Chapter 2: LIMITS AND CONTINUITY OF ALGEBRAIC FUNCTIONS

Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662)

A French mathematician and scientist. He independently discovered the first 32 propositions of Euclid
without ever reading a book on geometry. He published a highly respected essay on conic sections by
the time he was 16. His contributions in Physics includes his discovery that air pressure decreases with
altitude and the principle of fluid pressure that bears his name.
“If some quantities depend on others in such a way as to undergo variation when the latter are varied then
the former are called functions of the latter”

Leonhard Euler
Specific Objectives
At the end of the chapter the students should be able to:
 Define and interpret the concept of limits intuitively.
 Develop the skills in evaluating the limits of quotients, one sided-limits, infinite Limits, and limits at
infinity.
 Sketch the graphs of continuous and discontinuous functions.
 Determine the domain and range of continuous and discontinuous functions.
 Apply the concept of limits and continuity to solve real world problems.
2.1 LIMIT OF A FUNCTION
In the study of calculus, the first important concept or idea that must be introduced is the concept of
limit. The limit of a function is the cornerstone of both differential and integral calculus. It is one of the
fundamental ideas that distinguishes calculus from other areas of mathematics such as algebra and
trigonometry.
We will investigate the manner in which some functions vary, and whether they approach
specific values under certain conditions. This analysis will employ the concept of the derivative in the
succeeding chapters. The definition of derivative depends on the notion of the limit of a function.
Let a function 𝑓 be defined throughout an open interval containing a real number 𝑎, except possibly
at 𝑎 itself. We are open interested in the function value 𝑓(𝑥) when 𝑥 is very close to 𝑎, but not necessarily
equal to 𝑎. As a matter of fact, in many instances the number 𝑎 is not in the domain of 𝑓; that is, 𝑓(𝑎) is
undefined. We may ask the question: As 𝑥 gets closer and closer to 𝑎 (but 𝑥 ≠ 𝑎), does 𝑓(𝑥) get closer
and closer to some number 𝐿? If the answer is yes, then we illustrate this concept in the following
examples.

Illustration 1: Evaluate 𝐥𝐢𝐦(𝒙 + 𝟑)

𝒙→𝟐

Solution we will study the behavior of the linear function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 3 as 𝑥 takes on values closer and
closer to 2 from both sides; thus values less than 2 and values greater than 2. The table below, shows
the corresponding values of 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 3
 𝑥 -2 -1 0 1.99 1.999 2 2.001 2.01 3
𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) 1 2 3 4.99 4.999 5 5.001 5.01 6
It follows from the table that the values of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 3 come closer and closer to the value 5 as the
values of x gets nearer and nearer to 2. In fact, we can find a value of 𝑓(𝑥) as close as we please to 5 by
choosing a value for x that is close enough to 2. In this case, we say that the limit of 𝑓(𝑥) as x approaches
2 is 5. Symbolically, we write
lim(𝑥 + 3) = 2 + 3 = 5
𝑥→2

When we write 𝑥 → 2(𝑥 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 2), we do not assume that x=2, but that x gets closer and closer to
2 from either side. Thus,
𝑥 → 2− (𝑥 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 2 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 2)
𝑥 → 2+ (𝑥 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 2 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 2)
Now, evaluating the limit from both sides, we get
lim (𝑥 + 3) = 2 + 3 = 5, lim (𝑥 + 3) = 2 + 3 = 5,
𝑥→2+ 𝑥→2−

Observe that lim(𝑥 + 3) = 2 + 3 = 5, here x=2. However, it is not true in general, as illustrated by the
𝑥→2
following examples.
𝒙 −𝟏
Example 2 Evaluate the 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐

𝒙→𝟏 𝒙−𝟏

Solution:
𝑥 −1
Let 𝑓(𝑥) = 2 , Clearly this function is not defined at x=1, that is, f(x) does not exist. Nevertheless, the
𝑥−1
function does have a limit as 𝑥 → 1, thus,

