Wolfram Alpha can't calculate this limit, can you?

Calculus Level 5

If lim n ( ( 5 n 2 n ) ( 3 n 2 n ) ) 1 n \displaystyle \lim_{n \to \infty} \left(\frac{{5n \choose 2n}}{{3n \choose 2n}} \right)^{\frac{1}{n}} can be expressed as p q \dfrac{p}{q} , for coprimes p p and q q , what is the value of p + q ? p+q?


The answer is 3854.

This section requires Javascript.
You are seeing this because something didn't load right. We suggest you, (a) try refreshing the page, (b) enabling javascript if it is disabled on your browser and, finally, (c) loading the non-javascript version of this page . We're sorry about the hassle.

4 solutions

Haroun Meghaichi
Apr 1, 2014

Stirling's approximation seem to be the best approach, and maybe Riemann sum. Here's another approach :

Set a n a_n to be the thing inside the big brackets, so : a n + 1 a n = 5 ( 5 n + 1 ) ( 5 n + 2 ) ( 5 n + 3 ) ( 5 n + 4 ) 9 ( 1 + 3 n ) 2 ( 2 + 3 n ) 2 5 5 3 6 = 3125 729 = l . \frac{a_{n+1}}{a_n}= \frac{5 (5 n+1) (5 n+2) (5 n+3) (5 n+4)}{9 (1 + 3 n)^2 (2 + 3 n)^2 } \to \frac{5^5}{3^6} = \frac{3125}{729}=l. By Stolz lemma we get a n n l \sqrt[n]{a_n} \to l which gives the answer.

Same way...loved it .

rajdeep brahma - 3 years, 2 months ago
Michael Mendrin
Mar 31, 2014

Use Stirling's Approximation for this one, which leads to ( 5 5 n + 1 / 2 3 6 n 1 ) 1 / n (5^{5n + 1/2} \cdot 3^{-6n -1} )^{1/n} . As n n\rightarrow \infty , we end up with 5 5 / 3 6 = 3125 / 729 5^5 / 3^6 = 3125 / 729 .

Hi Sir, You might wish to learn a bit of latex here

Amazingly, I didn't know that the problem was worth a few lines. The solution I thought of was this:

First , we expand both numerator and denominator to get :

p q = lim n ( r = 1 2 n ( 3 n + r n + r ) ) 1 n \frac{p}{q} = \displaystyle \lim_{n \to \infty} \displaystyle \bigg(\prod_{r=1}^{2n} \bigg(\frac{3n+r}{n+r}\bigg)\bigg)^{\frac{1}{n}}

ln ( p q ) = lim n 1 n r = 1 2 n ln ( 3 n + r n + r ) \ln \bigg(\frac{p}{q}\bigg) = \displaystyle \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{1}{n} \sum_{r=1}^{2n} \ln \bigg(\frac{3n+r}{n+r}\bigg)

ln ( p q ) = lim n 1 n r = 1 2 n ln ( 3 + r / n 1 + r / n ) \Rightarrow \ln \bigg(\frac{p}{q}\bigg) = \displaystyle \lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{1}{n} \sum_{r=1}^{2n} \ln \bigg(\frac{3+r/n}{1+r/n}\bigg)

ln ( p q ) = 0 2 ln ( 3 + x 1 + x ) d x = ln ( 3125 729 ) \Rightarrow \ln \bigg(\frac{p}{q}\bigg) = \displaystyle \int_{0}^{2} \ln \bigg(\frac{3+x}{1+x}\bigg)dx = \ln\bigg(\frac{3125}{729}\bigg)

p q = 3125 729 \Rightarrow \frac{p}{q} = \frac{3125}{729}

Is this Sterling's approximation? If so, please tell how do we get the answer from it ?

jatin yadav - 7 years, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

(cosmetic changes) Note that in your above statements, you cannot pull 1 n \frac{1}{n} outside of the limit. Also, you're missing a d x dx in your integration.

Calvin Lin Staff - 7 years, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

Thanks , edited!

jatin yadav - 7 years, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

@Jatin Yadav Since you are good at Calculus, the easiest way to derive Stirling's approximation is using gamma function .

Tunk-Fey Ariawan - 7 years, 2 months ago

Nice question and solution Jatin.

Vijay Raghavan - 7 years, 2 months ago

Calculus? I hope so.

Robert Fritz - 7 years, 2 months ago

n! can be approximated by √(2πn) (n/e)^n. I thought that was the easiest way to work this one out. Your solution is very interesting. Always great to look at different ways of solving the same problem.

Michael Mendrin - 7 years, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

Thanks! Now, I understood how you use Sterling's approximation there! This problem is quite easy then.

jatin yadav - 7 years, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

Sterling's approximation tends to be how people deal with limits involving n ! n! It tends to be the default substitution that is tried first.

Calvin Lin Staff - 7 years, 2 months ago

Use cauchy's 2nd limit theorem Lim (un)^1/n = lim (un+1)/un To get answer as 5^5/3^6

Ashutosh Sharma
Jan 23, 2018

Hope it helps...

0 pending reports

×

Problem Loading...

Note Loading...

Set Loading...