Absolute Convergence

If the series |a
n
| converges, then the series a
n
also converges.

Alternating Series Test
If for all n, a
n
is positive, non-increasing (i.e. 0 < a
n+1
<= a
n
), and approaching zero, then the alternating series
(-1)
n
a
n
and (-1)
n-1
a
n

both converge.

Direct Comparison Test
If 0 <= a
n
<= b
n
for all n greater than some positive integer N, then the following rules apply:
If b
n
converges, then a
n
converges.
If a
n
diverges, then b
n
diverges.

n
th
Root Test
When a
n
is positive, let L = lim (n -- > ) | a
n
|
1/n
.
If L < 1, then the series a
n
converges.
If L > 1, then the series a
n
diverges.
If L = 1, then the test in inconclusive.





Geometric Series Convergence
The geometric series is given by
a r
n
= a + a r + a r
2
+ a r
3
+ ...
If |r| < 1 then the following geometric series converges to a / (1 - r).
If |r| >= 1 then the above geometric series diverges.

Integral Test
If for all n >= 1, f(n) = a
n
, and f is positive, continuous, and decreasing then
a
n
and
a
n

either both converge or both diverge.
If the above series converges, then the remainder R
N
= S - S
N
(where S is the exact sum of the infinite series and S
N
is the sum of the
first N terms of the series) is bounded by 0< = R
N
<= (N.. ) f(x) dx.

Limit Comparison Test
If lim (n--> ) (a
n
/ b
n
) = L, CHOOSE b
n
by dividing ns to approximate


where a
n
, b
n
> 0 and L is finite and positive,
then the series a
n
and b
n
either both converge or both diverge.

n
th
-Term Test for Divergence
If the sequence {a
n
} does not converge to zero, then the series a
n
diverges.





p-Series Convergence
The p-series is given by
1/n
p
= 1/1
p
+ 1/2
p
+ 1/3
p
+ ...
where p > 0 by definition.
If p > 1, then the series converges.
If 0 < p <= 1 then the series diverges.

Ratio Test
If for all n, n 0, then the following rules apply:
Let L = lim (n -- > ) | a
n+1
/ a
n
|.
If L < 1, then the series a
n
converges.
If L > 1, then the series a
n
diverges.
If L = 1, then the test in inconclusive.