The ratio test examines how successive coefficients change and how that growth interacts with the factor (x−c)ⁿ. It identifies a threshold for the distance |x−c|: values inside that threshold produce convergence, while values outside produce divergence. Thus, coefficient behavior is translated into the size of the series’s centered convergence region.
The root test evaluates the growth of coefficients across the powers in the series rather than focusing only on adjacent terms. This provides another way to locate the critical distance from the center at which convergence changes. It is especially useful when coefficient patterns make successive-term comparisons less direct, while the resulting boundary still requires separate endpoint analysis.
The ratio or root test typically identifies behavior for points strictly inside or outside the boundary, but it does not settle what happens exactly at the boundary. Substituting each endpoint into the original series and applying an appropriate convergence test is therefore necessary. The two endpoints can behave differently, so one may converge while the other diverges.
Radius of convergence describes the distance outward from the center, whereas a real-variable convergence interval also depends on which endpoints are included. Once the radius is found, the corresponding boundary points must be checked individually. The final interval may include neither endpoint, both endpoints, or only one, depending on the series’s endpoint behavior.
First identify the center c and the coefficients aₙ in the power series. Next apply the ratio test or root test to determine the critical distance from c. Then substitute the two boundary values into the series and test them separately. Combining the interior, exterior, and endpoint results gives the complete real convergence interval.
For Taylor or Maclaurin series, the radius indicates where the series can represent the associated function through its convergent sum. It therefore helps determine the usable domain for series-based approximation. Within that region, the series framework also supports term-by-term differentiation and integration, making the radius relevant to both function analysis and computation.