LESSON I
Sequences
In everyday language, the term “sequence” means a succession of things in a definite order—
chronological order, size order, or logical order, for example. In mathematics, the term
“sequence” is commonly used to denote a succession of numbers whose order is determined by
a rule or a function. In this section, we will develop some of the basic ideas concerning sequences
of numbers.
Definition of a Sequence
Graphs of Sequences
Limit of a Sequence
The Squeezing Theorem for Sequences
Questions for discussions:
1. What are some concepts that you encountered which needs additional explanation?
2. What questions can you generate from the discussion?
Lecture Notes
DEFINITION OF A SEQUENCE
Stated informally, an infinite sequence, or more simply a sequence, is an unending
succession of numbers, called terms. It is understood that the terms have a definite order; that
is, there is a first term a1, a second term a2, a third term a3, a fourth term a4, and so forth.
Such a sequence would typically be written as
a1, a2, a3, a4,...
where the dots are used to indicate that the sequence continues indefinitely. Some specific
examples are
1 1 1
1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , 1, , , , . . .,
2 3 4
2, 4, 6, 8, . . . , 1, −1, 1, −1, . . .,
Each of these sequences has a definite pattern that makes it easy to generate additional terms if
we assume that those terms follow the same pattern as the displayed terms. However, such patterns
can be deceiving, so it is better to have a rule or formula for generating the terms. One way of
doing this is to look for a function that relates each term in the sequence to its term number. For
example, in the sequence
2, 4, 6, 8,...
each term is twice the term number; that is, the nth term in the sequence is given by the formula
2n. We denote this by writing the sequence as
2, 4, 6, 8,..., 2n,...
We call the function 𝑓 (𝑛) = 2𝑛 the general term of this sequence. Now, if we want to know a
=
specific term in the sequence, we need only substitute its term number in the formula for the
general term. For example, the 37th term in the sequence is 2 · 37 = 74.
EXAMPLE 1:
In each part, find the general term of the sequence.
1 2 3 4 1 1 1 1
a) , , , ,… b) , , , ,…
2 3 4 5 2 4 8 16
1 2 3 4
c) 2
,−3,4,−5,… d) 1, 3, 5, 7, …
SOLUTION:
Table 1 a) In Table 1, the four known terms have been placed below their term
numbers, from which we see that the numerator is the same as the term
term
number 1 2 3 4
... n ... number and the denominator is one greater than the term number. This
1 2 3 4 ... n ...
suggests that the nth term has a numerator n and the denominator 𝑛 + 1, as
term
2 3 4 5 n1 indicated in the table. Thus, the sequence can be expressed as
1 2 3 4 𝑛
, , , ,…, ,…
2 3 4 5 𝑛+1
b) In Table 2, the denominators of the four known terms have been
Table 2
expressed as powers of 2 and the first four terms have been placed below their
term
number 1 2 34 ... n ...
term number. This suggests that the denominator of the nth term is 2n, as
1 1 11 ... 1 ... indicated in the table. Thus, the sequence can be expressed as
term
2 22 23 24 2n
1 1 1 1 1
, , , ,…, 𝑛 ,…
2 4 8 16 2
c) This sequence is identical to that in part (a), except for the alternating signs. Thus, the
nth term in the sequence can be obtained by multiplying the nth term in part (a) by (−1) n+1.
This factor produces the correct alternating signs, since its successive values, starting with n =
1, are 1, −1, 1, −1, . . . . Thus, the sequence can be written as
d) In Table 3, the four known terms have been placed below their term
numbers, from which we see that each term is one less than twice its term
Table 3 number. This suggests that the nth term in the sequence is 2n − 1, as indicated
in the table. Thus, the sequence can be expressed as
term ... ... 1 2 3 4 𝑛
number 1 2 3 4 n
, , , ,…, ,…
2 3 4 5 𝑛+1
term 1 3 5 7 ... 2n 1 ...
When the general term of a sequence
a1, a2, a3, . . . , an, . . .
is known, there is no need to write out the initial terms, and it is common to
write only the general term enclosed in braces. Thus, (1) might be written as
For example, here are the four sequences in Example 1 expressed in
brace notation.
