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Inverse z of (z-4)/((z-1)(z-2)²)

Short answer

Partial fractions on F(z)/z give residues A=1, B=−3, D=−1, C=2. Then F(z)=1−3z/(z−1)+2z/(z−2)−z/(z−2)². Invert: f(k)=δ(k)−3+2·2^k−k·2^(k−1), k≥0.

Find the inverse Z-transform of f(z) = (z - 4)/((z - 1)(z - 2)²) by partial fraction method.

F(z) = (z − 4)/((z − 1)(z − 2)²).

Step 1. Divide by z. Because F(z) has no factor z in the numerator, a pole at z = 0 appears:

F(z)/z = (z − 4)/(z (z − 1)(z − 2)²) = A/z + B/(z − 1) + C/(z − 2) + D/(z − 2)²

  • A = (z − 4)/((z − 1)(z − 2)²) at z = 0 = (−4)/((−1)(4)) = 1
  • B = (z − 4)/(z (z − 2)²) at z = 1 = −3/1 = −3
  • D = (z − 4)/(z (z − 1)) at z = 2 = −2/2 = −1
  • C: for large z, F/z ~ 1/z³ has no 1/z term, so A + B + C = 0, giving C = 2

Step 2. Multiply by z:

F(z) = 1 − 3z/(z − 1) + 2z/(z − 2) − z/(z − 2)²

Step 3. Invert:

  • Z⁻¹[1] = δ(k) (unit impulse, 1 at k = 0)
  • Z⁻¹[z/(z − 1)] = 1
  • Z⁻¹[z/(z − 2)] = 2ᵏ
  • Z⁻¹[z/(z − 2)²] = k 2ᵏ⁻¹

Answer:

f(k) = δ(k) − 3 + 2 · 2ᵏ − k 2ᵏ⁻¹, k ≥ 0

k    : 0  1  2  3   4
f(k) : 0  0  1  1  -3

Check: F(z) ~ z⁻² for large z, so f(0) = f(1) = 0 and f(2) = 1, matching the table.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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