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puppylov323
Apr 28, 2014, 07:08 AM
We have the following sequence a1=1 , an+1= an+ 1/an and so forth for n=1,2,…


Show that ln n < an < n for all n>1.

What would be the best approach for this kind of problem?

ebaines
Apr 28, 2014, 07:27 AM
The right hand side of the inequality is trivial. For the left hand side consider that the definition of ln(n) is the area under the y=1/x curve, starting at x=1 out to x=n. Compare that to an approximation of the area under y=1/x using the sum of areas of rectangles.