AASTU [POWER SERIES]

CHAPTER TWO: POWER SERIES

2.1. Definition of Power Series
Definition 2.1(Power series in x or centered at 0)

A series of the form a
k 0
k x k  a0  a1 x  a2 x 2  a3 x 3    ak x k   where x is a variable and the

constants a k' s are the coefficients, is called a power series in x .

Definition2.2 (Power series in x  c or centered at c)


A series of the form a0  a1 x  c   a 2 x  c 2    a k x  c k     a k x  c k is called a power
k 0

series in x  c  or a power series centered at c or about c, where c is any constant.

Note: Any finite partial sum of the above power series is simply a polynomial in x.
Examples:

xn
1. 
n 0 n!
is a power series in x


x  1k
2. 
k 0 2k
is a power series about -1, or centered at -1.


x  1 / 2k
3. 
k 0 k  1!
is a power series in x  1 / 2 or centered at ½.

2.2. Convergence, Divergence, Radius and Interval of a power series

The major characteristic of a power series is that it involves a variable, and its convergence
depends on the value that x takes. Consequently, it is important to know the set of numbers that
make the power series converge.

Example: For what value(s) of x does the power series  ax
n 0
n
converge, for a  0 ?


Solution:  ax
n 0
n
 a  ax  ax 2  ax 3   is a geometric series with first term a1  a and common

a1
ratio r  x which converges to for r  1. i.e., for x  1 .
1 r

a
Thus,  ax
n 0
n
converges to
1 x
for x  1.

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
Theorem 2.1: For any given power series of the form  a x  c  , there are only the following
k
k
k 0

three possibilities:
(a) the series converges only for x  c or
(b) the series converges for all x  , or

(c) There is a positive number R such that the series converges if x  c  R and diverges if

x c  R.

Definition2.3: The set {a : the power series converges when x is replaced by a}
is called the interval of convergence of the power series and the number R in the
previous theorem is called the radius of convergence for the given power series.
Remarks:
1. In case (a) of theorem 2.1, the radius of convergence is 0 and in case (b), the radius is .
2. If R  , then its interval of convergence is  ,.

3. There are four possibilities for the interval of convergence of the power series with
respect to its radius of convergence R; these are:
c  R, c  R , c  R , c  R , c  R, c  R or c  R , c  R .
4. To determine the radius and interval of convergence of a power series, we can apply the
absolute ratio test or the generalized convergence test.
Furthermore, the radius of convergence of the power series can be computed using the
an
formula R  lim .
n  a
n 1

Example: Determine the radius and interval of convergence of each of the following power series.

x  3k 
xn
a) 
k 1 k
b) 
n 0 n !


 3n x n 
x  5k 
c) 
n 0 n 1
d) 
k 1 k 2
e)  n! x
n 0
n

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Solutions:

a) Let a n 
 x  3
n
 a n 1 
 x  3
n 1

n n 1

Then lim
a n 1
 lim
x  3 n
n  a
n
n  n 1

n
 x  3 lim  x  3 1
n  n 1
 x3  r

Then by absolute ratio test, the given series converges for r  1,

i.e. r  x  3  1  2  x  4,

But the absolute ratio test tells us nothing if r  x  3  1.In this case, we use direct substitution

to determine whether the power series converges or diverges at the end points of the interval,
with x  2 and x  4 .

2  3n 
 1n
Thus, if x  2, the series becomes  n 1 n

n 1 n
which is a convergent alternating series


4  3n 
1
And if x  4, the series becomes n 1 n
  , which is the divergent harmonic series.
n 1 n

Therefore, the power series converges for all x  2,4 .

ak 1/ k
This means, its radius of convergence is R  1 ( R  lim  lim  1 ) and its interval of
k  a k  1 / k  1
k 1

convergence is 2,4 .

a n1 x n1 n ! 1
b) Let r  lim  lim  x lim 0
n  a n  n  1! x n n  n  1
n

 r  0  1, Thus, the series converges for all x  ,

Thus, its radius of convergence is R   and its interval of convergence is  ,  .

c) r  lim
a n 1
 lim
 3n1 x n1 n 1  3 x
n  an n   n  2   3x 
n

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Then by the absolute ratio test, the given series converges for r  1,
1
 3 x 1  x  1 . R .
3 3

1 1
If x   , the series becomes
3

n 0 n 1
which can be shown to be a divergent series.

1 
 1n
But if x  , the series becomes
3

n 0 n 1
which is a convergent alternating series.

