"how you go from that step to the next?"
airie stated that
1/(k(k+1)(k+2)) = 1/k(1/(k+1)-1/(k+2)) (easily verified by expanding the RHS)
Now by a similar method:
1/(k(k+1)(k+2)) = 1/(k+2)(1/k - 1/(k+1)) (easily verified)
now she has just grouped the two terms which are in teh same column
so - 1/1 * 1/3 + 1/2 * 1/3 = 1/3(1/2 - 1/1) = -1/3(1/1 - 1/2) = -1/(1*2*3)
where the last equality is derived from the second identity.
"1. As n approaches infinity, so do n+1, n+2, ..., 2n, thus 1/(n+1), 1/(n+2), ..., 1/2n all approach zero; therefore the sum Xn approaches zero."
Unfortunately this is wrong I think.
1/(n+1) > 1/2n
1/(n+2) > 1/2n
...
1/2n = 1/2n
And there are n terms in our sum X_n. So:
X_n > 1/2n + 1/2n + ... + 1/2n
= n(1/2n)
=1/2
and this is irrespective of how large n is. In addition:
1/(n+1) < 1/n
1/(n+2) < 1/n
...
1/2n < 1/n
Adding these n terms together yields:
X_n < 1/n + 1/n + ... + 1/n
= n(1/n)
= 1
so we know that for all n (there may be equality for small n), 1 > X_n > 1/2.
The answer is log2 (natural log) I'm pretty sure but I have no elementary way to derive that.