SECTION 4.

4 INDETERMINATE FORMS AND L’HOSPITAL’S RULE ❙❙❙❙ 307

70. (a) Show that e x 1  x for x 0. tion point? None? Illustrate by graphing P for several values
(b) Deduce that e x 1  x  12 x 2 for x 0. of c. How does the graph change as c decreases?
(c) Use mathematical induction to prove that for x 0 and any
73. Prove that if c, f c is a point of inflection of the graph of f
positive integer n,
and f exists in an open interval that contains c, then f c  0.
x2
x n [Hint: Apply the First Derivative Test and Fermat’s Theorem to
ex 1x    the function t  f .]
2! n!
74. Show that if f x  x 4, then f 0  0, but 0, 0 is not an
71. Show that a cubic function (a third-degree polynomial) always inflection point of the graph of f .
has exactly one point of inflection. If its graph has three
x-intercepts x 1, x 2, and x 3, show that the x-coordinate of the  
75. Show that the function tx  x x has an inflection point at
0, 0 but t 0 does not exist.
inflection point is x 1  x 2  x 3 3.
76. Suppose that f  is continuous and f c  f c  0, but
; 72. For what values of c does the polynomial f c  0. Does f have a local maximum or minimum at c ?
Px  x 4  cx 3  x 2 have two inflection points? One inflec- Does f have a point of inflection at c ?

|||| 4.4 Indeterminate Forms and L’Hospital’s Rule

Suppose we are trying to analyze the behavior of the function
ln x
Fx 
x1
Although F is not defined when x  1, we need to know how F behaves near 1. In par-
ticular, we would like to know the value of the limit
ln x
1 lim
x l1 x1
In computing this limit we can’t apply Law 5 of limits (the limit of a quotient is the quo-
tient of the limits, see Section 2.3) because the limit of the denominator is 0. In fact,
although the limit in (1) exists, its value is not obvious because both numerator and denom-
inator approach 0 and 00 is not defined.
In general, if we have a limit of the form
f x
lim
xla tx
where both f x l 0 and tx l 0 as x l a, then this limit may or may not exist and is
called an indeterminate form of type 00 . We met some limits of this type in Chapter 2. For
rational functions, we can cancel common factors:

x2  x xx  1 x 1
lim  lim  lim 
x l1 x2  1 x l1 x  1x  1 x l1 x  1 2

We used a geometric argument to show that

sin x
lim 1
xl0 x

But these methods do not work for limits such as (1), so in this section we introduce a sys-
tematic method, known as l’Hospital’s Rule, for the evaluation of indeterminate forms.
308 ❙❙❙❙ CHAPTER 4 APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

Another situation in which a limit is not obvious occurs when we look for a horizontal
asymptote of F and need to evaluate the limit

ln x
2 lim
xl x1

It isn’t obvious how to evaluate this limit because both numerator and denominator become
large as x l . There is a struggle between numerator and denominator. If the numerator
wins, the limit will be ; if the denominator wins, the answer will be 0. Or there may be
some compromise, in which case the answer may be some finite positive number.
In general, if we have a limit of the form

f x
lim
xla tx

where both f x l  (or ) and tx l  (or ), then the limit may or may not exist
and is called an indeterminate form of type . We saw in Section 2.6 that this type of
limit can be evaluated for certain functions, including rational functions, by dividing
numerator and denominator by the highest power of x that occurs in the denominator. For
instance,
1
1 2
x2  1 x 10 1
lim  lim  
x l  2x  1 20
2
y xl 1 2
f
2 2
x
g This method does not work for limits such as (2), but l’Hospital’s Rule also applies to this
type of indeterminate form.
0 a x
L’Hospital’s Rule Suppose f and t are differentiable and tx  0 near a (except
possibly at a). Suppose that
y y=m¡(x-a)
lim f x  0 and lim tx  0
xla xla

or that lim f x   and lim tx  

xla xla
y=m™(x-a)
0 a (In other words, we have an indeterminate form of type 00 or .) Then
x
f x f x
FIGURE 1 lim  lim
xla tx x l a tx
|||| Figure 1 suggests visually why l’Hospital’s if the limit on the right side exists (or is  or ).
Rule might be true. The first graph shows two
differentiable functions f and t, each of which
approaches 0 as x l a. If we were to zoom in NOTE 1 L’Hospital’s Rule says that the limit of a quotient of functions is equal to the
■

toward the point a, 0, the graphs would start

limit of the quotient of their derivatives, provided that the given conditions are satisfied. It
to look almost linear. But if the functions actually
were linear, as in the second graph, then their is especially important to verify the conditions regarding the limits of f and t before using
ratio would be l’Hospital’s Rule.
m1x  a m1
 NOTE 2 L’Hospital’s Rule is also valid for one-sided limits and for limits at infinity or
■