Hence, the interval of convergence of the power series 


 3n x n  1 1
is   ,  .
n 0 n 1  3 3

d) Let a k 
x  5k  a k 1 
x  5k 1
k2 k  12

Then r  lim
x  5k 1 . k 2  k 
 x  5 lim 
2

  x5
k  k  12 x  5k k  1  k
 

Then, by absolute ratio test, the series converges absolutely if x  5  1,

i.e, for 4  x  6, and diverges for x  4 and x  6 .

To determine the convergence behavior of the power series at the end points, x  4 and x  6, we

substitute the numbers directly instead of x as follows:


x  5k 
 1k ,
- If x  4, 
k 1 k2

k 1 k2
which converges.


x  5k 
6  5k 
1
- If x  6, then 
k 1 k 2

k 1 k 2

k 1 k
2
, which also converges.

Hence, for the given power series, its radius of convergence is R  1 , and its interval of

convergence is 4,6.

e) r  lim
a n 1
 lim
n  1! x n 1
n  a
n
n  n! x n

 if x  0
 lim x n  1  
n 
 0 if x  0
 The series converges only for x  0 which means R  0 .

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AASTU [POWER SERIES]

2.3. Algebraic Operations On convergent power Series

(Reading Assignment for Learners)

Sum and Difference of power series

Suppose that we have two functions defined by power series
f(x) = a0 + a1(x - c) + a2(x - c)2 + a3(x - c)3 + …
with radius of convergence R1 and
g(x) = b0 + b1(x - c) + b2(x - c)2 + b3(x - c)3 + …
with radius of convergence R2 ,
then

f ( x)  g ( x)   (an  bn )( x  c) n
n 1

and the radius of convergence is

(i) min{R1, R2} if R1 ≠ R2
(ii) ≥ R1 if R1 = R2

Product of power series

Suppose that we have two functions defined by power series
f(x) = a0 + a1(x - c) + a2(x - c)2 + a3(x - c)3 + …
with radius of convergence R1 and
g(x) = b0 + b1(x - c) + b2(x - c)2 + b3(x - c)3 + …
with radius of convergence R2 ,
then
f(x)g(x) = a0 b0 + [a1 b0 + a0 b1 ](x - c) +
[a2 b0 + a1 b1 + a0 b2](x - c)2 +
[a3 b0 + a2 b1 + a1b2 + a0 b3](x - c)3 + …

and the radius of convergence is min{R1 , R2} unless

either f(x) = 0 or g(x) = 0.

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Reciprocal of a Power series

Theorem 2.2:
Suppose that we have a function defined by power series
f(x) = a0 + a1(x - c) + a2(x - c)2 + a3(x - c)3 + …
with radius of convergence R and a0 ≠ 0, then

1
has a power series of the form  q n ( x  c ) n
f ( x) n 0

with positive radius of convergence ≤ R and further more

1
q0 
a0

Using Long Division to find the reciprocal

of a power series
Example: x2 x4 x6
We know that cos x  1     ( see page 13 )
2! 4! 6!

and cos 0 ≠ 0 , therefore we have a power series of sec x

around the point x = 0.
This power series can be found by the long division

x2 x4 x6
[1     ] 1
2 24 720

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x2 5x 4
1  
2 24
x2 x4 x6
[1     ] 1
2 24 720 x2 x4 x6
1   
2 24 720
x2 x4 x6
  
2 24 720
x2 x4 x6 x8
   
2 4 48 1440

5 x 4 14 x 6
 
24 720
x 2 5 4 61 6
 sec x  1   x  x 
2 24 720

2.4. Differentiation and Integration of power series


If the power series  a x  c  has radius of convergence R  0, then the function f defined by
n
n
n 0


f x    a n x  c  is differentiable on the interval c  R , c  R  and its derivative and integral
n

n 0

are as given below:


f ' x    n a n x  c 
n 1
(i) (Using term by term differentiation of the series
n 1


a0  a1 x  c   a 2 x  c     a k x  c      ak x  c  )
2 k k

k 0

x  c 2  a2 x  c   
3
a1
(ii)  f x dx  C  a0 x  c  
2 3

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  a x  c dx    a x  c  dx  C   n  1 a ( x  c)
 
1
i.e., n
n
n
n
n
n 1
where C is the constant of
n 0 n 0

integration.

