Sequences and Series, A Bounded Increasing Sequence Converges

A Bounded Increasing Sequence Converges

If a monotonic function or sequence f() is bounded above, its range has a least upper bound, call it u. For every ε there is some x with u-f(x) < ε, else u would not be the least upper bound. Thereafter, f is within ε of its limit u, hence f converges to u. Similarly, a monotonically decreasing function bounded below converges to its greatest lower bound.

If the terms of a series are all nonnegative, the sequence of partial sums is monotonically increasing. If this sequence is also bounded then the series converges.