Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A definite integral is a limit of sums, and this works in both directions. A long sum can be found as an integral when the number of terms grows without bound. And when the number of terms is fixed, an integral can still trap the sum between two bounds that are close enough to pin down its integer part. This problem uses both ideas, first for three limits and then for one sum of four hundred terms. Recall that if is continuous on , then
The figure shows the curve for , with rectangles of width drawn above the curve and below it. The heights of the rectangles are the terms of the sum, so the total area of each row of rectangles is a sum, and the area under the curve lies between the two.
Write the proof in full, using the rectangles.
Give (a) to (c) to two decimals.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
(a) , that is 0.60.
(b) .
(c) , a product of factors, so the expression is . Its logarithm divided by is The limit is .
(d) Proof. For , since decreases, , and the inequalities are strict for . Integrating over gives . Adding the right inequality for gives : the rectangles above the curve. Adding the left inequality for gives ; adding to both sides gives the right half: the rectangles below the curve.
(e) With and : , that is . So the integer part of is 38. (Adding the terms one by one gives .)
Check. The three sums with agree with the limits to five decimals (the product in (c) through logarithms of factorials).
Watch out. In (b) the sum runs to , not . Stopping the integral at gives , less than half the true value.
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