Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ia/paper-1/4d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ia Paper 1 4D Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
First establish a comparison fact for a power series. If it converges at , its terms are bounded, say . For ,by the geometric series. Thus convergence at one point implies absolute convergence at every point of smaller modulus.
Let be the set of moduli of points at which the power series converges. It contains zero. Define the radius of convergence . If , the definition of supremum gives a convergent point with ; the comparison just proved gives absolute convergence at . This reasoning also applies when . If and the power series converged there, its modulus would belong to , contradicting the definition of . ThereforeThe boundary is intentionally undecided by this argument. If , only the exterior assertion is nonvacuous.
For the particular coefficients for , comparison with gives absolute convergence whenever . If , then fails to tend to zero: its successive ratio is , eventually greater than a fixed number bigger than one. The necessary term condition for convergence of a series therefore fails. HenceFor instance the positive boundary point gives the divergent harmonic series; no assertion of universal boundary convergence is needed.
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