The letter n in (1) is called the index for the sequence. It is not essential to use n for the index;
any letter not reserved for another purpose can be used. For example, we might view the general
term of the sequence a1, a2, a3, ... to be the kth term, in which case we would denote this
sequence as . Moreover, it is not essential to start the index at 1; sometimes it is more convenient
to start it at 0 (or some other integer). For example, consider the sequence
1 1 1
1, , 2 , 3 , …
2 2 2
One way to write this sequence is
However, the general term will be simpler if we think of the initial term in the sequence as the
zeroth term, in which case we can write the sequence as
We began this section by describing a sequence as an unending succession of numbers. Although
this conveys the general idea, it is not a satisfactory mathematical definition because it relies on
the term “succession,” which is itself an undefined term. To motivate a precise definition, consider
the sequence
2, 4, 6, 8, . . . , 2n, . . .
If we denote the general term by f(n) = 2n, then we can write this sequence as
f(1), f(2), f(3), . . . , f(n), . . .
which is a “list” of values of the function
f(n) = 2n, n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
whose domain is the set of positive integers. This suggests the following definition.
Definition A sequence is a function whose domain is a set of integers.
Typically, the domain of a sequence is the set of positive integers or the set of nonnegative
integers. We will regard the expression to be an alternative notation for the function 𝑓(𝑛) =
𝑎𝑛 , 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, …, and we will regard to be an alternative notation for the function 𝑓(𝑛) =
𝑎𝑛 , 𝑛 = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .,
GRAPHS OF SEQUENCES
Since sequences are functions, it makes sense to talk about the graph of a sequence. For
example, the graph of the sequence is the graph of the equation
1
𝑦 = , 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, . ..
𝑛
Because the right side of this equation is defined only for positive integer values of n, the graph
consists of a succession of isolated points (Figure 1a). This is different from the graph of
1
𝑦 = ,𝑥 ≥ 1
𝑥
which is a continuous curve (Figure 1b).
Figure 1
LIMIT OF A SEQUENCE
Since sequences are functions, we can inquire about their limits. However, because a
sequence {an} is only defined for integer values of n, the only limit that makes sense is the limit
of𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑛 → +∞. In Figure 2 we have shown the graphs of four sequences, each of which behaves
differently as 𝑛 → +∞:
• The terms in the sequence {n + 1} increase without bound.
• The terms in the sequence {(−1)n+1} oscillate between −1 and 1.
• The terms in the sequence {n/(n + 1)} increase toward a “limiting value” of 1.
1 𝑛
• The terms in the sequence {1+(− 2) )} also tend toward a “limiting value” of 1, but do so in
an oscillatory fashion.
Figure 2
Informally speaking, the limit of a sequence {an} is intended to describe how an behaves as
n→+∞. To be more specific, we will say that a sequence {an} approaches a limit L if the terms
in the sequence eventually become arbitrarily close to L. Geometrically, this
Figure 3
means that for any positive number Є there is a point in the sequence after which all terms lie
between the lines y = L − Є and y = L + Є (Figure 3).
The following definition makes these ideas precise.
Definition A sequence {an} is said to converge to the limit L if given any Є > 0, there is
a positive integer N such that |an − L| < Є for n ≥ N. In this case we write
lim 𝑎𝑛 = 𝐿
𝑛→+∞
A sequence that does not converge to some finite limit is said to diverge.
EXAMPLE 2:
The first two sequences in Figure 2 diverge, and the second two converge to 1; that is,
The following theorem, which we state without proof, shows that the familiar properties of limits
apply to sequences. This theorem ensures that the algebraic techniques used to find limits of the
form lim can also be used for limits of the form lim .
𝑛→+∞ 𝑛→+∞
. 1
If the general term of a sequence is f(n), where f(x) is a function defined on the entire interval
[1,+∞), then the values of f(n) can be viewed as “sample values” of f(x) taken at the positive
integers. Thus,
(Figure 4a) However, the converse is not true; that is, one cannot infer that f(x) →L as x→+∞
from the fact that f (n) →L as n→+∞ (Figure 4b).
Figure 4
EXAMPLE 3:
In each part, determine whether the sequence converges or diverges by examining the limit as
n→+∞.
Solution (a). Dividing numerator and denominator by n and using Theorem 1 yields
Solution (b). This sequence is the same as that in part (a), except for the factor of (−1) n+1
,
which oscillates between +1 and −1. Thus, the terms in this sequence oscillate between positive
and negative values, with the odd-numbered terms being identical to those in part (a) and the
even-numbered terms being the negatives of those in part (a). Since the sequence in part (a)
1 1
has a limit of , it follows that the odd-numbered terms in this sequence approach , and the
2 2
1
even-numbered terms approach − 2. Therefore, this sequence has no limit—it diverges.
