Question #5af5d

1 Answer
Feb 18, 2017

See below.

Explanation:

You can use the Binomial/ Taylor Series for (1 + u)^\alpha(1+u)α:

(1 + u)^\alpha = \sum_{k=0}^{\infty} ((alpha),( k)) u^k = 1 + \alpha u + \frac{\alpha(\alpha-1)}{2!} u^2 + \cdots

Here we have (1+ x^2)^(1/2) so pattern match in u = x^2 to get:

(1 + x^2)^(1/2) = 1 + 1/2 x^2 + \frac{1/2(-1/2)}{2!} x^4 + \cdots

= 1 + 1/2 x^2 - 1/8 x^4 + \cdots

This will converge for abs x < 1.