9.

2: Taylor Series
Brook Taylor was an
accomplished musician and
painter. He did research in a
variety of areas, but is most
famous for his development of
ideas regarding infinite series.

Brook Taylor
1685 - 1731

Greg Kelly, Hanford High School, Richland, Washington

Objectives
Find a MacLaurin Approximation of
elementary functions
Find a Taylor Approximation of elementary
functions

What is it?
A Taylor or MacLaurin Polynomial is used to
numerically approximate the behavior of a
function.
A MacLaurin Polynomial is a special case of a
Taylor Polynomial.
Examples

Maclaurin Series:
(generated by f at x 0 )
f 0 2 f 0 3
P x f 0 f 0 x
x
x
2!
3!

If we want to center the series (and its graph) at some

point other than zero, we get the Taylor Series:
Taylor Series:
(generated by f at x a )
f a
f a
2
3
P x f a f a x a
x

2!
3!

Suppose we wanted to find a fourth degree polynomial

that approximates the behavior of

f x ln x 1 at x 0
f (0) ln(0 1) 0

f ( x)

1
x 1

f (0)

1
1
0 1

1
f ( x)
( x 1) 2

1
f (0)
1
2
(0 1)

2
f ( x)
( x 1)3

2
f (0)
2
3
(0 1)

6
f ( x)
( x 1) 4

6
f (0)
6
3
(0 1)

f (0) 2 f (0) 3 f 4 (0) 4

P4 ( x) f (0) f (0) x
x
x
x
2!
3!
4!

f (0) 0
f (0) 1
f (0) 1
f (0) 2
f 4 (0) 6

1 2 2 3 6 4
P4 ( x) 0 1x
x x
x
2!
3!
4!

f x ln x 1

Is approximated with the polynomial

1 2 2 3 6 4
P x 0 1x x x
x
2
6
24

x 2 x3 x 4
P x 0 x
2 3 4
If we plot both functions, we see
that near zero the functions match
very well!
f x

P x

Find a MacLaurin Polynomial for e 3x of degree 4

f ( 0) 1
f ( x) 3e

f (0) 3

3x

f ( x) 9e

f ( x) 27e
f ( x) 81e
4

f (0) 9

3x

3x

3x

f (0) 27

f (0) 81
4

f (0) 2 f (0) 3 f 4 (0) 4

P4 ( x) f (0) f (0) x
x
x
x
2!
3!
4!

f (0) 1
f (0) 3

9 2 27 3 81 4
P4 ( x) 1 3 x x
x x
2!
3!
4!

f (0) 9
f (0) 27
f 4 (0) 81

9 2 9 3 27 4
P4 ( x) 1 3 x x x
x
2
2
8

Find the MacLaurin Polynomial of degree 4

1
f ( x)
( x 1) 2

P4 ( x) 1 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x
2

Use the Polynomial to approximate f(.1) and

f(1.1).
P4 (0.1) 1 2(.1) 3(.1) 2 4(.1) 3 5(.1) 4 0.8265

f (0.1) 0.826446

P4 (0.1) 1 2(1.1) 3(1.1) 2 4(1.1) 3 5(1.1) 4 4.4265

f (1.1) 0.226757

Find a Taylor Polynomial

2
f ( x) 2
x

4
f ( x) 3
x
f ( x)

12
x4

; centered at x = 2
1
f (2)
2
1
f (2)
2
3
f (2)
4

48
f ( x) 5
x

3
f (2)
2

240
f ( x) 6
x

15
f ( 2)
4

f (c)
f
(
c
)
f
(c )
2
3

P4 ( x) f (c) f (c)( x c)
x( x c)
( x c)
( x c) 4
2!
3!
4!

1
f (2)
2

1
f (2)
2
3
f (2)
4
3
f (2)
2
15
f ( 2)
4
4

P4 ( x) 1 / 2 1 / 2( x 2)

P4 ( x)

3/ 4
3/ 2
15 / 4
( x 2) 2
( x 2) 3
( x 2) 4
2!
3!
4!

1 1
3
1
5
( x 2) ( x 2) 2 ( x 2) 3 ( x 2) 4
2 2
8
4
32

Find a Taylor Polynomial

f ( x) cos x ;

centered at x =

f ( ) 1
f ( ) 0
f ( ) 1
f ( ) 0
f ( ) 1
4

P4 ( x) 1 0( x )

1
0
1
( x ) 2 ( x )3
( x )4
2!
3!
4!

1
1
2
P4 ( x) 1 ( x ) ( x ) 4
2
24

Find a Taylor Polynomial

f ( x) ln x

; centered at x = 2

f (2) ln 2
f (2) 1 / 2
f (2) 1 / 4
f (2) 1 / 4

3
1
1

1
P4 ( x) ln 2 ( x 2) 4 ( x 2) 2 4 ( x 2)3 8 ( x 2) 4
2
2!
3!
4!

1
1
1
1
P4 ( x) ln 2 ( x 2) ( x 2) 2 ( x 2) 3 ( x 2) 4
2
2
24
64

f (2) 3 / 8
4

When referring to Taylor polynomials, we can talk about

number of terms, order or degree.

x2 x4
cos x 1
2! 4!

This is a polynomial in 3 terms.

It is a 4th order Taylor polynomial, because it was

found using the 4th derivative.
It is also a 4th degree polynomial, because x is raised
to the 4th power.
x2
The 3rd order polynomial for cos x is 1
, but it is
2!
degree 2.

x3 term
dropsrequired
out when
the to
third
derivative.
AThe
recent
AP exam
theusing
student
know
the
difference
order
degree.
Thisbetween
is also the
2ndand
order
polynomial.

Recap
Taylor and MacLaurin Series are
Polynomial functions used to estimate
functions
A MacLaurin Polynomial is a Taylor
Polynomial centered at zero
Homework: page 656 #17, 19, 21, 33

GROUP WORK
Each group will be given a function. Create a 4th degree
MacLaurin Series and a Taylor series at the given point.
Switch with another group
Compare your answers

There are some Maclaurin series that occur often enough

that they should be memorized. They are on page 682 in
your book.
The AP exam requires that you know ex , cos x, sin x and
1
1 x