4.2.9
Sum to Infinity of a Geometric Series
Sum to Infinity of a Geometric Series
Sum to Infinity of a Geometric Series
We can often find the sum of the terms of an infinite geometric sequence rather than the sum of only the first terms.
Infinite series
Infinite series
- An infinite series is the sum of the terms of an infinite sequence.
- For example, is an infinite series, as is indicated by the "".
- In sigma notation, is an infinite series as the upper limit of is infinity.
Divergent
Divergent
- If the terms of a geometric series increase, then as the number of terms in the series increases to infinity, the value of the sum will also increase to infinity.
- We say that this series is divergent.
- The value of the sum diverges away from being a fixed, known value.
- All non-zero arithmetic series are divergent.
Convergent
Convergent
- If the terms of a geometric series decrease, then as the number of terms in the series increases to infinity, the value of the sum gets closer and closer to a fixed value.
- We say that this series is convergent.
- The value of the infinite sum has a fixed value that we can find.
- The more finite terms we have in the series, the closer the sum will be to that fixed value.
Common ratio
Common ratio
- We can determine if a sequence is convergent by looking at the common ratio of the sequence, :
- A sequence is convergent if .
- We can also write this as .
Sum to infinity
Sum to infinity
- The sum of the first terms of a geometric series is .
- If , then as
gets larger, the term
gets smaller.
- This means for , .
- The sum to infinity of a geometric series is equal to:
Example
Example
- Determine whether the infinite geometric series with and
is a divergent or convergent series.
- Find the sum of the infinite series if it is convergent.
Common ratio
Common ratio
- If the infinite series is convergent, then .
- Substituting in , we can see that:
- So the infinite series is convergent and we can find the sum.
Find the sum
Find the sum
- The sum of a convergent infinite series is given by:
- Substituting in and
, we get:
1Proof
1.1Types of Numbers
1.2Notation
2Algebra & Functions
2.1Powers & Roots
2.2Quadratic Equations
2.3Inequalities
2.4Polynomials
2.5Graphs
2.7Transformation of Graphs
3Coordinate Geometry
3.1Straight Lines
3.2Circles
3.2.1Equations of Circles centred at Origin
3.2.2Finding the Centre & Radius
3.2.3Equation of a Tangent
3.2.4Circle Theorems - Perpendicular Bisector
3.2.5Circle Theorems - Angle at the Centre
3.2.6Circle Theorems - Angle at a Semi-Circle
3.2.7Equation of a Perpendicular Bisector
3.2.8Equation of a Circumcircle
3.2.9Circumcircle of a Right-angled Triangle
3.3Parametric Equations (A2 only)
4Sequences & Series
4.1Binomial Expansion
5Trigonometry
5.2Trigonometric Functions
5.3Triangle Rules
6Exponentials & Logarithms
6.1Exponentials & Logarithms
7Differentiation
7.1Derivatives
7.2Graphs & Differentiation
7.3Differentiation With Trigonometry and Exponentials
7.4Rules of Differetiation (A2 only)
7.5Parametric & Implicit Differentiation
8Integration
8.1Integration
9Numerical Methods
9.1Finding Solutions
9.2Finding the Area
10Vectors
10.12D Vectors
10.23D Vectors
10.3Vector Proofs
Jump to other topics
1Proof
1.1Types of Numbers
1.2Notation
2Algebra & Functions
2.1Powers & Roots
2.2Quadratic Equations
2.3Inequalities
2.4Polynomials
2.5Graphs
2.7Transformation of Graphs
3Coordinate Geometry
3.1Straight Lines
3.2Circles
3.2.1Equations of Circles centred at Origin
3.2.2Finding the Centre & Radius
3.2.3Equation of a Tangent
3.2.4Circle Theorems - Perpendicular Bisector
3.2.5Circle Theorems - Angle at the Centre
3.2.6Circle Theorems - Angle at a Semi-Circle
3.2.7Equation of a Perpendicular Bisector
3.2.8Equation of a Circumcircle
3.2.9Circumcircle of a Right-angled Triangle
3.3Parametric Equations (A2 only)
4Sequences & Series
4.1Binomial Expansion
5Trigonometry
5.2Trigonometric Functions
5.3Triangle Rules
6Exponentials & Logarithms
6.1Exponentials & Logarithms
7Differentiation
7.1Derivatives
7.2Graphs & Differentiation
7.3Differentiation With Trigonometry and Exponentials
7.4Rules of Differetiation (A2 only)
7.5Parametric & Implicit Differentiation
8Integration
8.1Integration
9Numerical Methods
9.1Finding Solutions
9.2Finding the Area
10Vectors
10.12D Vectors
10.23D Vectors
10.3Vector Proofs
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