2

LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES

 LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES

The Limit of a Function

In this section, we will learn:

About limits in general and about numerical
and graphical methods for computing them.



THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Let’s investigate the behavior of the

function f defined by f(x) = x2 – x + 2
for values of x near 2.
▪The following table gives values of f(x) for values of x
close to 2, but not equal to 2.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

From the table and the

graph of f (a parabola)
shown in the figure,
we see that, when x is
close to 2 (on either
side of 2), f(x) is close
to 4.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

In fact, it appears that

we can make the
values of f(x) as close
as we like to 4 by
taking x sufficiently
close to 2.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

We express this by saying “the limit of

the function f(x) = x2 – x + 2 as x
approaches 2 is equal to 4.”
▪The notation for this is:

lim (x 2 − x + 2 ) = 4
x→2

 THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Definition 1

In general, we use the following

notation.
▪We write lim f (x ) = L
x→a

and say “the limit of f(x), as x approaches a,

equals L”

if we can make the values of f(x) arbitrarily close

to L (as close to L as we like) by taking x to be
sufficiently close to a (on either side of a) but not
equal to a.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Roughly speaking, this says that the values

of f(x) tend to get closer and closer to the
number L as x gets closer and closer to the
number a (from either side of a) but x ≠a.
▪A more precise definition will be given in Section
2.4.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

An alternative notation for

lim f (x ) = L
x→a

is f ( x) → L as x → a

which is usually read “f(x) approaches L as

x approaches a.”

 THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Notice the phrase “but x ≠ a” in the

definition of limit.
▪ This means that, in finding the limit of f(x) as
x approaches a, we never consider x = a.
▪ In fact, f(x) need not even be defined when x
= a.
▪ The only thing that matters is how f is
defined near a.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

The figure shows the graphs of

three functions.
▪Note that, in the third graph, f(a) is not defined and, in
the second graph, f ( x) ≠ L.
▪However, in each case, regardless of what happens at
a, it is true that lim f ( x) = L.
x→a

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

x −1
Guess the value of lim 2 .
x →1 x − 1

▪Notice that the function f(x) = (x – 1)/(x2 – 1) is not

defined when x = 1.
▪However, that doesn’t matter—because the
definition of lim f ( x)says that we consider values
of x that are close
x→a
to a but not equal to a.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

The tables give values

of f(x) (correct to six
decimal places) for
values of x that
approach 1 (but are not
equal to 1).
▪On the basis of the values,
we make the guess that
x −1
lim 2 = 0.5
x →1 x − 1

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

Example 1 is illustrated by the graph

of f in the figure.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

Now, let’s change f slightly by

giving it the value 2 when x = 1 and calling
the resulting function g:
⎧ x −1
⎪ 2 if x ≠ 1
g (x ) = ⎨ x − 1
⎪⎩2 if x = 1

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

This new function g still has the

same limit as x approaches 1.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Estimate the value of t2 + 9 − 3.

lim
t →0 t2

▪The table lists values of the function for several values

of t near 0.
▪As t approaches 0,
the values of the function
seem to approach
0.16666666…
▪So, we guess that:

t2 + 9 − 3 1
lim 2
=
t →0 t 6








THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

What would have happened if we

had taken even smaller values of t?
▪The table shows the results from one calculator.
▪You can see that something strange seems to be
happening.
▪If you try these
calculations on your own
calculator, you might get
different values but,
eventually, you will get
the value 0 if you make
t sufficiently small.














THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Does this mean that the answer is

really 0 instead of 1/6?
▪No, the value of the limit is 1/6, as we will
show in the next section.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

The problem is that the calculator

gave false values because t 2 + 9 is
very close to 3 when t is small.
▪In fact, when t is sufficiently small, a calculator’s
value for t 2 + 9 is 3.000… to as many digits as the
calculator is capable of carrying.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Something very similar happens when

we try to graph the function
2
t +9 −3
f (t ) = 2
t
of the example on a graphing calculator
or computer.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

These figures show quite accurate graphs

of f and, when we use the trace mode (if
available), we can estimate easily that the
limit is about 1/6.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

However, if we zoom in too much, then

we get inaccurate graphs—again because
of problems with subtraction.