COURSE

GUIDE

MTH 281
MATHEMATICAL METHODS I

Course Team Bankole Abiola (Course Developer/Writer) – NOUN

Dr. Sunday Reju (Programme Leader) - NOUN
Bankole Abiola and Ajibola S. O. (Course
Coordinator) - NOUN

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

MTH 281 MTH 281 COURSE GUIDECOURSE GUIDE

© 2017 by NOUN Press

National Open University of
Nigeria Headquarters
University Village
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Jabi, Abuja

Lagos Office
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URL: www.nouedu.ng

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any

form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed 2013, 2017

ISBN: 978-058-069-1

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MTH 281 MTH 281 COURSE GUIDECOURSE GUIDE

CONTENTS PAGE

Introduction.......................................................................... iv
Course Aims......................................................................... iv
Course Objectives................................................................ iv
Working through this Course................................................ v
Course Materials ................................................................. v
Study Units........................................................................... v
Assessment........................................................................... v
Tutor Marked Assignment................................................... v
Final Examination as Grading.............................................. v

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MTH 281 MTH 281 COURSE GUIDECOURSE GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

The course is purposely for students of mathematics, physical sciences

at undergraduate level.

It is assumed that the students have got enough mathematical

background at 100 level and therefore fairly familiar with such topics as
simple differentiation and integration, the use of trigometry identities,
exponential and logarithmic functions.

The problems and worked examples in this course are purely

mathematical to avoid the course being useful only to a section of
scientists.

The course is a must for all students who will like to make career in
mathematics and engineering.

COURSE AIMS
The course aims at giving you a good understanding of various methods in
advanced mathematics.

This could be achieved through the following measures:

- Introducing you into limiting processes and continuity and

differentiability.
- Introducing you to partial differentiation.
- Explaining the convergence of infinite series.
- Applying the knowledge in some special type of series such as Taylor
and Maclaurin series.
- Cumulate the knowledge acquired in solving numerical some
integration problems that cannot be solved analytically.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, you should be able to:

• find limit define continuity and find derived functions of given

mathematical functions
• be able to define convergence of infinite series and apply to some
special series such as Taylor and Maclaurin series
• solve integration using material procedure and apply solve problems
on mathematical methods correctly.

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MTH 281 MTH 281 COURSE GUIDECOURSE GUIDE

WORKING THROUGH THE COURSE

COURSE MATERIAL

STUDY UNITS

Unit 1 Limit, Continuity and Differentiability

Unit 2 Partial Differentiation
Unit 3 Convergence of Infinite Series
Unit 4 Taylor and Maclaurin Series
Unit 5 Numerical Integrations

While the first four units concentrate on mathematical methods and

procedures the last units is on application of the method learn so far.

ASSESSMENT

The assessments of this course are therefore. There are graded exercises
which are meant to and understanding as you progress in this course
while the Tutor Marked Assignment are meant to be part of your final
assessment.

The final assessment is at the end of the course assessment. It constitute

70% of the total grade for the course.

You are to read and master each unit carefully before progressing to
other units.

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 MAIN
COURSE

CONTENT PAGES

Module 1 ............................................................ . 1

Unit 1 Limit, Continuity and Differentiability...... 1

Unit 2 Partial Differentiation................................. 24
Unit 3 Convergence of Infinite Series................... 56
Unit 4 Taylor and Maclaurin Series....................... 78
Unit 5 Numerical Integrations................................ 91
MTH 281 MODULE 1

MODULE 1

Unit 1 Limit, Continuity and Differentiability.

Unit 2 Partial Differentiation.
Unit 3 Convergence of Infinite Series.
Unit 4 Taylor and Maclaurin Series.
Unit 5 Numerical Integrations

UNIT 1 LIMITS, CONTINUITY AND

DIFFERENTIABILITY

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Limits
3.2 Continuous and Discontinuous Functions
3.3 Differentiability
3.4 Continuity and Differentiability
3.5 Rolle’s Theorem and the Mean-Value Theorem
3.6 Higher Derivatives and Leibnitz’s Formula
3.7 Maxima and Minima
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Recall that in MTH102, the idea of a limit was introduced. For

example, it was shown that as becomes small s i n approaches unity.
We will consider in this unit a more detailed and rigorous definition of
the limit of a function. We will also study the concept of continuity and
state sit of conditions when a function will be discontinuous. The two
ideas of limit and continuity would be applied to establish a more
rigorous definition of differentiability.

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MTH 281 MATHEMATICAL METHODS 1

2.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

 establish the limit of functions

 determine the continuity or otherwise of a function
 carry out the differentiation of a function
 apply the rolles and mean-value theorem to solutions of some
problems
 be able to obtain nth differentials coefficients of some simple
functions by application of Leibnitz’s formula.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Limits

Suppose f(x) is a given function of x. then, if we can make f(x) as near

as we please to a given number l by choosing x sufficiently near to a
number a, l is said to be the limit of f(x) as x a, and is written as

lim f(x) = l (1)

x a

It is important to emphasise the following points:

(a) the independent variable x may approach the point a either from
left to right (that is, from - to a) or from right to left (from a
to ). In many cases the limits of the function obtained in these
two ways are different, and when this is the case we write them
as
lim f(x) = l1, lim f(x) = l2,
x a x a
respectively.

1
For example, the function y = tan-1 tends to when x
x 2
approaches zero from the positive side, and to - when x
2
approaches zero from the negative side.

Consequently, we write

lim tan-1 1 = , lim tan-1 = - .

x 0 x 2 x 0 2

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MTH 281 MODULE 1

Sometimes we are faced with a function, which becomes

arbitrarily large when x is chosen sufficiently close to a number
a. when this happens we write

lim f(x) = (2)

x a

Fig.1.1
1
For example, the function y = tends to when x 0 from
x
the positive side, and to - when x
from the negative side (see fig 1.1). Accordingly

1 1
lim = , lim =- .
x 0 x x 0 x

In all cases when the limits as x a from both

directions are equal (say l) we simply write

lim f(x) = l (3)

x a

(b) in proceeding to the limit of f(x) as x a we have to exclude x

from becoming equal to a for two reasons. Firstly, the value of
sin x
the function may not be defined at x = a, as, for example.
x
at x = 0. Secondly, if f(x) is defined at x = a its value may not be
equal to lim f(x). For example, if f(x) is defined by
x a
1 for x 1,
f(x) = 1
(4)
2
for x 1,

(see Fig. 1.2) then

1
lim f(x) = 2 .
x 1

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MTH 281 MATHEMATICAL METHODS 1

1 y

y = 12

0 1 x

Fig. 1.2
This is not equal to the value of the function at x = 1, which by
(4) is equal to unity.
The function y = cos (1/x) (see Fig. 1.3) is not only undefined

Fig 1.3

At x = 0, but possesses no limit there either, since as x 0 the

graph oscillates infinitely many times between +1 and -1. the
function therefore does not approach any particular value as x
1
0. However, y = cos (Fig. 1.4)
x

Fig 1.4

Although again oscillating infinitely many times as x 0 nevertheless

does posses a limit in virtue of the factor x in front of the cosine term