1
Example 1: we know that the series x
n 0
n
converges to
1 x
for x  1 .

 R  1 and it is differentiable on the interval  1,1 .


i.e., f x  
1
  x n , x  1 .......................................................................(1)
1  x n 0

Differentiating both sides of (1) with respect to the variable x as

d  1  d
  
dx  1  x  dx

1 x  x2 

gives:

1
 1  2 x  3x 2  4 x 3     n x n1
1  x 2 n 1

Integrating both sides of (1) yields:

x2 x3
 n 1  x  C  x   
2 3

xn
  n 1  x  C   , for x  1 .
n 1 n
To get the value of the constant C , we can put in any number in the interval  1,1 .

For instance, if we insert x  0 , we get:  n 1  0  c  c  0.


xn
n (1  x)   , for x  1 ...............................................(2)
 n 1 n which is the

This is the power series representation of the function f ( x)  n(1  x) for x  1 .

Similarly, if we insert x  1 in equation (2) , we obtain the power series representation for n2
2

1
to be n2   n
n 1 n 2

Again if we put  x in terms of x in (2) , we get :

n 1  x   

 1n x n  x
x2 x3
  .....
n 1 n , which
2 3 is the power series representation for f ( x)  n 1  x .

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AASTU [POWER SERIES]

1
Exercise: Find the power series representation of for x  1 .
1 x2
Example 2: Find the power series representation of f ( x)  tan 1 x .
x 1 1
Solution: In tan 1 x   dt and  1  x  x 2   for x  1, replacing x by  t 2 , we get:
01 t 2
1 x

1
 1  t 2
 t 4
 t 6
 t 8
     1n t 2n for t 2  1.....................................(3)
1 t 2
n 0

Integrating both sides of (3) yields  0

x 1
t 1
2 0
x n

dt     1 t 2 n dt 
 
x 2 n 1
 tan 1 x    1 t 2 n dt    1
x

n n

n 0
0
n 0 2n  1

x 2 n 1
   1  tan 1 x, x  1.
n

n 0 2n  1

x 2 n 1
This implies that the power series   1 converges to tan 1 x for x  1 or the power series
n

n 0 2n  1

x 2 n 1 
expansion of f ( x)  tan x is   1 1
 tan 1 x, x  1.
n

n 0 2n  1

x 2 n 1
Exercise: Verify that the power series   1 also converge for x  1
n

n 0 2n  1
 
   1
n 1
and as a result
4 n 0 2n  1

2.5. Taylor and Maclaurin Series

Given a function and a point c on the x – axis.
Claim: To represent as a power series in x or (x- c) (if possible)
That is, to find the constants a0 , a1 ,, an , such that
n 
f x    a k x  c  or f x    a k x  c  .
k

k 0 k 0

To do this, we assume f has derivatives of n – orders at c, and suppose f can be represented by

the polynomial,
n
f x   n x    ak x  c  ........................................................................(4)
k

k 0

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To determine the coefficients in a0  a1 x  c   a2 x  c     an x  c  , we proceed as follows:

2 n

Let x  c in (4)

Then f c   a0 .

f ' x   a1  2a 2 x  c   3a3 x  c   , x  c  R
2

f "  x   2a 2  3 2a 3  x  c   

f ' " x   3.2 a3  4.3.2 a 4 x  c   

 
n 
f (c )  n ! a n
 f c   a 0 , f ' c   a1 , f " c   2 a 2
f ' " c   3.2 a3 , , f n  (c)  n!a n

This implies that the coefficients a k ' s are:

a 0  f c 
a1  f ' c 
f " c 
a2 
2!
f ' " c 
a3 
3!

f ck  f nc 
ak   an 
k! n!

Theorem2.3: If a function f has a polynomial approximation at x  c,

n f  k  (c )
f x    a k x  c  , for x  c  R, then the coefficients a k' s are given by the formula a k 
k

k 0 k!

Then putting this formula of a k in to (4) , we obtain the following definition for

nth – Taylor polynomial.

Definition 2.4: If f can be differentiable n – times at x  c, then we define the nth – Taylor

polynomial for the function f about x  c to be:

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AASTU [POWER SERIES]

f ck  x  c 
n k

n x    .
k 0 k!

Definition 2.5: If f has derivatives of all orders (i.e., infinitely differentiable) at x  c, then the

Taylor series for f about x  c, is defined as:

f  n  (c )  x  c 
n

f x    ........................................................(5)
n 0 n!

Definition 2.6: If we put c  0 in particular in (5) above it is reduced to

 f  n  (c )
f x    x n , which is called the Maclaurin Series representation for f.
n 0 n!

