22 Chapter 1.

Sequences and Limits

Problems 1.2 Resolver los ejercicios Resaltados

(1) For each of the following, find a general expression for the 𝑛th term of a sequence
which would yield these values as the first four terms.
1 1 1 1 1 1
(a) 1, 3 , 9 , 27 , . . . (b) 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , . . .
3 5 7 1 1 1 1
(c) 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , . . . (d) − 3 , 5 , − 7 , 9 , . . .

(2) For each of the following, decide whether the given sequence converges or di-
verges. If the sequence converges, find its limit.
1
(a) 𝑎𝑛 = 3𝑛
, 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . . (b) 𝑎𝑛 = 𝜋𝑛 , 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . .
3𝑛−1
(c) 𝑏𝑛 = 2𝑛+6
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . (d) 𝑐𝑛 = cos(𝜋𝑛), 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . .

3𝑛4 −6𝑛3 +1 2𝑛5 −3𝑛2 +23

(e) 𝑎𝑛 = 5𝑛3 +𝑛2 +2
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . (f) 𝑏𝑛 = 7𝑛5 +13𝑛4 −12
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .

45−16𝑛2 3𝑛+1
(g) 𝑐𝑛 = 13+5𝑛+6𝑛3
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . (h) 𝑏𝑛 = , 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .
√4𝑛2 +1

10−16𝑛3
(i) 𝑎𝑛 = (−2)2𝑛+1 , 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . (j) 𝑎𝑛 = 1+𝑛2
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .

3𝑛2 +𝑛−6 (−1)𝑛

(k) 𝑎𝑛 = √ 5𝑛2 +16
, 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . (l) 𝑏𝑛 = 5𝑛
, 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . .

(3) Explain why

1 sin(𝑛) 1
− ≤ ≤
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
sin(𝑛)
for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .. What can you conclude about lim𝑛→∞ 𝑛
?

1 𝑛
(4) Let 𝑎𝑛 = (1 + 𝑛 ) , 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . ..

(a) Compute 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , 𝑎4 , and 𝑎5 using a calculator.

(b) Compute values of 𝑎𝑛 for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 200.
(c) Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 200, along with the horizontal line
𝑦 = 𝑒.
(d) Does it seem reasonable that lim𝑛→∞ 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑒?
(e) What is the smallest value of 𝑛 for which 𝑎𝑛 > 2.7?
(f) What is the first value of 𝑛 for which |𝑎𝑛 − 𝑒| < 0.01? Recall that 𝑒 = 2.71828
to five decimal places.
1
(5) Let 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑛 sin( 𝑛 ), 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . ..

(a) Compute 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , 𝑎4 , and 𝑎5 using a calculator.

(b) Compute values of 𝑎𝑛 for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 200.
(c) Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 200, along with the horizontal line
𝑦 = 1.
(d) Does it seem reasonable that lim𝑛→∞ 𝑎𝑛 = 1?
(e) What is the smallest value of 𝑛 for which 𝑎𝑛 > 0.999?
(f) What is the first value of 𝑛 for which |𝑎𝑛 − 1| < 0.0001?
Problems 1.2 23

(6) Let 𝑎𝑛 = 1.01𝑛 and 𝑏𝑛 = 0.99𝑛 for 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . .. On the same graph, plot the
points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) and (𝑛, 𝑏𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, . . . , 200. How do these two plots compare?
Do the sequences converge?
10𝑛
(7) Let 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑛!
for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . ..

(a) Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 100.

(b) From the picture in part (a), can you guess lim𝑛→∞ 𝑎𝑛 ?
(c) What is the maximum value of 𝑎𝑛 for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 100?
(d) Can you see why
𝑘𝑛
lim =0
𝑛→∞ 𝑛!

for any constant 𝑘?

(8) Consider the sequence {𝑎𝑛 } with 𝑎1 = 10 and

1
𝑎𝑛+1 = 𝑎
3 𝑛
for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .. Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 50. Do you think this
sequence has a limit? Can you verify this?

(9) Consider the sequence {𝑎𝑛 } with 𝑎1 = 2 and

𝑎𝑛+1 = 2𝑎𝑛
for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .. Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 50. Can you find the
limit of this sequence using the same method you used in Problem 8? Does this
sequence have a limit?

(10) Consider the sequence {𝑎𝑛 } with 𝑎1 = 0.9 and

𝑎𝑛+1 = 2𝑎𝑛 (1 − 𝑎𝑛 )
for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . .. Plot the points (𝑛, 𝑎𝑛 ) for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 100. Do you think this
sequence has a limit? If so, can you find it?

(11) In each of the following, for an arbitrary 𝜖 > 0, find the smallest integer 𝑁 for
which |𝑎𝑛 − 𝐿| < 𝜖 whenever 𝑛 > 𝑁. Verify that your value for 𝑁 works in the
particular case 𝜖 = 0.001.
1
(a) 𝑎𝑛 = 1 − 𝑛 , 𝐿 = 1 (b) 𝑎𝑛 = 0.98𝑛 , 𝐿 = 0

1 3𝑛3 −1
(c) 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑛2
, 𝐿=0 (d) 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑛3
, 𝐿=3

(12) Show that for any −1 < 𝑟 < 1, lim𝑛→∞ 𝑟𝑛 = 0.

(13) Find sequences {𝑎𝑛 } and {𝑏𝑛 } such that {𝑎𝑛 } and {𝑏𝑛 } both diverge, but {𝑎𝑛 + 𝑏𝑛 }
converges.

(14) Find sequences {𝑎𝑛 } and {𝑏𝑛 } such that {𝑎𝑛 } diverges, {𝑏𝑛 } converges, and {𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑛 }
converges.