Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 7th Edition

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1305071751
ISBN 13: 978-1-30507-175-9

Chapter 13 - Section 13.4 - Limits at Infinity; Limits of Sequences - 13.4 Exercises - Page 930: 30

Answer

Diverges

Work Step by Step

Given: $f(x)=\lim\limits_{n\to \infty} \cos {n\pi}$ The sequence converges when the limit $\lim\limits_{n\to \infty} a_n$ exists and when the limit $\lim\limits_{n\to \infty} a_n$ does not exist, then sequence diverges. Here, we have $n=1,2,3,4...$ $\cos \pi=-1; \cos 2\pi=1; \cos 3 \pi =-1;\cos 4\pi =1...$ Thus, we can see that the values for the $\cos$ repeated alternatively. This implies that the value of the function $\cos$ oscillates between $-1$ to $1$.This means that we will not get any definite value. Hence, $\lim\limits_{n\to \infty} a_n$ does not exist, so the sequence diverges.
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