a_n=n e^(-n/2)
Monotonicity
First five terms of the sequence are
a_1=e^(-1/2)=0.6065
a_2=2e^-1=0.7358
a_3=3e^(-3/2)=0.6693
a_4=4e^-2=0.5413
a_5=5e^(-5/2)=0.4104
We can see that after the second term, the terms are decreasing so it is possible that the whole sequence is monotonically decreasing. Let us verify that.
a_n>a_(n+1)
n e^(-n/2)>(n+1)e^(-(n+1)/2)=(n+1)e^(-n/2)e^(-1/2)
Divide the inequality by e^(-n/2). We can do that because e^(-n/2)>0, forall n in NN.
n>(n+1)e^(-1/2)=n e^(-1/2)+e^(-1/2)
Divide by n. We can do that because n>0.
1>e^(-1/2)+e^(-1/2)/n
Since e^(-1/2)<1, we can find sufficiently large n such that the above inequality holds. In this case n=2.
1>e^(-1/2)+e^(-1/2)/2=0.9098
Therefore, forall n geq 2 (a_n>a_(n+1)) which means that the sequence is monotonically decreasing.
Boundedness
We have shown that the sequence is monotonically decreasing from second term onwards. This means that the second terms is also maximum of the sequence. In other words the sequence is bounded from above by a_2=2e^-1.
On the other hand if we look at the sequence a_n=n e^(-n/2), we see that all of its terms are positive. This is because n>0 and exponential function is always positive so e^(-n/2)>0 and the product of two positive numbers is itself positive.
Therefore, a_n>0, forall n in NN i.e. the sequence is bounded by zero from below.
We can conclude that forall n in NN, a_n in [2e^(-1),0) i.e. the sequence is bounded from both below and above.
The image below shows first 20 terms of the sequence. Both boundedness and monotonicity can clearly be seen on the image.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
a_n = n*e^(-n/2) Determine whether the sequence with the given n'th term is monotonic and whether it is bounded.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
There are a plethora of rules that Jonas and the other citizens must follow. Again, page numbers will vary given the edition of the book tha...
-
The poem contrasts the nighttime, imaginative world of a child with his daytime, prosaic world. In the first stanza, the child, on going to ...
-
The given two points of the exponential function are (2,24) and (3,144). To determine the exponential function y=ab^x plug-in the given x an...
-
The play Duchess of Malfi is named after the character and real life historical tragic figure of Duchess of Malfi who was the regent of the ...
-
The only example of simile in "The Lottery"—and a particularly weak one at that—is when Mrs. Hutchinson taps Mrs. Delacroix on the...
-
Hello! This expression is already a sum of two numbers, sin(32) and sin(54). Probably you want or express it as a product, or as an expressi...
-
Macbeth is reflecting on the Weird Sisters' prophecy and its astonishing accuracy. The witches were totally correct in predicting that M...
No comments:
Post a Comment