Math 155 Course Notes Exercises - Week 11 Solutions

8.9 Convergence of integrals. Which of the following improper integrals

converge? Give a reason in each case.
1
Z ∞ Z ∞
(a) dx (b) x dx
x1.001
Z1 ∞ Z 1∞
(c) x−3 dx (e) e−2x dx
1 0

Solution.

(a) f (x) = 1/x p , p = 1.001 > 1, convergent.

(b) p = −1 < 1, divergent.
(c) p = 3 > 1, convergent.
R ∞ −2x
(e) 0 e dx = (−1/2)e−2x |∞
0 = 1/2, convergent.

8.10 Gravitational force. The gravitational force between two objects of

mass m1 and m2 is F = Gm1 m2 /r2 where r is the distance of separation.
Initially the objects are a distance D apart. The work done in moving an
object from position D to position x against a force F is defined as
Z x
W= F (r ) dr.
D

Find the total work needed to move one of these objects infinitely far
away.
Solution. x 1
1
Z ∞ Z
W= dr = Gm1 m2 lim
Gm1 m2
2
D r x→∞ D r 2
 x
−1 
  
1 1 1
W = Gm1 m2 lim = Gm1 m2 lim − + = Gm1 m2 .
x→∞ r 
D
x→∞ x D D
(The last step stems from the fact that as x gets large, 1/x → 0.)

8.12 Taylor series of cos(x). The Taylor series for the function sin(x) is
given by
x3 x5 x7
sin(x) = x − + − + . . . .
3! 5! 7!
Find the Taylor series of
y = cos(x)
by differentiating this function. Using the spreadsheet, plot the following
functions (on the same graph):

y = cos(x), y = T1 (x), y = T2 (x), y = T3 (x), y = T4 (x)

where Tk is the polynomial made up of the first k (non-zero) terms in the

Taylor series for cos(x).
 x3 x5 x7
Solution. Differentiating sin(x) = x − + − + . . . gives us:
3! 5! 7!
3x2 5x4 7x6 x2 x4 x6
cos(x) = 1 − + − + ··· = 1− + − + ...
3! 5! 7! 2! 4! 6!
2
Therefore the first 4 Taylor polynomials are: T1 (x) = 1; T2 (x) = 1 −
x2 x2 x4 x2 x4 x6 T1 T5
2! ; T3 (x) = 1 − 2! + 4! ; T4 (x) = 1 − 2! + 4! − 6! .
1
The graph of the function and the first four Taylor polynomials is shown in
Figure 1.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8.13 Estimating e. An expansion for the function ex is given by −1

sin(x)

x2 x3 ∞
xk T3 T7
ex = 1 + x + + + ... = ∑ . −2
2 6 n=0 k!
Figure 1: Solution to Problem 8.12.
Use the first seven terms of this series to estimate the value of the base of
natural logarithms, i.e. of e1 .
Solution.
1 1 1 1
e1 = 1 + 1 +
+ + +
2! 3! 4! 5!
1 1 1 1 1
e1 = 1 + 1 + + + + + + ...
2 6 24 120 720
We find the partial sums

{1, 2, 2.5, 2.666, 2.7083, 2.7167, 2.7181}

Therefore using the first 7 terms our approximation of e1 is 2.7181. The

actual value of e is 2.71826...

8.14 Taylor series. Find the Taylor series for each of the following func-
tions about x = 0:

(a) f (x) = x cos(x),

2
(b) e−x
sin(x)
(c)
x
(d) Use your results to find a Taylor series representation for the following
integrals:
Z x Z x
2
(i) x cos(x) dx (ii) e−x dx
0 0

Solution.
2 4 6
(a) The Taylor series for cos(x) is g(t ) = 1 − x2! + x4! − x6! + · · · =
n 2n
0 (−1) x / (2n) !. To find the Taylor series for f (x) = x cos(x),
∑∞
we simply multiply this by x:
x2 x4 x6 x2n
  ∞
f (x) = x 1 − + − + . . . = x ∑(−1)n
2! 4! 6! 0 (2n)!
x3 x5 x7 ∞
x2n+1
= x− + − + · · · = ∑(−1)n
2 4! 6! 0 (2n)!
 2 3 n
(b) The Taylor series for et is g(t ) = 1 + t + t2 + t3! + · · · = ∑∞ t
0 n! . We now
substitute t = −x2 to get:

2 x4 x6 ∞
(−x2 )n ∞
x2n
f (x) = e−x = 1 − x2 + − + ··· = ∑ = ∑(−1)n
2 3! 0 n! 0 n!

