SECTION 1.

1.4

CALCULATING LIMITS

CALCULATING LIMITS

EXAMPLE A If

f x

sx 4
8 2x

if x 4
if x 4

determine whether lim x l 4 f x exists.

SOLUTION Since f x sx 4 for x 4, we have

It is shown in Example 10 in
Section 1.3 that lim x l 0 sx 0.

lim f x lim sx 4 s4 4 0

x l 4

xl4

Since f x 8 2x for x 4, we have

y

lim f x lim 8 2x 8 2 4 0

x l 4

xl4

The right- and left-hand limits are equal. Thus, the limit exists and
0

lim f x 0

xl4

Thomson Brooks-Cole copyright 2007

FIGURE 1

The graph of f is shown in Figure 1.