Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/prelims/mathematics-ii/2/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2017 Prelims Mathematics II 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The tail is a monotone sequence bounded below by zero. The bounded monotone sequence theorem therefore gives . Taking the limit of a sequence in yields , so . The reciprocal rule from part (a) permits passage to the limit of a sequence in the recurrence relation:Multiplication by givesThis proves existence of the positive square root without assuming that existence when constructing the sequence.
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