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    This document proves that the sum of the reciprocals of terms in a sequence defined by an = an-1(an-1 + 1) is less than 2 for all n ≥ 1. It does this by manipulating the definition into a form where the sum can be written as a telescoping series. It then shows that since the first term a1 is positive, all subsequent terms must also be positive by the definition, meaning the sum is always less than 2.

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    Benjamin Lee
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    This document proves that the sum of the reciprocals of terms in a sequence defined by an = an-1(an-1 + 1) is less than 2 for all n ≥ 1. It does this by manipulating the definition into a form where the sum can be written as a telescoping series. It then shows that since the first term a1 is positive, all subsequent terms must also be positive by the definition, meaning the sum is always less than 2.

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    This document proves that the sum of the reciprocals of terms in a sequence defined by an = an-1(an-1 + 1) is less than 2 for all n ≥ 1. It does this by manipulating the definition into a form where the sum can be written as a telescoping series. It then shows that since the first term a1 is positive, all subsequent terms must also be positive by the definition, meaning the sum is always less than 2.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    3 views1 page

    Something

    Uploaded by

    Benjamin Lee
    This document proves that the sum of the reciprocals of terms in a sequence defined by an = an-1(an-1 + 1) is less than 2 for all n ≥ 1. It does this by manipulating the definition into a form where the sum can be written as a telescoping series. It then shows that since the first term a1 is positive, all subsequent terms must also be positive by the definition, meaning the sum is always less than 2.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    Problem:

    The sequence (an) is de ned by a1


    1
    = 2
    and

    2
    an = an−1 + an−1

    for all n ≥ 2.

    Prove that

    1 1 1
    + +⋅⋅⋅+ <2

    a1 + 1 a2 + 1 an + 1

    for all n ≥ 1.

    Your Response:
    2 1
    We would like to manipulate the equation ak = ak−1 + ak−1 into an equation for with two similar terms, preferably
    ak + 1
    with fractions. We factor the righthand side, giving

    ak = ak−1 (ak−1 + 1) .

    Dividing by (ak−1) (ak) gives

    1 ak−1 + 1
    = .

    ak−1 ak
    1
    We subtract from both sides, giving

    ak

    1 1 a
    − = k−1 .

    ak−1 ak ak

    Substituting ak = ak−1 (ak−1 + 1) into the righthand side, we get

    ak−1 ak−1 1
    = = .

    ak ak−1 (ak−1 + 1) ak−1 + 1

    Shifting the index up by one, we have

    1 1 1
    = − .

    ak + 1 ak ak+1
    n
    1
    ∑ ak + 1
    Plugging this into the sum , we get

    k=1

    ∑ ak + 1 ( a1 a2 ) ( a2 a3 )
    n

    ( an an+1 )
    1 1 1 1 1 1 1
    = − + − +⋯+ −
    k=1
    1 1

    = −
    a1 an+1
    1
    =2− .
    an+1
    1
    We now must prove that 2 − < 2 for all n ≥ 1. Subtracting 2 and multiplying both sides of the inequality by
    a n+1
    − (an+1) (which is negative), we get an+1 > 0. We can reverse those steps since the inequality implies that an+1 ≠ 0.
    2

    So,

    1
    2− < 2 ⟺ an+1 > 0.

    an+1

    For all k
    ≥ 2, we know that ak is the product of two numbers, namely ak−1 and ak−1 + 1. We know that if ak−1 > 0, then
    ak−1 + 1 > 0. So, if ak−1 > 0, then

    ak−1 (ak−1 + 1) > 0.

    Thus we have

    1
    a1 = > 0 ⟹ a2 > 0 ⟹ ⋯ ⟹ an+1 > 0.

    2
    n
    1 1
    ∑ ak + 1
    Therefore, 2 − = <2 .
    an+1 k=1
    fi

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