m2x  a m2
negative infinity; that is, “ x l a ” can be replaced by any of the symbols x l a, x l a,
which is the ratio of their derivatives. This sug- x l , or x l .
gests that
f x f x NOTE 3 For the special case in which f a  ta  0, f  and t are continuous, and
■

lim  lim
xla tx x l a tx ta  0, it is easy to see why l’Hospital’s Rule is true. In fact, using the alternative form
 SECTION 4.4 INDETERMINATE FORMS AND L’HOSPITAL’S RULE ❙❙❙❙ 309

|||| L’Hospital’s Rule is named after a of the definition of a derivative, we have

French nobleman, the Marquis de l’Hospital
(1661–1704), but was discovered by a Swiss f x  f a
mathematician, John Bernoulli (1667–1748). lim
See Exercise 71 for the example that the f x f a xa
xla
lim  
Marquis used to illustrate his rule. See the x l a tx ta tx  ta
project on page 315 for further historical details. lim
xla xa
f x  f a
xa
 lim
x l a tx  ta

xa
f x  f a
 lim
xla tx  ta
f x
 lim
xla tx

It is more difficult to prove the general version of l’Hospital’s Rule. See Appendix F.

ln x
EXAMPLE 1 Find lim .
x l1 x1
SOLUTION Since

lim ln x  ln 1  0 and lim x  1  0

x l1 x l1

we can apply l’Hospital’s Rule:

d
ln x
| ln x dx 1x
Notice that when using l’Hospital’s Rule we lim  lim  lim
x l1 x  1 x l1 d x l1 1
differentiate the numerator and denominator x  1
separately. We do not use the Quotient Rule. dx
1
 lim 1
x l1 x

ex
EXAMPLE 2 Calculate lim .
|||| The graph of the function of Example 2 is
xl x2
shown in Figure 2. We have noticed previously
SOLUTION We have lim x l  e x   and lim x l  x 2  , so l’Hospital’s Rule gives
that exponential functions grow far more rapidly
than power functions, so the result of Example 2
is not unexpected. See also Exercise 67. d
x e x 
e dx ex
20 lim 2  lim  lim
xl x xl d x l  2x
x 2 
dx

Since e x l  and 2x l  as x l , the limit on the right side is also indeterminate,

y= ´ but a second application of l’Hospital’s Rule gives
≈

0 10
ex ex ex
lim  lim  lim 
FIGURE 2 xl x2 x l  2x xl 2
310 ❙❙❙❙ CHAPTER 4 APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

ln x
|||| The graph of the function of Example 3 is EXAMPLE 3 Calculate lim 3
.
shown in Figure 3. We have discussed previously xl s x
the slow growth of logarithms, so it isn’t surpris-
SOLUTION Since ln x l  and s
3
x l  as x l , l’Hospital’s Rule applies:
ing that this ratio approaches 0 as x l . See
also Exercise 68.
ln x 1x
2 lim 3
 lim 1 23
xl s x xl 3 x

0
y= ln x Notice that the limit on the right side is now indeterminate of type 0 . But instead of
Œ„x applying l’Hospital’s Rule a second time as we did in Example 2, we simplify the
0 10,000
expression and see that a second application is unnecessary:

ln x 1x 3
lim 3
 lim 1 23  lim 3  0
_1 xl s x xl 3 x x l  sx

FIGURE 3
tan x  x
EXAMPLE 4 Find lim . [See Exercise 36(d) in Section 2.2.]
xl0 x3
SOLUTION Noting that both tan x  x l 0 and x 3 l 0 as x l 0, we use l’Hospital’s
Rule:
tan x  x sec2x  1
lim 3  lim
xl0 x xl0 3x 2
0
Since the limit on the right side is still indeterminate of type 0 , we apply l’Hospital’s
Rule again:
sec2x  1 2 sec2x tan x
lim 2  lim
xl0 3x xl0 6x
|||| The graph in Figure 4 gives visual confirma-
tion of the result of Example 4. If we were to
Because lim x l 0 sec2 x  1, we simplify the calculation by writing
zoom in too far, however, we would get an
inaccurate graph because tan x is close to x
when x is small. See Exercise 36(d) in 2 sec2x tan x 1 tan x 1 tan x
Section 2.2.
lim  lim sec2 x lim  lim
xl0 6x 3 x l 0 x l 0 x 3 x l 0 x
1
We can evaluate this last limit either by using l’Hospital’s Rule a third time or by
writing tan x as sin xcos x and making use of our knowledge of trigonometric limits.
Putting together all the steps, we get

