Section 10.

4: Other Convergence Tests

In this section, we learn how to deal with series whose terms are not necessarily positive.

Definition: An alternating series is a series whose terms alternate in sign. That is, a series
of the form ∞ ∞
X X
n
(−1) an or (−1)n+1 an ,
n=1 n=1

where an > 0 for all n.

The following is an example of an alternating series:

∞
X (−1)n+1 1 1 1
=1− + − + ··· .
n=1
n 2 3 4

Theorem: (Alternating Series Test)

∞
X
The alternating series (−1)n an , where an > 0 converges if it satisfies both of the following
n=1
conditions:

1. lim an = 0,
n→∞

2. The sequence {an } is decreasing. That is, an+1 ≤ an .

Example: Determine whether the following series are convergent.

∞
X (−1)n
(a) √
n=1
n+1

Check the two conditions of the Alternating Series Test:

1
1. lim √ =0
n→∞ n+1
2. The sequence {an } is decreasing since
1 1
an+1 = √ <√ = an for n ≥ 1.
n+2 n+1

The series converges by the Alternating Series Test.

 1 1 1 1 1
(b) − + − + + ···
ln 2 ln 3 ln 4 ln 5 ln 6

∞
X (−1)n
The series can be expressed as .
ln n
n=2
Check the two conditions of the Alternating Series Test.
1
1. lim =0
n→∞ ln n

2. The sequence {an } is decreasing since

1 1
an+1 = < = an for n ≥ 2.
ln(n + 1) ln n

The series converges by the Alternating Series Test.

∞
X (−1)n 2n
(c)
n=1
5n + 1

Check the two conditions of the Alternating Series Test:

2n 2
lim = 6= 0.
n→∞ 5n + 1 5
The series diverges by the Divergence Test.

∞
X (−1)n+1 ln n
(d)
n=1
n

Check the two conditions of the Alternating Series Test:

ln n 1
1. lim = lim = 0
n→∞ n n→∞ n

2. It is not clear whether the sequence {an } is decreasing. Consider the corresponding
function f (x) = ln x/x. Then

1 − ln x
f 0 (x) = .
x2
Now f 0 (x) < 0 if and only if 1 − ln x < 0. That is, 1 < ln x or x > e. So the
sequence {an } is eventually decreasing.

The series converges by the Alternating Series Test.

 ∞
X ∞
X
Definition: A series an is absolutely convergent if the series |an | converges. If
n=1 n=1
∞
X X∞
an converges, but |an | diverges, the series is conditionally convergent.
n=1 n=1

∞
X
Note: If an is a series with positive terms which converges, then it is absolutely convergent.
n=1

Example: Determine whether the following series are absolutely convergent, conditionally
convergent, or divergent.
∞
X 1
(a)
n=1
n3

This is a convergent p-series with p = 3. Since the series has only positive terms, it is
absolutely convergent by the p-Series Test.

∞
X (−1)n
(b) √
n=1
n n

The series is absolutely convergent since

∞  ∞ ∞
 (−1)n  X

X
 √ = 1 X 1
√ = 3/2
n=1
n n
n=1
n n n=1 n

is a convergent p-series with p = 3/2.

∞
X (−1)n+1
(c)
n=1
2n + 1

Consider the series ∞  ∞

 (−1)n+1  X

X
= 1

 2n + 1  .
n=1
2n + 1
n=1
∞
X 1
Apply the Limit Comparison Test with .
n=1
n

1
n 1
lim 2n + 1 = lim = ∈ (0, ∞).
n→∞ 1 n→∞ 2n + 1 2
n
 Since the harmonic series is divergent, the series does not converge absolutely.
Check the two conditions of the Alternating Series Test:
1
1. lim =0
n→∞ 2n + 1
2. The sequence {an } is decreasing since
1 1
an+1 = < = an for n ≥ 1.
2n + 3 2n + 1
The series is conditionally convergent by the Alternating Series Test.

∞
X (−1)n n2
(d)
n=1
3n2 + 1

The series is divergent since

n2 1
lim = 6= 0.
n→∞ 3n2 + 1 3

∞
X
Suppose that (−1)n an is a convergent alternating series with sum S and the nth partial
n=1
n
X
sum Sn = (−1)j aj is used to approximate S. How good is this approximation?
j=0

Theorem: (Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series)

∞
X
If (−1)n an is a convergent alternating series with sum S, then
n=1

|Rn | = |S − Sn | ≤ an+1 .

