Sequences, Series and Vector Calculus

MAT01A2/MAT2A10
Lecture 1
15 - 19 February 2021

11.1 Sequences

We’ll start with a reminder of what we mean by the word function.

A function is a rule that assigns to each element x in a set D exactly one element, called f (x), in a set E.
We say that f maps D to E, and we will sometimes represent a function f as:
f :D→E
We call D the domain of the function f . If a ∈ D, we call f (a) the value of f at a, or the image of a under f .
In these notes we will often refer to two sets of numbers. These are:
N - the set of natural numbers, and

R - the set of real numbers.

Definition 0

A sequence is a function whose domain is N.

If a is a sequence, it is customary to write a(n) = an for each natural number n and write a = {an }∞
n=1 . We call an
the nth term of the sequence, and we will sometimes refer to n as the index of the sequence.

So we will talk of the sequence

a1 , a2 , ..., an , ...
and understand that the n-th term gives the ’rule’ that defines the function. So we have:
a(1) = a1 , a(2) = a2 , ..., a(n) = an

Since the set of natural numbers has an order to it, it is easy to see that a sequence is a list of real numbers in a
definite order. We will also use the notation:
{an } or {an }∞
n=1

to represent a sequence.

Example 1

Some sequences can be defined by giving a formula for the n th term. In the following examples we give three
descriptions of the sequence: one by using the preceding notation, another by using the defining formula, and a third
by writing out the terms of the sequence. Notice that n does not have to start at 1.
 ∞  
n n 1 2 3 4 n
(a) an = , , , , ..., , ...
n + 1 n=1 n+1 2 3 4 5 n+1

(−1)n (n + 1) (−1)n (n + 1) (−1)n (n + 1)

   
2 3 4 5
(b) an = − , , − , , ..., , ...
3n 3n 3 9 27 81 3n

√ √ √
 
√ ∞ √
(c) n−3 n=3
an = n − 3 ,n > 3 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., n − 3

 ∞  √ 
nπ nπ 3 1 nπ
(d) cos an = cos ,n > 0 1, , , 0, ..., cos
6 n=0 6 2 2 6

1
 

Can you look at a set of numbers in a sequence and construct a function that generates the sequence?

Example 2

Find a formula for the general term, an , of the sequence:

 
3 4 5 6 7
,− , ,− , ,···
5 25 125 625 3125
assuming the pattern continues.

Solution:

Let us consider the patterns that we can see. First, for n = 1 the numerator is 3. The numerators then increase
by 1 for each successive term. Looking at the denominators, it looks like for a1 we have 51 , for a2 we have 52 and so
on. Finally, the signs of the terms alternate between negative and positive. We determine that we can express the
n-th term as:
n+2
an = (−1)n−1 n , n > 1
5
Notice that this is not the only expression that will generate the terms of the sequence. We could also use:
n+2
an = (−1)n+1 , n>1
5n
Can you come up with another expression for the above sequence? 

Example 3

The Fibonacci sequence {fn } is defined recursively by the conditions:

f1 = 1 f2 = 1 fn = fn−1 + fn−2 n>3
So the first few terms in the sequence are:
{1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 35, ...}
The sequence is named after an Italian mathematician, Fibonacci, but is thought to have been discovered by Indian
mathematicians long before Fibonacci came across it. It has a number of surprising applications in naturally occurring
phenomena. Fibonacci used it to solve a problem he posed relating to the breeding of rabbits. 

Consider again the sequence from Example 1(a). We want to visualize the points of such a sequence. Since a
sequence is a function from the set of natural numbers into the set of real numbers, it is represented by a graph with
coordinates:
(1, a1 ) (2, a2 ) (3, a3 ) ... (n, an ) ...
When we plot these for the sequence in Example 1(a) we get a picture like the sketch below:

Figure 1: The graph of Example 1(a)

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 n
From the diagram it looks like the terms of the sequence an = are approaching 1 as n becomes large. In
n+1
fact, the difference:
n 1
1− =
n+1 n+1
can be made as small as we like by taking n sufficiently large. We express this fact by writing
n
lim =1
n→∞ n+1
This leads us to our first definition:

Definition 1

A sequence {an } has the limit L and we write

lim = L or an → L as n → ∞
n→∞

if we can make the terms an as close to L as we like by taking n sufficiently large.

