Arkansas Tech University

MATH 2934: Calculus III

Dr. Marcel B. Finan
6 Limits and Continuity of Functions of Two
Variables
Let h denote the elevation of the terrain above sea level. Then h can be
considered as a function of longitude and altitude. If we pick a point on a
at terrain we notice that the values of nearby points are close to the value
of the point. We say that h is continuous at that point. On the other hand,
there are places on the earths surface where the elevation changes abruptly.
We give a special name to such places: clis. Near either the base or the
top of a cli the terrain may be fairly level and smooth. However as we
approach the cli, there is a large and abrupt change in elevation. Within a
few feet the terrain elevation may change by hundreds of feet (either upwards
or downwards). This break or sudden change in the ground elevation can
be considered a discontinuity.
The above example illustrates the ideas of continuity and discontinuity. Roughly
speaking, a function is said to be continuous at a point if its values at places
near the point are close to the value at the point. If this is not the case then
we say that the function is discontinuous.
In this section, we present a formal discussion of the concept of continuity of
functions of two variables. Our discussion is not limited to functions of two
variables, that is, our results extend to functions of three or more variables.
The denition of continuity requires a discussion of the concept of limits.
Before we introduce this concept for functions in two variables, let us recall
the one dimensional version:
Let f be a function and a be a point in its domain. We say that f(x) has
a limit L at a if and only if for every > 0 there exists a positive number
depending on such that for any x in the domain of f with the property
0 < |x a| < we have |f(x) L| < . In symbol, we write
lim
xa
f(x) = L
or f(x) L as x a.
Geometrically, the denition says that for any > 0 (as small as we want),
there is a > 0 (suciently small) such that any point inside the interval
(a , a +) is mapped to a point inside the interval (L, L+) as shown
in the gure below.
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A similar denition extends to functions in two variables: We say that L is
the limit of a function f at the point (a, b), written
lim
(x,y)(a,b)
f(x, y) = L
if f(x, y) is as close to L as we please whenever the distance from the point
(x, y) to the point (a, b) is suciently small, but not zero.
Using denition we say that L is the limit of f(x, y) as (x, y) approaches
(a, b) if and only if for every given > 0 we can nd a > 0 such that for any
point (x, y) where 0 <

(x a)
2
+ (y b)
2
< we have |f(x, y) L| < .
What does this mean in words? To say that L is the limit of f(x, y) as
(x, y) (a, b) means that for any given > 0, we can nd an open punc-
tured disk (i.e. without the center and the boundary) centered at (a, b) such
that for any point (x, y) inside the disk the dierence f(x, y) L is within
, i.e., L < f(x, y) < L + . Figure 5.1 illustrates this.
Figure 5.1
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Example 6.1
Let f(x, y) = x
2
+ y
2
. Is lim
(x,y)(1,1)
f(x, y) = 3?
Solution.
Let = 0.1. Is there a > 0 such that all the points (x, y) inside the
open disk with radius and centered at (1, 1) satisfy 2.9 < f(x, y) < 3.1?
Clearly, any such open disk will share points with the open disk centered
at (1, 1) and with radius 0.2. But any point (x, y) in this latter disk sat-
ises (x 1)
2
+ (y 1)
2
< 0.04 or x
2
+ y
2
2(x + y) + 2 < 0.04. Since
0.8 < x < 1.2 and 0.8 < y < 1.2 we nd 3.2 < 2(x + y) < 4.8. This implies
that f(x, y) = x
2
+y
2
< 0.04 2 +4.8 = 2.84 < 2.9. Hence any point in the
disk centered at (1, 1) and radius 0.2 will fall outside the interval (2.9, 3.1).
We conclude that lim
(x,y)(1,1)
f(x, y) = 3
As in the case of functions of one variable, limits of functions of two variables
possess the following properties:
The limit, if it exists, is unique.
The limit of a sum, dierence, product, is the sum, dierence, product of
limits.
The limit of a quotient is the quotient of limits provided that the limit in
the denominator is not zero.
We can now dene what we mean by continuity in terms of limit. Intuitively,
we expect our denition to support the idea that there are no breaks or
gaps in the function if it is continuous. The continuity of functions of two
variables is dened in the same way as for functions of one variable:
A function f(x, y) is continuous at the point (a, b) if the following two con-
ditions are satised:
(a) f(a, b) exists;
(b) lim
(x,y)(a,b)
f(x, y) = f(a, b).
A function is continuous on a region R in the xyplane if it is con-
tinuous at each point in R. A function that is not continuous at (a, b) is said
to be discontinuous at (a, b).
Since the condition lim
(x,y)(a,b)
f(x, y) = f(a, b) means that f(x, y) is close
to f(a, b) when (x, y) is close to (a, b) we see that our denition does indeed
correspond to our intuitive notion that the graph of f(x, y) has no gaps or
breaks around (a, b).
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Like the case of functions of one variable, it can be shown that sums, prod-
ucts, quotients (where denominator function is not zero), and compositions
of continuous functions are also continuous.
Example 6.2
Show that
f(x, y) =

x
2
y
x
2
+y
2
(x, y) = (0, 0)
0 (x, y) = (0, 0)
is continuous at (0, 0).
Solution.
This function is clearly continuous everywhere except at (possibly) (0, 0).
Lets check continuity at (0, 0). Let > 0 be given. Can we nd a > 0 such
that if 0 <

x
2
+ y
2
< then |f(x, y) 0| < ? Let =

2
and suppose that
0 <

x
2
+ y
2
< . Then, using the fact that x
2
x
2
+ y
2
, i.e.

x
2
x
2
+y
2

1
we have
|f(x, y) 0| =

x
2
y
x
2
+ y
2

x
2
x
2
+ y
2

|y| |y|

x
2
+ y
2
< =

2
< .
Hence, f(x, y) is continuous at (0, 0)
Remark 6.1
In the case of functions of one variable, if a function f(x) has a limit L at
x = a then the limit of f(x) as x approaches a from either the left or right
must be L. Similar situation occurs for a function f(x, y) of two variables with
the dierence that the point (x, y) can approach (a, b) in innite directions.
Hence, if you can nd two directions toward (a, b) with two dierent limits
then the function has no limit as (x, y) (a, b) and as a result of this fact
the function is discontinuous at (a, b).
Example 6.3
Using the above remark, show that
f(x, y) =

x
2
x
2
+y
2
(x, y) = (0, 0)
0 (x, y) = (0, 0)
is discontinuous at (0, 0).
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Solution.
Again this function is clearly continuous everywhere except (possibly) at
(0, 0). Now lets look at the limit as (x, y) approaches (0, 0) along two dierent
paths. First, lets approach (0, 0) along the xaxis, i.e. y = 0.
lim
(x,y)(0,0)
f(x, y) = lim
(x,0)(0,0)
x
2
x
2
+ 0
= 1.
Now, lets approach (0, 0) along the yaxis, i.e. x = 0.
lim
(x,y)(0,0)
f(x, y) = lim
(0,y)(0,0)
0
0 + y
2
= 0.
Since the limit is not the same along the two dierent directions we conclude
that f(x, y) is discontinuous at (0, 0)
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