tan x  x sec 2 x  1 2 sec 2 x tan x

y=
tan x- x lim  lim  lim
˛ xl0 x3 xl0 3x 2 xl0 6x
_1 1
0
1 tan x 1 sec 2 x 1
 lim  lim 
FIGURE 4 3 x l 0 x 3 x l 0 1 3

sin x
EXAMPLE 5 Find lim .
xl 1  cos x
SOLUTION If we blindly attempted to use l’Hospital’s Rule, we would get

sin x cos x
| lim  lim  
x l  1  cos x xl sin x

This is wrong! Although the numerator sin x l 0 as x l  , notice that the denomi-
nator 1  cos x does not approach 0, so l’Hospital’s Rule can’t be applied here.
 SECTION 4.4 INDETERMINATE FORMS AND L’HOSPITAL’S RULE ❙❙❙❙ 311

The required limit is, in fact, easy to find because the function is continuous and the
denominator is nonzero at  :
sin x sin  0
lim   0
x l  1  cos x 1  cos  1  1

Example 5 shows what can go wrong if you use l’Hospital’s Rule without thinking.
Other limits can be found using l’Hospital’s Rule but are more easily found by other meth-
ods. (See Examples 3 and 5 in Section 2.3, Example 3 in Section 2.6, and the discussion
at the beginning of this section.) So when evaluating any limit, you should consider other
methods before using l’Hospital’s Rule.

Indeterminate Products
If lim x l a f x  0 and lim x l a tx   (or ), then it isn’t clear what the value of
lim x l a f xtx, if any, will be. There is a struggle between f and t. If f wins, the answer
will be 0; if t wins, the answer will be  (or ). Or there may be a compromise where
the answer is a finite nonzero number. This kind of limit is called an indeterminate form
of type 0  . We can deal with it by writing the product ft as a quotient:
f t
ft  or ft 
1t 1f
This converts the given limit into an indeterminate form of type 00 or  so that we can
use l’Hospital’s Rule.

EXAMPLE 6 Evaluate lim x ln x.

xl0

|||| Figure 5 shows the graph of the function in SOLUTION The given limit is indeterminate because, as x l 0 , the first factor x
Example 6. Notice that the function is undefined approaches 0 while the second factor ln x approaches . Writing x  11x, we
at x  0; the graph approaches the origin but
have 1x l  as x l 0 , so l’Hospital’s Rule gives
never quite reaches it.
y ln x 1x
lim x ln x  lim  lim  lim x  0
xl0 xl0 1x x l 0 1x 2 xl0
y=x ln x
NOTE ■
In solving Example 6 another possible option would have been to write
x
lim x ln x  lim
x l 0 xl0 1ln x

0 1 x This gives an indeterminate form of the type 00, but if we apply l’Hospital’s Rule we get
a more complicated expression than the one we started with. In general, when we rewrite
an indeterminate product, we try to choose the option that leads to the simpler limit.
FIGURE 5
Indeterminate Differences
If lim x l a f x   and lim x l a tx  , then the limit

lim  f x  tx

xla

is called an indeterminate form of type   . Again there is a contest between f and

t. Will the answer be  ( f wins) or will it be  ( t wins) or will they compromise on a
finite number? To find out, we try to convert the difference into a quotient (for instance,
312 ❙❙❙❙ CHAPTER 4 APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

by using a common denominator, or rationalization, or factoring out a common factor) so

that we have an indeterminate form of type 00 or .

EXAMPLE 7 Compute lim sec x  tan x.

x l 2

SOLUTION First notice that sec x l  and tan x l  as x l 2, so the limit is inde-
terminate. Here we use a common denominator:

lim sec x  tan x 

x l 2
lim
x l 2
 1
cos x

sin x
cos x

1  sin x cos x
 lim  lim 0
x l 2 cos x x l 2 sin x


Note that the use of l’Hospital’s Rule is justified because 1  sin x l 0 and cos x l 0
as x l 2.

Indeterminate Powers
Several indeterminate forms arise from the limit
lim  f x tx
xla

1. lim f x  0 and lim tx  0 type 0 0

xla xla

2. lim f x   and lim tx  0 type  0

xla xla

3. lim f x  1 and lim tx   type 1

xla xla

Each of these three cases can be treated either by taking the natural logarithm:

let y   f x tx, then ln y  tx ln f x

or by writing the function as an exponential:

 f x tx  e tx ln f x

(Recall that both of these methods were used in differentiating such functions.) In either
method we are led to the indeterminate product tx ln f x, which is of type 0  .