If lim an exists, se say that the sequence converges (or is convergent). Otherwise, we say that the sequence
n→∞
diverges (or is divergent).

The diagram below shows the graphs of two sequences that have the limit L.

Figure 2: Convergent sequences

We express this idea of a sequence {xn } that converges to a point L informally as follows: the larger we make the
index n the closer the value of xn becomes to the value L. Notice that the value of xn gets closer to L if and only if
the difference between xn and L becomes closer to 0. We have a function that measures the distance between a point
and 0. It’s called the absolute value function, and so we use it to make the definition above more precise:

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 Definition 2

A sequence {an } has the limit L and we write

lim an = L or an → L as n → ∞
n→∞

if for every  > 0 there is a corresponding integer N such that

if n>N then |an − L| < 

In the above definition we think of the  as being a small positive number. The idea is that we can make  as small
as we like by making n as large as we need to. Epsilon illustrates how close we want xn to get to the limiting value
L. The diagram below illustrates:

Figure 3: Illustrating Definition 2

The next diagram illustrates the same idea. The points on the graph of {an } must lie between the horizontal lines
y = L +  and y = L −  if n > N . This will be the case no matter how small  is. The smaller we make , the larger
N has to be.

Figure 4: Illustrating Definition 2

Notice the similarity between Definition 2 above and Definition 2.6.7 (page 134 in the 8th edition). The only
difference is that the old definition applies for a real valued function of a real variable, whereas the definition above
applies to a real valued function defined only on N, i.e. a sequence.

Theorem 3

If lim f (x) = L and f (n) = an , when n is an integer, then

x→∞

lim an = L.
n→∞

Theorem 3 is illustrated below:

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 Figure 5: Theorem 3

Remember the following limit (Theorem 2.6.5):

1
lim =0
x→∞ xr
We apply Theorem 3 above to the function and get the following very important formula:
1
lim =0 if r > 0 (4)
n→∞ nr

Definition 5

lim an = ∞ means that for every positive number M there is an integer N such that
n→∞

if n>N then an > M

If lim an = ∞, then the sequence {an } is divergent in a special way. We say that {an } diverges to ∞.
n→∞

The Limit Laws you encountered in Section 2.3 also apply to the limits of sequences.

Limit Laws for sequences

Let {an } and {bn } be convergent sequences and let c be a constant. Then
(a) lim (an + bn ) = lim an + lim bn
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

(b) lim (an − bn ) = lim an − lim bn

n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

(c) lim can = c lim an lim c = c

n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

(d) lim (an bn ) = lim an · lim bn

n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

an lim an
(e) lim = n→∞ if lim bn 6= 0
n→∞ bn lim bn n→∞
n→∞
 p
(f) lim apn = lim an if p > 0 and an > 0
n→∞ n→∞

The Squeeze Theorem can also be adapted for sequences as follows:

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 The Squeeze Theorem for sequences

If an 6 bn 6 cn for n > n0 and lim an = lim cn = L then lim bn = L

n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

Theorem 6

If lim |an | = 0, then lim an = 0

n→∞ n→∞

Example 4
n
Find lim .
n→∞ n+1
Solution

The method we use is the one used in section 2.6 in the module MAT01A1. We divide the numerator and the
denominator by the highest power of n that occurs in the denominator. Then we calculate the limit using the limit
laws:
n 1
lim = lim
n→∞ n + 1 n→∞ 1
1+
n
lim 1
n→∞
=
1
lim 1 + lim
n→∞ n→∞ n
1
= =1
1+0


Here we used equation (4) with r = 1.

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Example 5
n
Consider the sequence {an } where an = √ . Determine whether the sequence is convergent or divergent.
10 + n
Solution
√
As in the previous example we divide numerator and denominator by n, noting that if n > 0 then n = n2 :
n 1
lim √ = lim r
n→∞ 10 + n n→∞ 10 1
+
n2 n
Let’s consider what happens with the above expression as n becomes large.

The numerator will always equal 1, but the denominator becomes smaller as n becomes larger, in fact
r
10 1
lim + =0
n→∞ n2 n
hence
n 1
lim √ = lim r =∞
n→∞ 10 + n n→∞ 10 1
+
n2 n
and the sequence diverges. 

