Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2021 / Prelims / Mathematics II / 3 / c / i

In level $n$, each group isand there are $2^n$ such groups. The partial sums at completed groups are therefore zero. Inside a group of level $n$, the only other partial sums are $2^{-(n+1)}$ and $2^{-n}$. Every level contains finitely many terms, so the level containing the $N$th term tends to infinity with $N$. Thus all partial sums lie between zero and a bound tending to zero. By the squeeze theorem, the series has sum $\boxed{0}$.

For the next two parts, label the positive occurrences of size $2^{-(n+1)}$ by $P_n$ and the negative occurrences of size $-2^{-n}$ by $N_n$. There are exactly $2^{n+1}$ occurrences in $P_n$ and $2^n$ in $N_n$. Occurrences with equal value retain separate labels, so checking their counts verifies a bijection of terms.