Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/19/a/solution

Write the formal Maclaurin series as , where . If the successive nonzero coefficient ratios have a limit, the ratio test gives
so the series converges absolutely for , where
If that ratio does not exist, the Cauchy-Hadamard theorem gives the general formula . The radius of a Maclaurin series from successive derivatives concerns convergence of the series; equality to the original function additionally requires analyticity or a vanishing Taylor remainder. Mere differentiability, or even smoothness, does not ensure that equality.
For the specified logarithm,
The absolute successive-term ratio tends to , so the interval of absolute convergence is . At the nonconstant terms are the alternating harmonic series, which converges conditionally to , giving the full sum . At all nonconstant terms are , so the series diverges to ; the original logarithm is also undefined there. Thus the full real convergence interval is .

New to topics? Read the docs here!