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I got the following test question:

Series $\sum_{n= 0}^{\infty}a_n$ converges. Which of the series below must also converge:

1) $\sum_{n= 0}^{\infty}na_n$

2) $\sum_{n= 0}^{\infty}a_n^2$

3 $\sum_{n= 0}^{\infty}(-1)^na_n$

To me it looks like non of the above should necessarily converge.

1) $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n^2}$ converges but $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n}$ does not.

2) $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}(-1)^n\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}}$ converges (Leibniz criterion) but $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n}$ does not.

3) $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}(-1)^n\frac{1}{n}$ converges but $\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}(-1)^n(-1)^n\frac{1}{n}=\sum_{n= 1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n}$ does not.

What am I missing?

zesy
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    You are not missing anything! None of the three series is guaranteed to converge, as your examples show. – TonyK Nov 24 '15 at 19:16
  • @TonyK OK, nice news, but it is really bellow the belt for my professor to give a multiple choice without a right answer. – zesy Nov 24 '15 at 19:17
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    If you go into test assuming that a set of binary (yes/no) questions have a fair distribution of both, you'll neglect to consider the cases where all questions are no or all questions are yes. It's on you to be sure of every answer you give regardless of your answer to each other question. It's not below the belt at all. :) – Axoren Nov 24 '15 at 19:18
  • Double check that you did not have additional requirements like "$\sum a_n$ converges absolutely" or "$a_n\geq 0$". If you did not miss any conditions like this then your answer is correct. – Winther Nov 24 '15 at 19:18
  • @Winther nope, nothing is missing. – zesy Nov 24 '15 at 19:20

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