With the first terms counted from the constant term, Taylor's theorem giveswhere lies between and . Continuous derivatives through order on the joining interval are a sufficient hypothesis for this Taylor theorem with Lagrange remainder. The Taylor remainder measures the error of the finite Taylor polynomial; convergence of the corresponding infinite Taylor series is a separate question.
The first terms of Taylor's theorem, with the Taylor remainder in mean-value form, arewhere lies between and for . Sufficient hypotheses are continuous derivatives through order on the interval between the endpoints and an th derivative in its interior. At the remainder is zero. The finite Taylor polynomial ends at degree ; this identity does not require convergence of an infinite Taylor series.
The finite form of Taylor's theorem iswhere lies between and when . Sufficient hypotheses are continuous derivatives up to order on the interval joining the endpoints and an th derivative in its interior. The first terms end at degree ; the Taylor remainder uses the th derivative. At the remainder is zero. This finite Taylor polynomial identity does not require convergence of an infinite Taylor series.
Set , the displacement from the expansion point. The numerator has Taylor series , while the reciprocal denominator has geometric series . Multiplication givesThe local power series converges for , the distance to the denominator's zero at .
Substitute into the Taylor series for the exponential function:The general nonzero term is ; the power series coefficients of powers not divisible by three are zero. The radius of convergence is infinite.
The finite form of Taylor's theorem with the first terms iswhere lies strictly between and for . A sufficient hypothesis is that has continuous derivatives through order on the interval joining the endpoints and an th derivative in its interior. The displayed polynomial has degree at most ; its Taylor remainder uses the th derivative, not the st. At the remainder is zero. This is a finite Taylor polynomial identity and does not require an infinite Taylor series to converge.
Divide numerator and denominator by before taking their Maclaurin series:For the reciprocal denominator, the geometric series gives . Multiplying gives the Taylor expansionStrictly, the original quotient has a removable singularity at zero; this is the Taylor series of its continuous, analytic extension with value one there. The absence of odd powers also follows because the ratio of these two odd functions is even.
For sufficiently differentiable on the interval between and , Taylor's theorem with its first terms readswhere lies between and . This is the Taylor theorem with Lagrange remainder. For example, on that interval gives . The finite formula does not assume that an infinite Taylor series converges to the function; that further conclusion requires the remainders to tend to zero.
Put . The local logarithmic series givesFor the infinite Taylor series, it is necessary to distinguish the real domain of the logarithm, , from its convergence interval about zero. Write . The complex zeros of are for integers , so the nearest logarithmic singularity to zero is at . The radius of convergence is therefore , giving convergence for and divergence for .
The two endpoints need separate checking. Factor off the nearest singularity:The quotient has a nonzero removable value at ; its other zeros are at with . Consequently it has a holomorphic logarithm on a zero-free disk larger than , which is a simply connected domain, and the Taylor series of converges absolutely at both real endpoints. At , the remaining series converges by the alternating series test. At , it is and diverges. Thus the full real convergence set isConvergence is absolute in the open interval and conditional at the left endpoint, where the sum equals . This endpoint distinction is an instance of isolating a logarithmic singularity to test a power-series endpoint.
Substitute into the geometric series, without taking any derivatives:Thus the coefficient of in the Taylor series is when is even and zero when is odd. If nonzero terms are numbered from one, the th term is .
For , factor out , not , and apply the binomial series with exponent :For each fixed nonzero , these are the first three nonzero terms of the Taylor series about zero; the full binomial series converges when .
For , the function is . Its right derivative at zero is and its left derivative is , so no Taylor series about zero exists when . The one-sided formulas are exactly for and for ; they do not form a single two-sided Taylor expansion, nor can they supply three nonzero terms. The parameter case explicitly included in the question must therefore be treated as this exception.
Put . Since , the outer Taylor series requires and . ThereforeBoth logarithms are defined on a neighbourhood of zero, so this composition of power series is valid there.
Taylor's theorem gives a finite Taylor polynomial of degree , consisting of the first terms, and a remainder:In the Taylor theorem with Lagrange remainder form, assuming the required derivatives exist on an interval containing and ,for some strictly between and when ; at the remainder is zero. In particular, if on that segment, then . This is a finite expansion; it does not assume equality with an infinite Taylor series.
Put . The sine addition identity gives . Applying the exponential series givesThus the first three nonzero terms in the Taylor series about are
Write . Direct differentiation, using the chain rule, givesThe stated parameter restrictions ensure that the logarithm is defined near , and that and . With , the Taylor series beginsIf , the constant term is nonzero, and the first two nonzero terms areThis covers both and ; the constant term is respectively positive or negative.
If , which is possible precisely with and , the constant term vanishes. The first two nonzero terms are thenNo further case is needed, since the linear and quadratic coefficients cannot vanish under the given restrictions. All remainders use Big O notation.
For , the Taylor series of the natural logarithm converges absolutely at :Multiply this power series by and subtract . The constant term cancels the subtracted , and the coefficient of is . For , the coefficient of isHenceIn particular , in Big O notation.
Let , so . The even and odd powers in the matrix exponential giveHere the two scalar sums are the Taylor series for cosine and sine. ConsequentlyWith the usual convention that positive angles turn anticlockwise, this rotation matrix rotates by ; the parameter in the form printed in the paper is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2001 Paper 1 3 Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Laplace identities. The one-sided Laplace transform isfor sufficiently large that the integral converges. For a piecewise smooth function of exponential order, integration by parts givesDifferentiating under the integral givesIteration also yields . For real and , taking the imaginary part of gives
Transformed differential equation. Let , using the initial values . ThenSumming the three contributions givesFor , the condition as fixes the integration constant:It is simpler to invert the derivative: . ThusThis is the sinc function. Its Taylor series begins , verifying both initial values. For a direct differential check set . Then . For , take the continuous limit , which also follows from .