∫Calc Practice

Power series from the geometric series

Problem 7.364 · medium

Find a power series for \( \displaystyle f(x) = \frac{x}{x^{3} + 1} \) centered at 0, and its interval of convergence.
  1. \[ \frac{x}{x^{3} + 1} \]
    Write f in the form (something)/(1 − u) with u = -x**3.✓ Proved
  2. 1/(1 − u) = Σ uⁿ for |u| < 1; substitute and multiply through.
    Reviewed
  3. \[ \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{x^{10} - x^{7} + x^{4} - x + \frac{x}{x^{3} + 1}}{x^{10}}\right) = 0 \]
    The first terms -x**10 + x**7 - x**4 + x agree with f to order x^10.✓ Proved
  4. |u| < 1 means |x| < 1; the series diverges at both endpoints (the terms do not shrink).
    Reviewed
Answer \( \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} x \left(- x^{3}\right)^{n},\quad |x| < 1 \)

✓ Nihil obstat Lines: 2 proved, 2 reviewed. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. Reviewers found nothing wrong with the explanation.

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
2Reviewedreviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlxa sentence; read, not computed
3✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
4Reviewedreviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlxa sentence; read, not computed
answer, a second way✓ Checked independentlysympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0the series summed numerically at half the radius matches f

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass — The solution correctly identifies the geometric series structure, applies the substitution u = -x^3, and correctly determines the interval of convergence by checking the endpoints.
Every verdict on record (4)
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-06
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-06 — The solution correctly identifies the geometric series structure, applies the substitution u = -x^3, and correctly determines the interval of convergence by checking the endpoints.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-06
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-06 — The solution correctly identifies the geometric series structure, applies the convergence condition for the ratio, and correctly determines the interval of convergence by checking the divergence at endpoints.

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by generator:structured/power_series_geometric, checked 2026-10-06 with SymPy 1.14.0.