A learner studies
\(\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{(-1)^{n+1}}{\sqrt{n+\sqrt n}}\).
They apply the ratio test to the absolute values, obtain \(L=1\), and conclude: “The series is not absolutely convergent, so it must be conditionally convergent.”
Explain the error in that reasoning and classify the series correctly.
Hints
- State exactly what the ratio test says when its limiting quotient equals the boundary value.
- After an inconclusive test, analyze the signed series and the absolute-value series separately.
- For the signed series, inspect the magnitude sequence; for the absolute-value series, compare its dominant size with a standard reciprocal power.
Solution
1. A ratio-test limit of \(L=1\) is inconclusive. It does not prove that the absolute-value series diverges.
2. Let \(b_n=1/\sqrt{n+\sqrt n}\). The denominator increases with \(n\), so \((b_n)\) is decreasing, and \(b_n\to0\).
3. Therefore the signed series converges by the alternating series test.
4. For absolute convergence, compare with \(1/\sqrt n\):
\(\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{1/\sqrt{n+\sqrt n}}{1/\sqrt n}=\lim_{n\to\infty}\sqrt{\frac{n}{n+\sqrt n}}=1\).
Since \(\sum 1/\sqrt n\) diverges, the absolute-value series diverges by limit comparison.
5. Hence the original series is conditionally convergent.
Answer
The error is treating the ratio-test result \(L=1\) as a divergence result. The ratio test is inconclusive at \(L=1\). The original series converges by the alternating series test, while its absolute-value series diverges by limit comparison with \(\sum 1/\sqrt n\). Therefore the series is conditionally convergent.