Thomas' Calculus 13th Edition

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32187-896-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-32187-896-0

Chapter 10: Infinite Sequences and Series - Section 10.1 - Sequences - Exercises 10.1 - Page 572: 145

Answer

$ a.\quad$ Converges to $L=0.$. See image. Steps given below. $ b.\quad$ $N=46,050$ (is a possible answer) $N=92,100$ (is a possible answer)

Work Step by Step

$a.\quad $ The steps you take will depend on the CAS you are using, but they follow the same logic. Using the free online CAS at geogebra.org/cas: Cell 1: Enter the function representing the sequence $a(x)=(0.9999)^x$ From the dropdown menu, select "Table of values". In the dialog box for the table, set the range from 1 to 25, step 1. When we observe the graph, the points seem to drop away from the line $y=1.$ Zooming out sufficiently, we see that they approach the x-axis (the line y=0). The sequence seems to converge to 0. In the next free cell of the CAS, we find the limit when $ n\rightarrow\infty$ Here, we enter "L=Limit(a, infinity)" (without quotes) The CAS returns the limit to be $L=0$. $ b.\quad$ $\epsilon=0.01.$ Keeping the zoom as above, we find where the graph of $a(x)$ intersects the line $y=0.01$ The cas returns $x=46,049.399$ So, we can take $N=46,050$. $\epsilon=0.0001.$ Keeping the zoom as above, we find where the graph of $a(x)$ intersects the line $y=0.0001$ The cas returns $x=92098.798$ So, we can take $N=92,100$
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