Example 6

ln n
Calculate lim .
n→∞ n
Solution

Notice that here both the numerator and the denominator approach infinity as n → ∞. We cannot apply l’Hospital’s
Rule directly because it applies to functions of a real variable, not to sequences. However, we can apply l’Hospital’s
Rule to the related function (of a real variable x)

ln x
f (x) =
x
and obtain:
ln x 1/x
lim = lim =0
x→∞ x x→∞ 1

Hence, by Theorem 3 above we have:

ln n
lim =0
n→∞ n


Example 7

Determine whether the sequence with general term an = (−1)n is convergent or divergent.

Solution

The terms of the sequence are:

{−1, 1, −1, 1, −1, ...}
The graph of the sequence is shown in figure 8 below. The terms oscillate bewteen 1 and -1 and it is clear that an
does not approach any number. Thus the limit, lim (−1)n does not exist. Hence the sequence (−1)n is divergent. 
n→∞

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 Figure 6: Oscillating terms

Example 8

(−1)n
Evaluate lim if it exists.
n→∞ n
Solution

We calculate the limit of the absolute value of the sequence:

 (−1)n 
 
lim   = lim 1 = 0
n→∞ n  n→∞ n
Hence, by Theorem 6, we have that
(−1)n
lim =0
n→∞ n


Theorem 7
If lim an = L, and the function f is continuous at L, then
n→∞

lim f (an ) = f (L)

n→∞

Example 9
 
π
Find lim sin .
n→∞ n
Solution

The sine function is continuous at 0, hence we can use the previous theorem to write:
    
π π
lim sin = sin lim = sin 0 = 0
n→∞ n n→∞ n


Example 10

n!
Discuss the convergence of the sequence an = , where n! = 1 · 2 · 3 · · · n.
nn
Solution

Both the numerator and the denominator approach infinity as n → ∞. However, we cannot use l’Hospital’s Rule in
this case because we do not have a corresponding function of a real number (remember that n! is only defined for
nonnegative integers). Instead, we write out a few terms to see if we can spot a different strategy.
1·2 1·2·3
a1 = 1 a2 = a3 =
2·2 3·3·3

8
and up to n terms:
1 · 2 · 3···n
an = (8)
n · n · n···n
the diagram below shows how the terms of this sequence become smaller as n becomes larger.

n!
Figure 7: Convergence of an =
nn

It appears as if the sequence converges to 0. From equation (8) above we have:

 
1 2 · 3···n
an =
n n · n···n
 
2 · 3···n
Next, notice that 6 1, hence
n · n···n
1
0 < an 6
n
1
Next, we know that → 0 as n → ∞. Hence we can conclude (by using the Squeeze Theorem) that an → 0 as
n
n → ∞. 

Example 11

For what values of r is the sequence {rn } convergent?

Solution

We know from Section 2.6 and from the graphs of the exponential functions (Section 1.4) that
lim ax = ∞ for a > 1 and lim ax = 0 for 0 < a < 1
x→∞ x→∞

Hence, using Theorem 3 and (a = r) we have:

(
n ∞ if r>1
lim r =
n→∞ 0 if 0<r<1

It is easy to see that

lim 1n = 1 and lim 0n = 0
n→∞ n→∞

If −1 < r < 0, then 0 < |r| < 1, so that

lim |rn | = lim |r|n = 0
n→∞ n→∞
n n
and hence lim r = 0 by Theorem 6. If r 6 −1, then {r } diverges as in Example 7. The figure below shows graphs
n→∞
for the various values of r.

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 Figure 8: The sequence an = rn

We will need the result above going forward, so we summarize it as a Theorem:

Theorem 9

The sequence {rn } is convergent if −1 < r 6 1 and divergent for all other values of r.
(
0 if − 1 < r < 1
lim rn =
n→∞ 1 if r = 1

Definition 10

A sequence {an } is called increasing if

an < an+1 for all n > 1, that is a1 < a2 < a3 < · · · .

A sequence {an } is called decreasing if

an > an+1 for all n > 1
A sequence is called monotonic if it is either increasing or decreasing.