3 5 7
(c) The Taylor series for sin(x) is g(x) = x − x3! + x5! − x7! + · · · =
n 2n+1 / (2n + 1) ! To find the Taylor series for f (x) =
∑∞0 (−1) x
(1/x) sin(x), we multiply this by 1x to get:

x3 x5 x7 x2n+1
 
1 1 ∞
f (x ) = x − + − + . . . = ∑(−1)n
x 3! 5! 7! x 0 (2n + 1)!
x2 x4 x6 ∞
x2n
= 1− + − + · · · = ∑(−1)n
3! 5! 7! 0 (2n + 1)!

(d) (i) Integrate the Taylor series from (a):

Z x 2n+1
x3 x5 x7
Z x Z x  ∞
x
f (x ) = x cos(x)dx = x − + − + . . . dx = ∑(−1)n dx
0 0 2 4! 6! 0 0 (2n) !

x2 x4 x6 x8 ∞
(2n + 1)x2n+2
= − + − + · · · = ∑(−1)n
2 8 6 · 4! 8 · 6! 0 (2n + 2)!

(ii) Integrate the Taylor series from (b):

x4 x6
Z x Z x  ∞ Z x 2n
2 x
f (x ) = e−x dx = 1 − x2 + − + . . . dx = ∑(−1)n dx
0 0 2 3! 0 0 n!
x3 x5 x7 ∞
x2n+1
= x− + − · · · = ∑(−1)n
3 5 · 2 7 · 3! 0 (2n + 1)n!

8.22 Differential equations and Taylor series. Use a Taylor series repre-
sentation to find the function y(t ) that satisfies the differential equation
y0 (t ) = y + bt with the initial condition y(0) = 1. This type of equation is
called a non-homogeneous differential equation. Show that when b = 0
your answer agrees with the known exponential solution of the equation
y0 (t ) = y.
Solution. Let y(t ) = ∑ ant n then y(0) = 1 implies that a0 = 1. As well,

y0 (t ) = ∑ an nt n−1

so that the differential equation leads to

∑ an nt n−1 = ∑ ant n + bt
or
a1 + 2a2t + 3a3t 2 + .. = a0 + (a1 + b)t + a2t 2 + · · ·
Equating same powers of t on both sides gives
1 1 1 1
a1 = a0 = 1; a2 = (a1 + b) = (1 + b); a3 = (a2 ) = (1 + b)
2 2 3 6
 and so on. Thus we find that
1 1
y(t ) = 1 + (1 + b)t + (1 + b)t 2 + (1 + b)t 3 + . . .
2 6
In the case b = 0 we get

1 1
y(t ) = 1 + t + t 2 + t 3 + · · · = et .
2 6

9.2 Determine c such that

2x − 3y = 5
4x − 6y = c

has

(a) infinitely many solutions, and

(b) no solutions.
(c) Is it possible to choose a number for c so that the system has exactly
one solution? Explain.

Solution.

(a) Dividing second equation by 2, we get 2x − 3y = 2c . So, if 2c = 5, both

equations represent the same line 2x − 3y = 5. Thus, for c = 10 the
system of equations has infinitely many solutions.
(b) For any real number c 6= 10, the system has no solution. It is because
then by dividing the second equation by 2 we get 2x − 3y = 2c 6= 5, so
the first and second equations can’t be both satisfied.
(c) No, it is impossible. As we saw above, if c = 10, the system has
infinitely many solutions, and if c 6= 10 it has none.

9.6 Reduce the linear equations to upper triangular form and solve.

2x − y =3
(a)
x − 3y =7
5x − 3y =2
(b)
2x + 7y =3
7x − y =4
(c)
3x + 2y = 1
5x + 2y = 8
(d)
−x + 3y = 9

Solution.
 2x − y = 3
(a)
x − 3y = 7
We first eliminate x in the second equation. If we multiply the second
equation by −2 we get

−2(R2 ) − 2x + 6y = −14

Now, if we add this to the first equation, we find that

5y = −11.

