Convergence | Definition, Examples, & Facts - Britannica

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External Websites

• Wolfram MathWorld - Convergent Series
• California State University San Marcos - Math Lab - Testing for Convergence or Divergence of a Series

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convergence, in mathematics, property (exhibited by certain infinite series and functions) of approaching a limit more and more closely as an argument (variable) of the function increases or decreases or as the number of terms of the series increases.

For example, the function y = 1/x converges to zero as x increases. Although no finite value of x will cause the value of y to actually become zero, the limiting value of y is zero because y can be made as small as desired by choosing x large enough. The line y = 0 (the x-axis) is called an asymptote of the function.

Key People: James Gregory (Show more) Related Topics: uniform convergence Weierstrass M-test sequence (Show more) See all related content

Similarly, for any value of x between (but not including) −1 and +1, the series 1 + x + x2 +⋯+ xn converges toward the limit 1/(1 − x) as n, the number of terms, increases. The interval −1 < x < 1 is called the range of convergence of the series; for values of x outside this range, the series is said to diverge.

Britannica Quiz Numbers and Mathematics This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.