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View Full Version : Why doesn't this have a limit?


twoflower
Nov23-04, 11:17 AM
Hi,

suppose this sequence:


(-1)^{n} \sqrt{n} \left( \sqrt{n+1} - \sqrt{n} \right)


I tried to find the limit and got into this point:


\lim \frac{n(-1)^{n}}{ \sqrt{n(n+1)} + n}


According to results, the limit doesn't exist. But how can I find it out? Can it be visible from the point I got to?

Thank you.

matt grime
Nov23-04, 11:29 AM
take the even terms, they tend to 1. take the odd terms they tend to -1

twoflower
Nov23-04, 11:40 AM
take the even terms, they tend to 1. take the odd terms they tend to -1

Thank you matt, it's clear now. I see my approach is unnecessarilly complicated..

matt grime
Nov23-04, 12:53 PM
Whenever you see a (-1)^n always think about n odd and n even to see what happens.

twoflower
Nov23-04, 01:07 PM
take the even terms, they tend to 1. take the odd terms they tend to -1

Don't they happen to tend to -1/2 or to 1/2, respectively?