So, y = − 11 11
5 . Substituting this value into (R1 ) we find that 2x− (− 5 ) =
3. Therefore, 2x = − 11 4
5 + 3 = 5 , so x = 5 .
2

5x − 3y = 2
(b)
2x + 7y = 3
To eliminate x in the second equation, we multiply (R1 ) by 2, and
multiply (R2 ) by −5 to obtain
2(R1 ) 10x −6y = 4
−5(R2 ) −10x −35y = −15
11
Now, if we add the two equations, we find that −41y = −11. So, y = 41 .
Substituting this value into (R1 ) we will have 5x − 3( 11
41 ) = 2, thus
5x = 33
41 + 2 = 115
41 . So, x = 23
41 .
7x − y =4
(c)
3x + 2y = 1
Again, the goal is to eliminate x in the second equation. We multiply
(R1 ) by 3, and multiply (R2 ) by −7 to obtain
3(R1 ) 21x −3y = 12
−7(R2 ) −21x −14y = −7
5
Now, adding the two equations, we get −17y = 5. So, y = − 17 .
5
Substituting this value into (R1 ) we will have 7x − (− 17 ) = 4, thus
5
7x = − 17 + 4 = 63 9
17 =. So, x = 17 .
5x + 2y = 8
(d)
−x + 3y = 9
To eliminate x in the second equation, we multiply (R2 ) by 5 to obtain

5(R2 ) − 5x + 15y = 45.

Now, adding this equation and (R1 ) we find that 17y = 53, so y = 53 17 .
53 30 6
Substituting this value into (R1 ) we get 5x = −2 17 + 8 = 17 , so x = 17 .

9.7 Joe wants to buy fish and plants for his aquarium. Each fish costs $2.30;
each plant costs $1.70. He buys a total of 11 items and spends a total
of $21.70. Set up a system of linear equations that will allow you to
determine how many fish and how many plants Joe bought, and solve the
system.
 Solution. Let x denote the number of fish, and y the number of plants Joe
bought. Then since Joe bought 11 items we have x + y = 11. Also he spent
$2.30x on fish, and $1.70y on plant, thus a total of 2.30x + 1.70y. So we
also have 2.30x + 1.70y = 21.70. So, we get the system below:
x + y = 11
2.30x + 1.70y = 21.70
To solve the system, we can multiply (R1 ) by −2.30 to get −2.30x −
2.30y = −25.30. Now, adding this to the second equation, we find that
−0.6y = −3.60, so y = 3.60.6 = 6. To find x, we can substitute this value into
(R1 ), so x + 6 = 11, thus x = 5.

9.10 Solve each system of linear equations.

2x − 3y + z = −1
(a) x + y − 2z = −3
3x − 2y + z = 2
5x − y + 2z = 6
(b) x + 2y − z = −1
3x + 2y − 2z = 1

Solution.
2x − 3y + z = −1
(a) x + y − 2z = −3
3x − 2y + z = 2
We will reduce this system to upper triangular form. The first step is
to eliminate terms involving x from second and third equations. By
replacing (R2 ) with (R1 − 2R2 ), and (R3 ) with (3R2 − R3 ) we get the
following (equivalent) system of equations:

(R1 ) 2x −3y + z = −1 (R4 )

(R1 − 2R2 ) −5y + 5z = 5 (R5 )
(−3R2 + R3 ) −5y + 7z = 11 (R6 )

In the next step, we eliminate y from (R6 ) by replacing it with (R5 −

R6 ):
(R4 ) 2x −3y + z = −1 (R7 )
( R5 ) −5y + 5z = 5 (R8 )
(R5 − R6 ) − 2z = −6 (R9 )
−6
It now follows from (R9 ) that z = −2 = 3. Substituting this value in (R8 )
1
we find y value to be y = − 5 (5 − 5z) = −1 + z = −1 + 3 = 2. Now, we
can use (R7 ) to find x as x = 12 (−1 + 3y − z) = 12 (−1 + 3 × 2 − 3) = 1.
5x − y + 2z = 6
(b) x + 2y − z = −1
3x + 2y − 2z = 1
We reduce this system to upper triangular form by first eliminating
terms involving x from second and third equations. By replacing (R2 )
with (R1 − 5R2 ), and (R3 ) with (3R2 − R3 ) we get the following system:

(R1 ) 5x − y + 2z = 6 (R4 )
(R1 − 5R2 ) − 11y + 7z = 11 (R5 )
(−3R2 + R3 ) − 4y + z = 4 (R6 )

4
We now eliminate y from (R6 ) by replacing it with (− 11 R5 + R6 ):

(R4 ) 5x − y + 2z = 6 (R7 )
(R5 ) − 11y + 7z = 11 (R8 )
4 17
(− 11 R5 + R6 ) − 11 z = 0 (R9 )

We use back-substitution to find the solution. It follows from (R9 ) that

1
z = 0, and now it follows from (R8 ) that y = − 11 (11 − 7 × 0) = −1.
Substituting these values in (R7 ) we find that x = 15 (6 − 1 − 2 × 0) = 1.