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Putnam 1973 A2

Source: Putnam 1973

May 25, 2022
PutnamConvergenceseries

Problem Statement

Consider an infinite series whose nn-th term is \pm (1\slash n), the ±\pm signs being determined according to a pattern that repeats periodically in blocks of eight (there are 282^{8} possible patterns).
(a) Show that a sufficient condition for the series to be conditionally convergent is that there are four "++" signs and four "-" signs in the block of eight signs. (b) Is this sufficient condition also necessary?