Quiz 7 Solutions

1. Consider the sequence

π n

an = 1 +
n
for n ≥ 1. What can you say about the convergence/divergence of the sequence?
Solution: Recall that the formula for continuously compounded interest formula can be obtained
by taking the limit  r nt
lim 1 + = ert
n→∞ n
While in practice this is used for r values between 0 and 1 (a sensible range for interest rates), the
formula holds true for all r ∈ R. Setting r = π and t = 1, we get that the limit of our sequence is
 π n·1
lim 1 + = eπ·1 = eπ
n→∞ n

2. Determine if the following series is convergent or divergent. If the series converges, find its sum.
∞
X (−1)n 2n
.
n=2
5n+2

Solution: Begin by bringing the exponent of everything in the summand back to the common
value n. We do this by factoring 52 from the denominator, then use the properties of summation:
∞ ∞
X (−1)n 2n X 1 (−1)n 2n
= ·
n=2
5n+2 n=2
52 5n
∞
1 X (−1)n 2n
=
25 n=2 5n
∞  n
1 X −2
=
25 n=2 5

which is a geometric sum with common ration r = −2/5. Since |r| = 2/5 < 1, we know this is
convergent, and the sum will converge to:
∞
X (−1)n 2n 1 first term of the sum
= ·
n=2
5n+2 25 1 − common ratio r
 2
−2
1 5
= · (first term is (−2/5)2 since sum starts at n = 2)
25 −2
1−
5
1 4 1 1 4 5 4
= · · = · · =
25 25 1 + 2/5 25 25 7 125 · 7
4
=
875