Arkansas Tech University

MATH 2924: Calculus II

Dr. Marcel B. Finan
24 Taylor Series
Let f(x) be a function with derivatives of any order at x = a, that is, f is
an innitely dierentiable function. Fix a value of x near a and consider
the sequence of Taylor ploynomials {P
n
(x)}

n=0
where
P
n
(x) = f(a) +
f

(a)
1!
(x a) +
f

(a)
2!
(x a)
2
+ +
f
(n)
(a)
n!
(x a)
n
.
If lim
n
P
n
(x) exists and is equal to f(x) then we write
f(x) =

n=0
f
(n)
(a)
n!
(x a)
n
.
The right-hand series is called the Taylor series expansion of f(x) about
x = a. We call
f
(n)
(a)
n!
(xa)
n
the general term of the series. It is a formula
that gives any term in the series.
Example 24.1
Let f(x) =
1
1x
. Finding successive derivatives we have
f

(x) =(1 x)
2
f

(0) = 1
f

(x) =2(1 x)
3
f

(0) = 2 = 2!
f

(x) =3 2(1 x)
4
f

(0) = 3!
.
.
.
f
(n)
(x) =n (n 1) 3 2(1 x)
(n+1)
f
(n)
(0) = n!
Thus,
P
n
(x) = 1 + x + x
2
+ x
3
+ + x
n
=
1 x
n+1
1 x
.
This is the nth partial sum of a geometric series that converges for |x| < 1.
Moreover,
1 + x + x
2
+ x
3
+ =
1
1 x
.
1
This shows that
f(x) = 1 + x + x
2
+
for all 1 < x < 1.
Remark 24.1
For a given function f at a given x, it is possible that the Taylor series
converges to a value dierent from f(x). However, the Taylor series of most
of the functions discussed in this section do converge to the original function.
Example 24.2
Show that the Taylor polynomials sequence {P
n
(x)}

n=0
of the function f(x)
dened below about x = 0 converges to 0 for all x. Thus, if x = 0 then
lim
n
P
n
(x) = f(x).
f(x) =

0 if x = 0
e

2
x
2
if x = 0
Solution.
Using a graphing calculator, one can see that the function f and all its deriva-
tives are at at 0. That is, the derivatives of f(x) of all orders are zero at
zero. Hence, P
n
(x) = 0 for all x near 0 and for all n. This shows that if x = 0
is close to 0 then lim
n
P
n
(x) = 0 = e

2
x
2
= f(x).
Taylor Series Expansion of f(x) = cos x About x = 0
Let f(x) = cos x. We will nd the Taylor series expansion of f(x) about
x = 0. Indeed,
f

(x) = sin x
f

(x) = cos x
f

(x) = sin x
f
(4)
(x) = cos x
.
.
.
We see that the derivatives go through a cycle of length 4 and then repeat
that cycle forever. It follows that
f
(k)
(0) =

0 if k is odd
(1)
k
2
if k is even.
2
Hence,
P
2n
(x) = P
2n+1
(x) = 1
1
2!
x
2
+
1
4!
x
4
+ (1)
n
x
2n
(2n)!
=
n

k=0
(1)
k
x
2k
(2k)!
.
Now, consider the series

n=0
(1)
n
x
2n
(2n)!
= 1
x
2
2!
+
x
4
4!

and let a
n
=
(1)
n
(2n)!
. Then
1
R
= lim
n

a
n+1
a
n

= lim
n
1
(2n + 2)(2n + 1)
= 0 < 1.
This shows that the series is convergent for all values of x. It remains to show
that the series converges to cos x. For this purpose, we need to apply Taylors
Theorem discussed in the previous section. Write
cos x = P
n
(x) + E
n
(x).
Then cos xP
n
(x) = E
n
(x). By the previous section we showed that lim
n
E
n
(x) =
0. This implies that
cos x = 1
x
2
2!
+
x
4
4!
+ (1)
n
x
2n
(2n)!
+
Taylor Series Expansion of f(x) = sin x About x = 0
Let f(x) = sin x. We will nd the Taylor series expansion of f(x) about
x = 0. Indeed,
f

(x) = cos x
f

(x) = sin x
f

(x) = cos x
f
(4)
(x) = sin x
.
.
.
We see that the derivatives go through a cycle of length 4 and then repeat
that cycle forever. It follows that
f
(k)
(0) =

0 if k is even
(1)
k1
2
if k is odd.
3
Hence, for n 1,
P
2n
(x) = P
2n1
(x) = x
x
3
3!
+
x
5
5!
+
(1)
n
(2n + 1)!
x
2n+1
=
n

k=0
(1)
k
x
2k+1
(2k + 1)!
.
Now, let a
n
=
(1)
n
(2n+1)!
. Then
lim
n

a
n+1
a
n

= lim
n
1
(2n + 3)(2n + 2)
= 0 < 1.
This shows that the series

n=0
(1)
n
(2n+1)!
x
2n+1
is convergent for all values of
x. It remains to show that the series converges to sin x. For this purpose, we
need to apply Taylors Theorem discussed in the previous section. Write
sin x = P
n
(x) + E
n
(x).
From the previous section we see that E
n
0 as n . Thus,
sin x =

