Taylor Series and Remainder Term

Rahie Datta
April 13, 2024

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Definition: Taylor Series and Remainder Term
Let f (x) be a function that is (n + 1)-times differentiable on an interval containing a. The Taylor series of f (x) about the point
a is given by:
∞
X f (n) (a)
f (x) = (x − a)n
n=0
n!

where f (n) (a) denotes the n-th derivative of f (x) evaluated at a.

The n-th degree Taylor polynomial of f (x) at a, denoted by Tn (x), is defined as:
n
X f (k) (a)
Tn (x) = (x − a)k
k!
k=0

where Tn (x) is a polynomial of degree n.

The remainder term Rn (x), also known as the remainder in the Taylor series, is defined as:
∞
X f (k) (a)
Rn (x) = f (x) − Tn (x) = (x − a)k
k!
k=n+1

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Theorem: Taylor’s Theorem with Remainder
Let f (x) be a function that is (n + 1)-times differentiable on an interval containing a. If f (x) is equal to the sum of its Taylor
series, then:

f (x) = lim Tn (x)

n→∞

Furthermore, if we define the remainder term Rn (x) = f (x) − Tn (x), then:

∞
X f (k) (a)
Rn (x) = (x − a)k
k!
k=n+1

where Rn (x) represents the error between the function f (x) and its n-th degree Taylor polynomial Tn (x) about the point a.