1) (1) (n 1)! (1)
a4

, , an

.
4!
4!
4
n!
n!
n
Step 4. The nth-degree Taylor polynomial at a 1 for f ( x) ln x is:
1
1
(1) n 1
pn ( x) ( x 1) ( x 1) 2 ( x 1)3
( x 1) n .
2
3
n
(B) Once the nth-degree Taylor polynomial for a function has been determined, finding the
Taylor series is simply a matter of using the notation correctly. Using the Taylor polynomial
from part (A), the Taylor series at a 1 for f ( x) ln x can be written as
3

1
1
(1) n 1
lim pn ( x) ( x 1) ( x 1) 2 ( x 1)3
( x 1) n ,
n
2
3
n
or, using summation notation, as

(1) k 1
lim pn ( x)
( x 1) k .
n
k
k 0
(C) To determine the values for which f ( x) lim pn ( x) , we use Theorem 1 to find the interval
n

of convergence of the Taylor series in part (B):

(1)n
an 1
n
(1)n 1
(1)n
an
n n11
, an1
,
;
(1)
n
n 1
an
n 1
n
n
n
1
a
lim n 1 lim
lim
lim
1.
n a
n n 1
n n 1
n
1
n
1
n
1
From case 1 of Theorem 1, L 1 , R 1 , and the series converges for | x 1| 1 . Converting
L
this to double inequalities, we have
1 x 1 1, 0 x 2 .
Thus, f ( x) lim pn ( x) for 0 x 2 or, equivalently,
n

1
1
(1) n 1
ln x ( x 1) ( x 1) 2 ( x 1)3
( x 1) n ,
2
3
n

0 x 2.