Arkansas Tech University MATH 2934: Calculus III Dr. Marcel B.

Finan

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
xa

lim 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. 1

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 punctured 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 2

Example 6.1 Let f (x, y) = x2 + 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 satises (x 1)2 + (y 1)2 < 0.04 or x2 + 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) = x2 + 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 conditions 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 continuous 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). 3

Like the case of functions of one variable, it can be shown that sums, products, quotients (where denominator function is not zero), and compositions of continuous functions are also continuous. Example 6.2 Show that f (x, y) = 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 < x2 + y 2 < then |f (x, y) 0| < ? Let = 2 and suppose that 0 < x2 + y 2 < . Then, using the fact that x2 x2 + y 2 , i.e. we have |f (x, y) 0| = x2 x2 y = 2 |y| |y| x2 + y 2 x + y2
x2 x2 +y 2 x2 y x2 +y 2

(x, y) = (0, 0) (x, y) = (0, 0)

x2 + y 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) = is discontinuous at (0, 0). 4
x2 x2 +y 2

(x, y) = (0, 0) (x, y) = (0, 0)

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) =

x2 = 1. (x,0)(0,0) x2 + 0 lim

Now, lets approach (0, 0) along the yaxis, i.e. x = 0. lim

(x,y)(0,0)

f (x, y) =

0 = 0. (0,y)(0,0) 0 + y 2 lim

Since the limit is not the same along the two dierent directions we conclude that f (x, y) is discontinuous at (0, 0)