MY CHOSEN TOPIC: LIMITS OF FUNCTION

AS WE HAD TACKLED, THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION IS THE BASIS OR THE BACKBONE OF

ALL CALCULUS. IT IS BECAUSE IT GIVES US THE APPROXIMATION OF VALUE THAT A
FUNCTION APPROACHES AS ITS INPUTS GETS CLOSER TO A SPECIFIC GIVEN NUMBER.
WE CAN'T USE THAT EXACT SPECIFIC NUMBER BECAUSE MOST INSTANCES, A RESULT
WILL NOT END UP AS IT MAY BE. WHY DO WE USE LIMITS? IT TELLS US HOW A
FUNCTION BEHAVES. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU ARE FEEDING SHARKS WHILE RIDING ON A
YACHT. STANDING A METER AWAY FROM THE SIDE OF THE YACHT, YOU ARE JUST
THROWING THE MEATS BECAUSE YOU'RE KIND OF FRIGHTENED OF GETTING BITTEN,
DESPITE THE HEIGHT OF THE YACHT THAT CAN NOT BE REACHED EASILY BY SOME
SHARKS. BUT IT'S BEEN YOUR DREAM TO SEE SHARKS EATING. THAT'S WHY, YOU
SLOWLY WALK TO THE SIDE, UNTIL YOU REACHED THE POSITION. YOU WERE AWED BY
A GROUP OF SHARKS WHO ARE EATING THE MEATs THAT YOU GAVE THEM. AS YOU
ANALYZE, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEAREST POSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM
CLEARLY, BUT YOU CAN NOT GO EXACTLY TO THEIR PLACE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT
MISTAKE YOU AS SOME MEAT AND MIGHT DEVOUR BY THEM. THAT'S ALSO HOW THE
LIMIT OF A FUNCTION WORKS. YOU CAN'T GO EXACTLY TO THE VALUE OF SOME
NUMBER, BUT YOU CAN APPROACH THE NEAREST POSSIBLE VALUE OF THAT NUMBER.
 LIMITS OF FUNCTION: (EXAMPLE)

FIRST, IT'S BEST TO UNDERSTAND THE LIMIT BY DENOTING THE PROCESS. WE USE
THE LETTER L TO DENOTE THE LIMIT, THE FUNCTION F(X)
AS THE ONE WHO WILL APPROACH THE CONSTANT, WHICH WILL BE DENOTED AS C.
WRITING THE PROCESS IN SYMBOLS, THIS APPEARS AS:
lim f(x) = L
x→c

Example: Investigate lim (2x - 3)

2

x→2

x f (x) x f (x)

1.8 3.48 2.15 6.245

1.99 4.9202 2.05 5.405

1.999 4.992002 2.001 5.008002

1.9999 4.99920002 2.0001 5.00080002

1.99999 4.9999200002 2.00001 5.0000800002

The table show that as x approaches 2, f(x) approaches 5. In symbols,

lim (2x - 3) = 5.
2

x→2