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Exercise 1523Calculus › Single-variable calculus › Differentiation › Taylor expansionsL3Added 3 Nov 2026

An expansion of order 2 without a second derivative

#Taylor-Young converse#counterexample#differentiability

Statement

Let f(x)=x3sin⁡1xf(x)=x^3\sin\frac1x for x≠0x\ne0 and f(0)=0f(0)=0.

  1. Show that f(x)=o(x2)f(x)=o(x^2) as x→0x\to0: ff admits an expansion of order 22 at 00.
  2. Show that ff is differentiable at 00 but not twice differentiable at 00.
Hint

∣sin⁡∣≤1|\sin|\le1. For part 2, compute f′(x)f'(x) for x≠0x\ne0 and look at f′(x)−f′(0)x\frac{f'(x)-f'(0)}x.

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Solution

1. ∣f(x)x2∣=∣xsin⁡1x∣≤∣x∣→0\left|\frac{f(x)}{x^2}\right|=\left|x\sin\frac1x\right|\le|x|\to0. Hence f(x)=0+0⋅x+0⋅x2+o(x2)f(x)=0+0\cdot x+0\cdot x^2+o(x^2).

2. f(x)−f(0)x=x2sin⁡1x→0\frac{f(x)-f(0)}x=x^2\sin\frac1x\to0, so f′(0)=0f'(0)=0. For x≠0x\ne0,
f′(x)=3x2sin⁡1x−xcos⁡1x.f'(x)=3x^2\sin\frac1x-x\cos\frac1x.
Then
f′(x)−f′(0)x=3xsin⁡1x−cos⁡1x,\frac{f'(x)-f'(0)}x=3x\sin\frac1x-\cos\frac1x,
which has no limit as x→0x\to0 (the first term tends to 00 and cos⁡1x\cos\frac1x oscillates in [−1,1][-1,1]). So f′′(0)f''(0) does not exist.

Remark. Taylor–Young says: twice differentiable at aa ⇒\Rightarrow expansion of order 22. The converse is false for orders ≥2\ge2 (it is true for order 11: an expansion of order 11 is equivalent to differentiability).