∞
X (−1)n
Example: Consider the alternating series .
n=1
n2
(a) Prove that the series is absolutely convergent.

The series is absolutely convergent since

∞  ∞
 (−1)n  X

X
 = 1
 n2  n2
n=1 n=1

is a convergent p-series with p = 2.

 (b) Use S6 to approximate the sum of the series and estimate the error.

The 6th partial sum is

1 1 1 1 1
S6 = −1 + − + − + .
4 9 16 25 36
By the Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series,
1
|R6 | ≤ a7 = .
49

∞
X (−1)n n
Example: How many terms of the series do we need to add in order to approxi-
n=1
4n
mate the sum to within 0.002?

By the Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series,

n+1
|Rn | ≤ an+1 = .
4n+1
To achieve the indicated accuracy, we must have
n+1
≤ 0.002.
4n+1
If n = 5, then
n+1 6
n+1
= 6 ≈ 0.0015 < 0.002.
4 4
So we need at least n = 5 terms.

X (−1)n
Example: Approximate the sum of to within four decimal places.
n=0
2n n!

By the Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series,

1
|Rn | ≤ an+1 = .
2n+1 (n + 1)!

To achieve the indicated accuracy, we must have

1
≤ 10−4
2n+1 (n + 1)!
104 ≤ 2n+1 (n + 1)!.
If n = 5, then
2n+1 (n + 1)! = 26 · 6! = 46, 080 > 104 .
Then the sum is approximately
1 1 1 1 1
S5 = − + − + − .
2 8 48 384 3840

Theorem: (The Ratio Test)

∞  
X  an+1 
Suppose that the series an satisfies lim 
  = L.
n=1
n→∞ a n


1. If L < 1, then the series is absolutely convergent.

2. If L > 1, then the series is divergent.
3. If L = 1, then the test fails.

Example: Determine whether the following series converge:

∞
X (−3)n
(a)
n=1
n5n+1

By the Ratio Test,

 (−3)n+1 n+1 
   
 an+1  n5
lim   = lim  · 
n→∞  an  n→∞  (n + 1)5n+2 (−3)n 
 
 −3n 
= lim   
n→∞ 5(n + 1) 
 
 3
= − 
5
3
= < 1.
5
The series converges absolutely by the Ratio Test.

∞
X (n + 2)!
(b)
n=1
n!7n

By the Ratio Test,

n 
   
 an+1   (n + 3)! n!7
lim   = lim  · 
n→∞  an  n→∞  (n + 1)!7n+1 (n + 2)! 
 
 7(n + 3) 
= lim  
n→∞ (n + 1) 
= 7 > 1.
 The series diverges by the Ratio Test.

∞
X (n + 1)(−5)n
Example: Consider the series .
n=1
n32n

(a) Prove that this series converges absolutely.

By the Ratio Test,

 (n + 2)(−5)n+1 n32n
   
 an+1  
lim   = lim 
 · 
n→∞  an  n→∞ (n + 1)32n+2 (n + 1)(−5)n 
 
 −5n(n + 2) 
= lim  
n→∞ (n + 1)(n + 1)32 
 
 −5 
= lim  
n→∞ 9
5
= < 1.
9
The series converges absolutely by the Ratio Test.

(b) Use S3 to approximate the sum of the series and estimate the error.

The 3rd partial sum is

10 75 500
S3 = −
+ − .
9 162 2187
By the Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series,
5 · 54
|R3 | ≤ a4 = ≈ 0.1191.
4 · 38

(c) Approximate the sum of the series to within two decimal places.

By the Remainder Estimate for Alternating Series,

(n + 2)5n+1
|Rn | ≤ an+1 = .
(n + 1)32n+2
In order to achieve the indicated accuracy, set
(n + 2)5n+1
≤ 0.01.
(n + 1)32n+2
If n = 8, then
(n + 2)5n+1
≈ 0.0056 < 0.01.
(n + 1)32n+2
Then the sum of the series is approximately S8 .