Taylor's Theorem
Taylor's Theorem provides a way to approximate a function around a point using a
polynomial, assuming is sufficiently differentiable at and near . The
approximation is expressed as a Taylor series.
Statement of Taylor's Theorem
If is -times differentiable at , then can be expressed as:
f(x) = f(a) + f'(a)(x-a) + \frac{f''(a)}{2!}(x-a)^2 + \dots + \frac{f^{(n)}(a)}{n!}
(x-a)^n + R_n(x),
is the -th derivative of evaluated at ,
is the remainder term or error term, representing the difference between the true
function value and the -th order polynomial approximation.
For an infinite Taylor series (if is infinitely differentiable and the series
converges), the expansion becomes:
f(x) = \sum_{k=0}^\infty \frac{f^{(k)}(a)}{k!}(x-a)^k.
Method for Applying Taylor's Theorem
1. Determine the function and expansion point: Identify the function to be
approximated and the point around which the expansion is made.
2. Compute derivatives: Find the derivatives of up to the desired order : .
3. Evaluate derivatives at : Substitute into the derivatives to find .
4. Substitute into the Taylor series formula: Plug the computed values of into the
formula:
f(x) \approx f(a) + f'(a)(x-a) + \frac{f''(a)}{2!}(x-a)^2 + \dots + \frac{f^{(n)}
(a)}{n!}(x-a)^n.
5. Include the remainder (if needed): Add the remainder term , if the accuracy of
the approximation is to be quantified.
6. Simplify the series: Write the series in its simplest form.
Example
Expand around using Taylor's theorem up to the third order.
1. Derivatives of :
f(x) = \ln(1+x), \quad f'(x) = \frac{1}{1+x}, \quad f''(x) = -\frac{1}{(1+x)^2}, \
quad f^{(3)}(x) = \frac{2}{(1+x)^3}.
2. Evaluate at :
f(0) = \ln(1+0) = 0, \quad f'(0) = 1, \quad f''(0) = -1, \quad f^{(3)}(0) = 2.
3. Substitute into the formula:
\ln(1+x) \approx f(0) + f'(0)x + \frac{f''(0)}{2!}x^2 + \frac{f^{(3)}(0)}{3!}x^3
4. Simplify:
\ln(1+x) \approx 0 + x - \frac{x^2}{2} + \frac{2x^3}{6} = x - \frac{x^2}{2} + \
frac{x^3}{3}.
This is the third-order Taylor expansion of about .
