In the setting of The Real Numbers: Standing Notation and Background, let (ak)k∈N and (bk)k∈N be sequences of real numbers, with partial sums sn and tn respectively, and let λ∈R. Convergence of a series and its sum are as defined there. Then the following hold.
1. (Linearity)¶ If ∑k=1∞ak and ∑k=1∞bk converge, then the series ∑k=1∞(ak+bk) and ∑k=1∞(λak) converge, and
k=1∑∞(ak+bk)=k=1∑∞ak+k=1∑∞bk,k=1∑∞(λak)=λk=1∑∞ak.
2. (The terms tend to zero)¶ If ∑k=1∞ak converges, then the sequence (ak)k∈N converges to 0.
3. (Cauchy criterion)¶ The series ∑k=1∞ak converges if and only if for every real ε>0 there is N∈N such that
∣sn−sm∣<εfor all m,n∈N with N≤m and N≤n.
4. (Comparison of sums)¶ If ∑k=1∞ak and ∑k=1∞bk converge and ak≤bk for every k∈N, then
k=1∑∞ak≤k=1∑∞bk.
5. (Telescoping series)¶ Let (ck)k∈N be a sequence of real numbers and suppose that ak=ck+1−ck for every k∈N. Then sn=cn+1−c1 for every n∈N; consequently ∑k=1∞ak converges if and only if the sequence (ck)k∈N converges, and in that case
k=1∑∞ak=(k→∞limck)−c1.