n=0
(1)
n
(2n + 1)!
x
2n+1
.
Taylor Series Expansion of f(x) = e
x
About x = 0
For all nonnegative integer k we have f
(k)
(x) = e
x
and f
(k)
(0) = 1. Thus,
the nth Taylor polynomial is given by the expression
P
n
(x) = 1 +
x
1!
+
x
2
2!
+ +
x
n
n!
.
Let a
n
=
1
n!
. Then by the ratio test we have
lim
n

a
n+1
a
n

= lim
n
1
n + 1
= 0 < 1.
Thus, the series

n=0
x
n
n!
converges for all values of x. It remains to show
that the series converges to e
x
. For that, we need to use Taylor Theorem.
Write f(x) = P
n
(x) + E
n
(x) where
|E
n
(x)| =

f
(n+1)
(c)
(n + 1)!
x
n+1

=
e
c
(n + 1)!
|x|
n+1
0, as n ,
4
since lim
n
x
n
n!
= 0. Hence,
e
x
= 1 +
x
1!
+
x
2
2!
+ =

n=0
x
n
n!
.
Taylor Series Expansion of f(x) = ln (1 + x) About x = 0
Taking derivatives:
f

(x) =(1 + x)
1
f

(0) = 1 = 0!
f

(x) =(1 + x)
2
f

(0) = 1!
f

(x) =2(1 + x)
3
f

(0) = 2!
f
(4)
(x) =6(1 + x)
4
f
(4)
(0) = 3!
.
.
.
f
(n)
(x) =(1)
n1
(n 1)!(1 + x)
n
f
(n)
(0) = (1)
n1
(n 1)!
Hence,
P
n
(x) = x
x
2
2
+
x
3
3
+ (1)
n1
x
n
n
=
n

k=1
(1)
k1
x
k
k
.
Letting a
n
= (1)
n1 1
n
and applying the ratio test we nd that
lim
n

a
n+1
a
n

= 1.
Hence, the series

n=1
(1)
n1 x
n
n
converges for all 1 < x < 1. By the
alternating series test we know that

n=1
(1)
n1
n
is convergent so the interval
of convergence of the previous series is 1 < x 1. It remains to show that
the series converges to ln (1 + x).
Using Taylor theorem, we can write f(x) = P
n
(x) + E
n
(x), where
|E
n
(x)| =

f
(n+1)
(c)
(n + 1)!
x
n+1

1
|1 + c|
n+1

|x|
n+1
(n + 1)
0, as n .
Hence,
ln (1 + x) =

n=1
(1)
n1
x
n
n
, 1 < x 1.
5
Taylor Series Expansion of f(x) = (1 + x)
p
About x = 0(Optional)
Finding successive derivatives:
f(x) =(1 + x)
p
f(0) = 1
f

(x) =p(1 + x)
p1
f

(0) = p
f

(x) =p(p 1)(1 + x)

p2
f

(0) = p(p 1)
f

(x) =p(p 1)(p 2)(1 + x)

p3
f

(0) = p(p 1)(p 2)

.
.
.
f
(n)
(x) =p(p 1) (p n + 1)(1 + x)
pn
f
(n)
(0) = p(p 1) (p n + 1).
Hence,
P
n
(x) = 1 +
n

k=1
p(p 1) (p k + 1)
k!
x
k
.
Consider the series 1 +

n=1
p(p1)(pn+1)
k!
x
n
. Letting a
n
=
p(p1)(pn+1)
n!
and applying the ratio test we nd
lim
n

a
n+1
a
n

= lim
n

p(p 1) (p n)n!
(n + 1)!p(p 1) (p n + 1)

= lim
n

p n
n + 1

= 1.
Hence, the radius of convergence is 1 and therefore the series 1+

n=1
p(p1)(pn+1)
n!
x
n
converges for all 1 < x < 1. It remains to show that the series converges to
(1 + x)
p
.
f(x) = 1 +

n=1
p(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n
, 1 < x < 1.
According to Section 62, the function f(x) is dierentiable and has power
series expansion
f

(x) =

n=1
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n1
, 1 < x < 1.
6
Thus,
xf

(x) + f

(x) =

n=1
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n
+

n=1
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n1
=

n=1
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n
+ p +

n=1
(n + 1)p(p 1) (p n)
(n + 1)!
x
n
=p +

n=1

(n + 1)p(p 1) (p n)
(n + 1)!
+
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!

x
n
=p + p

n=1
p(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
x
n
=pf(x),
where we have used the fact that
(n + 1)p(p 1) (p n)
(n + 1)!
+
np(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
= p
p(p 1) (p n + 1)
n!
.
It follows that f(x) satises the dierential equation
xf

(x) + f

(x) = pf(x)
or equivalently,
(1 + x)f

(x) pf(x) = 0.
Now, dene the function g(x) =
f(x)
(1+x)
p
, 1 < x < 1. Then g

is dierentiable
with derivative
g

(x) =
(1+x)
p
f

(x)f(x)p(1+x)
p1
(1+x)
2p
=
(1+x)f

(x)pf(x)
(1+x)
p+1
= 0.
It follows that g(x) = C for all 1 < x < 1. But g(0) = f(0) = 1 so that
C = 1. This implies that f(x) = (1 + x)
p
.
Example 24.3
Use the Binomial series expansion to nd the Taylor series expansion of
1
1+x
about x = 0.
Solution.
Use the binomial series with p = 1 to obtain
1
1+x
= (1 + x)
1
= 1 x + x
2
x
3
+
By the ratio test, this series converges for all 1 < x < 1.
7