Furthermore, if f has derivatives of n – orders, the nth – Maclaurin polynomial for f x  is given

f " (0) f '" (0) f 0n  n f k  (0)

by: f x   f 0  f ' 0x  x2  x3    xn   xk
2! 3! n! k 0 k!

Examples:
1. Find the third Taylor polynomial approximation for f x   n x about x  1.

2. Find the Maclaurin series of (i) f x   sin x (ii) f x   e x

3. Find the Taylor series representation for the function g x   cos x about x   .

Solutions:
n f ck 
1. From n x    x  c k , In this case, we have f x   nx, c  1, and n  3 .
k 0 k!

Here, f x   nx is differentiable around x  1,

and f ' x    f ' c   f ' 1  1.

1
x
1
f " x    f " 1  1.
x2
2
f ' " x    f ' " 1  2, & f 1  n1  0
x3
Then the third Taylor polynomial for f x   nx is:

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f k  (1)x  1
k
3
3 x   
k 0 k!

f 10  f 11 f "1 f 1'"

 x  1 0
 x  1' x  1 2
 x  13
0! 1! 2! 3!
f 1'" x  1
3
f "
 f 1  f '   x  1  x  12 
2; 6
1
 n1  1x  1  x  12  2 x  13
2 6

 x  1  x  12  1 x  13
3  1
 3
2 3

2. (i) f x   sin x  f 0  sin0  0

f ' x   cos x  f ' 0  cos 0  1

f " x    sin x  f " 0   sin 0  0

f '" x    cos x  f ' ' ' 0   cos 0  1.

f iv  ( x)  sin x  ff 0iv   0

f v  ( x)  cos x  ff 0v  1
 

Then the Maclaurin series for f x   sin x is

 f 0k  x k
f x   sin x  
k 0 k!

0.x 0 1.x1 0.x 2  1x 3 0.x 4 1.x 5

      
0! 1: 2! 3! 4! 5!

x3 x5 x7
 sin x  x   
3! 5! 7 !

Using sigma notation, the Maclaurin series for f x   sin x is:

x 2 k 1  1
 k
sin x  
k  0 2k  1!

(ii). f x   e x  f 0  e 0  1.

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AASTU [POWER SERIES]

f ' x   e x  f ' 0  e 0  1


f k  (0)  1  k.

 f 0k  x 2 x3 x 4
So, e  
x
xk  1 x    
k 0 k! 2! 3! 4!
 
xk xk
 ex  , i.e., the Maclaurin series for e x is e x  
k 0 k! k 0 k !

3. g x   cos x  g 0   g    cos   1

g ' x    sin x  g '    0

g ' ' x    cos x  g ' '    1
g ' ' ' x   sin x  g ' ' '    0
g iv  ( x)  cos x  g iv  ( )  1

Then its Taylor series representation at x   is:

g k  ( ) x   
k

g x   cos x  
k 0 K!
g ' '   g ' ' '   x    g lv x   
3 4

 g  g '   x    
 
x      
2

2! 3! 4!

 1  x     x     x     
1 2 1 4 1 6

2! 4! 6!

Using sigma notation, it can be written as cos x  


 1 x   
k 1 2k
(Taylor series representation
k 0 2k !
for cos x about x   ).

13
AASTU [POWER SERIES]

The Binomial Series (Reading assignment)

Definition: If m is a real number, then the Maclaurin series for 1  x m is called the binomial

series, which is given by:

m m  1 2 m m  1m  2 3 m m  1m  2m  3 4 
 m
1  mx  x  x  x      x n  1  x  where
m

2! 3! 4! n 0  n 

,which is the coefficient of in the expansion.

- If m is a non – negative integer, then , f x   1  x m is clearly a polynomial of degree m,

and hence,
- f m1 (0)  f m 2  (0)    f k  (0)  0 for all k  m, and the binomial series reduces to

1  x m  1  mx  m m  1 x 2    x m , which is valid for    x   .

2!

Examples:
1. Find the binomial series expansion for 1  x 
5

2. Find the coefficient of x 4 in the binomial expansion of 1  x  .

6

Solutions
20 x 2 60 3 120 4
1. 1  x   1  5x   x  x  x 5 sin ce m  5
5

2! 3! 4!

Thus,
1  x5  1  5x  10 x 2  10 x 3  5x 4  x 5
2. Coefficient of x 4 is: m  6
m m  1 m  2 m  3
4!
6 6  1 6  2 6  3 6! 6.5.4!
    15
4; 4 : 2! 4 : 2!

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