Solution (c). Since 1/n→0, the product (−1)n+1(1/n) oscillates between positive and negative
values, with the odd-numbered terms approaching 0 through positive values and the even-
numbered terms approaching 0 through negative values. Thus,
so the sequence converges to 0.
Solution (d). lim (8 − 2𝑛) = −∞, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 (8 − 2𝑛)+∞
𝑛=1 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠.
𝑛→+∞
EXAMPLE 4 In each part, determine whether the sequence converges, and if so, find its limit.
Solution. Replacing n by x in the first sequence produces the power function (1/2) x, and
replacing n by x in the second sequence produces the power function 2x. Now recall that if 0 < b
< 1, then bx→0 as x→+∞, and if b > 1, then b x→+∞ as x→+∞ (Figure 5).
Thus,
So, the sequence {1/2n} converges to 0, but the sequence {2n} diverges.
EXAMPLE 5 Find the limit of the sequence
Solution. The expression
is an indeterminate form of type ∞/∞, so L’Hôpital’s rule is indicated. However, we cannot apply
this rule directly to n/e n because the functions n and e n have been defined here only at the
positive integers, and hence are not differentiable functions. To circumvent this problem we
extend the domains of these functions to all real numbers, here implied by replacing n by x, and
apply L’Hôpital’s rule to the limit of the quotient x/e x. This yields
from which we can conclude that
EXAMPLE 6 Show that
Solution.
Sometimes the even-numbered and odd-numbered terms of a sequence behave sufficiently
differently that it is desirable to investigate their convergence separately. The following theorem,
whose proof is omitted, is helpful for that purpose.
EXAMPLE 7 The sequence
converges to 0, since the even-numbered terms and the odd-numbered terms both converge to
0, and the sequence
diverges, since the odd-numbered terms converge to 1 and the even-numbered terms converge
to 0.
LIMIT OF A SEQUENCE
The following theorem, illustrated in Figure 5, is an adaptation of the Squeezing
Theorem to sequences. This theorem will be useful for finding limits of sequences that cannot
be obtained directly. The proof is omitted.
Figure 5
EXAMPLE 8 Use numerical evidence to make a conjecture about the
limit of the sequence
and then confirm that your conjecture is correct.
Solution. Table 4, which was obtained with a calculating utility, suggests that the limit of
the sequence may be 0. To confirm this we need to examine the limit of
𝑛!
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑛
𝑛
as n→+∞. Although this is an indeterminate form of type ∞/∞, L’Hôpital’s rule is not helpful
because we have no definition of x! for values of x that are not integers. However, let us write
out some of the initial terms and the general term in the sequence:
If n > 1, the general term of the sequence can be rewritten as
from which it follows that an ≤ 1/n (why?). It is now evident that
Table 4
However, the two outside expressions have a limit of 0 as n→+∞; thus, the Squeezing Theorem
for Sequences implies that an→0 as n→+∞, which confirms our conjecture.
The following theorem is often useful for finding the limit of a sequence with both positive and
negative terms—it states that if the sequence {|an|} that is obtained by taking the absolute value
of each term in the sequence {an} converges to 0, then {an} also converges to 0.
PROOF Depending on the sign of an, either an = |an| or an = −|an|. Thus, in all cases we
have −|an| ≤ an ≤ |an|
However, the limit of the two outside terms is 0, and hence the limit of an is 0 by the Squeezing
Theorem for Sequences.
EXAMPLE 9 Consider the sequence
If we take the absolute value of each term, we obtain the sequence
which, as shown in Example 4, converges to 0. Thus, from Theorem 4 we have
Teacher’s Insights
Infinite sequences and series were introduced briefly in A Preview of Calculus in connection with
Zeno’s paradoxes and the decimal representation of numbers. Their importance in calculus stems
from Newton’s idea of representing functions as sums of infinite series. For instance, in finding areas
he often integrated a function by first expressing it as a series and then integrating each term of
the series. Many of the functions that arise in mathematical physics and chemistry, such as Bessel
functions, are defined as sums of series, so it is important to be familiar with the basic concepts of
convergence of infinite sequences and series.