Example 12
 
3
The sequence is decreasing because
n+5
3 3 3
> =
n+5 (n + 1) + 5 n+6
So clearly an > an+1 for all n > 1. 

Example 13
n
Show that the sequence an = is decreasing.
n2 +1
Solution 1

We must show that an+1 < an , that is,

n+1 n
< 2
(n + 1)2 + 1 n +1

10
Notice that:
n+1 n
2
< 2 ⇐⇒ (n + 1)(n2 + 1) < n[(n + 1)2 + 1]
(n + 1) + 1 n +1
⇐⇒ n3 + n2 + n + 1 < n3 + 2n2 + 2n
⇐⇒ 1 < n2 + n

Since n > 1, we know that the inequality n2 + n > 1 is true. Therefore an+1 < an and so {an } is decreasing.

Solution 2
x
Consider the function f (x) = . We know that:
x2 + 1
x2 + 1 − 2x2 1 − x2
f 0 (x) = =
(x2 + 1)2 (x2 + 1)2

First notice that the sign of f 0 is unaffected by the denominator (the denominator is always positive). So f 0 (x) < 0
whenever x2 > 1. Thus f is decreasing on (1, ∞) and so f (n) > f (n + 1). Hence the sequence {an } is decreasing. 

Definition 11

A sequence {an } is bounded above if there is a number M such that

an 6 M for all n > 1

We call M an upper bound for the sequence {an }.

A sequence {an } is bounded below if there is a number m such that

m 6 an for all n > 1

The number m is called a lower bound for the sequence {an }.

If a sequence is bounded below and above the sequence is said to be a bounded sequence.

Notice that if a set is bounded above then it will have many upper bounds. Similarly, if a set is bounded below it will
have many lower bounds.

Example
3
Let S = [0, 1). Then 1 is an upper bound but so are and 2. Similarly, the numbers 0, -1, -2 are all lower bounds of
2
S. Can you come up with a number which is not a lower bound and one which is not and upper bound? 

Definition 11b

Let S ⊂ R. An element M0 ∈ R is called a least upper bound of the set S if it satisfies the following two
conditions:
1. M0 is an upper bound of S, and
2. If M is any upper bound of S, then M0 6 M .

In a similar way, we call an element m0 ∈ R a greatest lower bound of the set S if it satisfies the following
conditions:
1. m0 is a lower bound of the set S, and

2. If m is any lower bound of the set S, then m0 > m.

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If you think about the conditions that define a least upper bound, it should be clear why we call it that, i.e. the least
upper bound of a set is the smallest (least) of all the upper bounds of the set. Similarly for the greatest lower bound.
We illustrate these important concepts with the following example.

Example 13b

3
(a) Let S = (0, 1). Then the real number 2 is an upper bound of the set S, as is the real number (check this
2
1 3 1 3
against the definition above). The number is not an upper bound of S, since ∈ S and < . What is the
2 4 2 4
least upper bound of S? Does S have a least upper bound?

Next, we will prove that 1 is the least upper bound of S. We do this by showing that 1 satisfies the two conditions
in the definition above:
1) S = (0, 1), and by definition of the interval (0, 1) we have that a ∈ S =⇒ a < 1 =⇒ a 6 1. This shows
that 1 is an upper bound for S.
2) Let c ∈ R, c < 1. We show that c cannot be an upper bound for S. Either c ∈ S or c 6 0. Suppose c 6 0.
1 1−c
Then c < and c cannot be an upper bound for S. Suppose that c ∈ S. Then c < c + < 1. Since
2 2
1−c
c+ ∈ S, c cannot be an upper bound of S. Hence we have shown that if c is any upper bound for S,
2
we must have c > 1.

1) and 2) together mean that 1 is the least upper bound of the set S.
(b) Suppose that c ∈ R is the least upper bound of a set S ⊂ R. Let b ∈ R such that b < c. Then it should be
clear from the definition of the term least upper bound that b cannot be an upper bound of S. We can state it
as follows as well. Let c ∈ R be the least upper bound of a set S, and let  ∈ R,  > 0. Then c −  < c, and so
c −  cannot be an upper bound of S. But then, by definition of upper bound, there must exist s ∈ S with the
property that c −  < s 6 c.

The set R, the set of real numbers we discussed above has the following important property, called the least upper
bound property, or the Completeness Axiom of R. It says the following:

The Least Upper Bound Property

Every nonempty set of real numbers that is bounded above has a least upper bound.

