Converge or Diverge? Proving I & II Limits

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on determining the convergence and divergence of two sequences defined by the expressions a_n = (-1)^(n+1)n/(n^2+4) and a_n = (-1)^(n+1)n^2/(n^2-7). The first sequence converges to 0, while the second diverges to ±1. Participants emphasize the importance of rewriting fractions to clarify convergence behavior, specifically using limits as n approaches infinity.

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So I have this question here from one of my assignments. I got the right answer, which is F, but I got it through eliminating other options (cos(n\pi)) diverges while sin(n\pi) obviously converges. I was thinking the only option would be IV, but the options for the answers included I and IV, or II and IV. The thing is I'm not sure how you would prove either of those to be convergent or divergent. For instance, in both of the numerators, there is (-1)^(n+1). This gives you [1,-1,1,-1...] meaning it's limit D.N.E (does not exist). The denominators are similar but different slightly. So how exactly would you go about showing that option I converges and II diverges (ie. lim as n --> infinity of those sequences)

Your help is greatly appreciated! :)

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Umar said:
So I have this question here from one of my assignments. I got the right answer, which is F, but I got it through eliminating other options (cos(n\pi)) diverges while sin(n\pi) obviously converges. I was thinking the only option would be IV, but the options for the answers included I and IV, or II and IV. The thing is I'm not sure how you would prove either of those to be convergent or divergent. For instance, in both of the numerators, there is (-1)^(n+1). This gives you [1,-1,1,-1...] meaning it's limit D.N.E (does not exist). The denominators are similar but different slightly. So how exactly would you go about showing that option I converges and II diverges (ie. lim as n --> infinity of those sequences)

Your help is greatly appreciated! :)

Attached is the link to the picture of the question:

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Hi Umar! ;)

Typically we try to rewrite a fraction so that it becomes clear whether it converges or not.

For (i):
$$a_n = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}n}{n^2+4} = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}}{n+\frac 4 n} \to \frac{\pm 1}{\infty + 4\cdot 0} = 0$$
So $a_n$ converges.

For (ii):
$$a_n = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}n^2}{n^2-7} = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}}{1-\frac 7 {n^2}} \to \frac{\pm 1}{1 - 7\cdot 0} = \pm 1$$
So $a_n$ diverges.
 
I like Serena said:
Hi Umar! ;)

Typically we try to rewrite a fraction so that it becomes clear whether it converges or not.

For (i):
$$a_n = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}n}{n^2+4} = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}}{n+\frac 4 n} \to \frac{\pm 1}{\infty + 4\cdot 0} = 0$$
So $a_n$ converges.

For (ii):
$$a_n = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}n^2}{n^2-7} = \frac{(-1)^{n+1}}{1-\frac 7 {n^2}} \to \frac{\pm 1}{1 - 7\cdot 0} = \pm 1$$
So $a_n$ diverges.

Hey! Sorry for not replying earlier but thank you so much for your help!
 

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