𝑥2−1 1−1 0
lim = = it is indeterminate.
𝑥→1 𝑥−1 1−1 0,

We can simplify the expression by factoring the numerator. Hence,

2
(𝑥
lim 𝑥 − 1 = lim + 1)(𝑥 − 1) = lim(𝑥 + 1) = 1 + 1 = 2
𝑥→1 𝑥 − 1 𝑥→1 𝑥−1 𝑥→1
𝒙 −𝟏
Thus, 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐 =𝟐
𝒙→𝟏 𝒙−𝟏

The graph of the function is the line 𝑦 = 𝑥 + 1, except for a hole at x = 1. Thus, the function is
discontinuous at x = 1. Remember that 𝑥 → 1 implies that x comes nearer and nearer to 1, but not equal to
1. We are only interested in the behavior of the function in a small neighborhood of x = 1., the set of
all nearby points lying to the left of x = 1 and to the right but not in what happen to f(x) at x = 1 (see
figure below).
 𝑥 −1
Limit of 𝑓(𝑥) = 2 as x approaches 1.
𝑥−1

Remarks
1. The notation lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿, means that as x gets closer to 𝑎 but not equal to 𝑎, 𝑓(𝑥) gets closer
𝑥→𝑎
to 𝐿.
2. The limit of a function as x approaches 𝑎 is independent of the value of the function at 𝑎 even
though lim 𝑓(𝑥) exist, the value of the function at 𝑎 maybe(see figure below).
𝑥→𝑎
i. Undefined, ii. The same as the limit, iii. Defined but different from the limit
3. The symbol lim is removed upon evaluation of the limit, or else, it will remain during the
𝑥→𝑎
simplification process.
𝒙 −𝟏𝟔
Example 3 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐
𝒙→𝟒 𝒙−𝟒

Evaluating the limit, we get

𝑥 −16 (4) −16 0
lim 2 = 2 = , it is indeterminate.
𝑥→4 𝑥−4 4−4 0

We simplify the expression the evaluate the limit. Hence,

lim 𝑥 2 − 16 (𝑥 + 4)(𝑥 − 4)
𝑥→4 = lim = lim(𝑥 + 4) = 4 + 4 = 8
𝑥−4 𝑥→4 𝑥−4 𝑥→4
𝒙 −𝟏𝟔
Thus, 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐 =𝟖
𝒙→𝟒 𝒙−𝟒

√𝒙 −𝟏
Example 4 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐
𝒙→𝟏 √𝒙−𝟏

Solution: Evaluating the limit, we have

 √𝑥 −1 √1−1 0
lim 2 = = , it is indeterminate.
𝑥→1 √𝑥−1 √1−1 0

Now, we express the quotient into a single radical then evaluate the limit. That is,
√𝑥2 − 1 𝑥2 − 1 (𝑥 + 1)(𝑥 − 1)
lim = lim √ =√ = lim √𝑥 + 1 = √2
𝑥→1 √𝑥 − 1 𝑥→1 𝑥−1 𝑥−1 𝑥→1
𝒙 −𝟏
Thus, 𝐥𝐢𝐦 √ 𝟐 = √𝟐
𝒙→𝟏 √𝒙−𝟏

 The limit of a Function

The limit of a function 𝑓(𝑥) as x approaches 𝑎 is 𝐿 denoted by lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿 if and only
𝑥→𝑎
if for any positive number ∈ (no matter how small ) there exist a positive number 𝛿
(dependent on 𝜀) such that |𝑓(𝑥) − 𝐿| < 𝜀 whenever 0 < |𝑥 − 𝑎| < 𝛿.
This means that if the statement lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿 is true, then we can find a 𝛿 such that
𝑥→𝑎
𝑓(𝑥) can be made as close to L as we please (𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝜀 𝑜𝑓 𝐿). By substituting any
value of x within a distance 𝛿 of 𝑎 of a into 𝑓(𝑥).