Once we accept the Least Upper Bound Property it is easy to prove that we have the corresponding property that
relates to greatest lower bounds, which says:

Every nonempty set of real numbers that is bounded below has a greatest lower bound.

We need this property to prove the following theorem:

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 The Monotonic Sequence Theorem

Every bounded, monotonic sequence is convergent.

Proof

Since the word monotonic can mean increasing or decreasing, we will prove the statement for an increasing sequence.
The proof of the case for a decreasing sequence is similar and left to you to write out as an exercise.

So let {an } be a sequence that is bounded above. Since it is bounded above, the set

S = {an : n ∈ N}

is bounded above. By the Least Upper Bound Property of R, S must have a least upper bound, L say. Given  > 0,
L −  is not an upper bound for S. So there must exist N ∈ N with the property that

L −  < aN 6 L for some N ∈ N

Next, since the sequence is increasing we have n > N =⇒ an > aN . Thus, if n > N , we have

an > L − 

so
0 6 L − an < 
since an 6 L. Thus
|L − an | <  whenever n > N

This means that lim an = L as we wanted to prove. 

n→∞

Exercise

Prove the corresponding second part of the theorem, i.e. prove the statement:

Suppose {an } is a decreasing sequence that is bounded below. Then {an } converges. 

You probably remember the idea behind Mathematical Induction from MAT01A1. In that module we described it as
a particular method of proof. Specifically, it allows us to prove that a statement holds true for all natural numbers,
or for all natural numbers larger than a certain starting number. We state it here again, since we will need it to work
through the example we do next:

The Principle of Mathematical Induction

If P (n) is a statement for each n ∈ N such that

a) P (1) is true, and
b) for each k ∈ N, if P (k) is true then P (k + 1) is true

then P (n) is true for all n ∈ N.

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Example 14

Investigate the sequence {an } defined by the recurrence relation

 
1
a1 = 2 an+1 = an + 6 for n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
2

Solution

We want to determine whether the sequence converges, and if so, whether we can determine its limit. So, we start by
calculating some terms of the sequence:

1 1
a1 = 2 a2 = (2 + 6) = 4 a3 = (4 + 6) = 5
2  2 
1 11 1 1 11 3 1 23 7
a4 = (5 + 6) = =5 a5 = +6 =5 a6 = +6 =5
2 2 2 2 2 4 2 4 8

See if you can fill in the details of the following calculations:

15 31 63
a7 = 5 a8 = 5 a9 = 5
16 32 64
So it to looks like the sequence converges to 6. We will prove this using the definition of the limit of a sequence. First,
we prove using Mathematical Induction, that the sequence is increasing.

We will show that an+1 > an for n > 1. Our base case (P (1)) is clearly true, since for n = 1 we have:

a2 = 4 > 2 = a1

Next, suppose that for any given k ∈ N, we have that ak+1 > ak . We will show that ak+2 > ak+1 .

By our assumption we have that

ak+1 > ak
hence
ak+1 + 6 > ak + 6
hence    
1 1
ak+1 + 6 > ak + 6
2 2
Thus
ak+2 > ak+1
This shows that both conditions of the Principle of Mathematical Induction are satisfied. So we can conclude that for
all n ∈ N it is the case that an+1 > an and we have shown that {an } is an increasing sequence.

Next, we will prove that the sequence is bounded above - we will show that an < 6 for all n ∈ N. We again use
Mathematical Induction to prove this fact. This time we have as a base case P (1) the statement a1 < 6, which is
clearly true. We assume that it is the case that ak < 6 and we prove that ak+1 < 6 as well.

By assumption
ak < 6
hence
ak + 6 < 6 + 6 = 12
hence  
1 1
ak + 6 < · 12
2 2
Hence
ak+1 < 6

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as required to prove.

So now we know that the sequence is increasing and it is bounded above. We use Theorem 12 to infer that the
sequence must converge, i.e. we know that lim an = L exists. Notice also that
n→∞

lim an = lim an+1

n→∞ n→∞

We calculate the value of the limit as follows:

     
1 1 1
lim an+1 = lim an + 6 = lim an + 6 = L+6
n→∞ n→∞ 2 2 n→∞ 2

Hence, we have  
1
L= L+6
2
We solve for L to get:
L=6
as predicted.

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