EXAMPLE 8 Calculate lim 1  sin 4xcot x.

xl0

SOLUTION First notice that as x l 0 , we have 1  sin 4x l 1 and cot x l , so the

given limit is indeterminate. Let

y  1  sin 4xcot x

Then ln y  ln1  sin 4xcot x   cot x ln1  sin 4x

so l’Hospital’s Rule gives

4 cos 4x
ln1  sin 4x 1  sin 4x
lim ln y  lim  lim 4
x l 0 xl0 tan x xl0 sec2x

So far we have computed the limit of ln y, but what we want is the limit of y. To find this
 SECTION 4.4 INDETERMINATE FORMS AND L’HOSPITAL’S RULE ❙❙❙❙ 313

we use the fact that y  e ln y :

lim 1  sin 4xcot x  lim y  lim e ln y  e 4

x l 0 xl0 xl0

EXAMPLE 9 Find lim x x.

xl0
|||| The graph of the function y  x x, x  0, is
shown in Figure 6. Notice that although 0 0 is not SOLUTION Notice that this limit is indeterminate since 0 x  0 for any x  0 but x 0  1
defined, the values of the function approach 1 as for any x  0. We could proceed as in Example 8 or by writing the function as an
x l 0. This confirms the result of Example 9. exponential:
2
x x  e ln x  x  e x ln x

In Example 6 we used l’Hospital’s Rule to show that

lim x ln x  0
x l 0

_1 2 Therefore
0
lim x x  lim e x ln x  e 0  1
FIGURE 6 x l 0 xl0

|||| 4.4 Exercises

1–4 |||| Given that 5–62 |||| Find the limit. Use l’Hospital’s Rule where appropriate. If
there is a more elementary method, consider using it. If l’Hospital’s
lim f x  0 lim tx  0 lim hx  1 Rule doesn’t apply, explain why.
x la x la x la

x2  1 x2
lim px   lim q x   5. lim 6. lim
x la x la x l 1 x1 x l2 x 2  3x  2

which of the following limits are indeterminate forms? For those x9  1 xa  1

7. lim 8. lim
that are not an indeterminate form, evaluate the limit where x l1 x5  1 xl1 xb  1
possible.
cos x x  tan x
f x f x 9. lim 10. lim
x l 2 1  sin x sin x
1. (a) lim (b) lim xl0
x l a tx x l a px

et  1 e 3t  1
hx px 11. lim 12. lim
(c) lim (d) lim tl0 t3 tl0 t
x l a px x l a f x

px tan px 1  sin

(e) lim 13. lim 14. lim
xla qx xl0 tan qx l  2 csc
ln x ex
2. (a) lim  f xpx (b) lim hxpx 15. lim 16. lim
xla xla xl x xl x
(c) lim  pxqx
xla ln x ln ln x
17. lim 18. lim
xl0 x xl x
3. (a) lim  f x  px (b) lim  px  qx
xla xla
5t  3t ln x
(c) lim  px  qx 19. lim 20. lim
xla
tl0 t xl1 sin  x

4. (a) lim  f x tx (b) lim  f x px (c) lim hx px ex  1  x e x  1  x  x 22
xla xla xla 21. lim 22. lim
xl0 x2 xl0 x3
(d) lim  px f x (e) lim  px qx
qx
(f) lim spx
xla xla xla ex sin x
23. lim 24. lim
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ xl x3 xl0 sinh x
 314 ❙❙❙❙ CHAPTER 4 APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

sin1x sin x  x ; 65–66 |||| Illustrate l’Hospital’s Rule by graphing both f xtx
25. lim 26. lim
xl0 x xl0 x3 and f xtx near x  0 to see that these ratios have the same
limit as x l 0. Also calculate the exact value of the limit.
1  cos x ln x2
27. lim 28. lim 65. f x  e x  1, tx  x 3  4x
xl0 x2 xl x
66. f x  2x sin x, tx  sec x  1
x  sin x cos mx  cos nx
29. lim 30. lim ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

xl0 x  cos x xl0 x2

x x 67. Prove that
31. lim 32. lim 1
ex
xl ln1  2e x  xl0 tan 4x lim 
xl xn
1  x  ln x sx 2  2
33. lim 34. lim for any positive integer n. This shows that the exponential func-
x l 1 1  cos  x x l  s2x 2  1
tion approaches infinity faster than any power of x.
x a  ax  a  1 1  e2x 68. Prove that
35. lim 36. lim
xl1 x  12 xl0 sec x ln x
lim 0
2 x
xl xp
37. lim sx ln x 38. lim x e
xl0 x l 
for any number p  0. This shows that the logarithmic
39. lim cot 2x sin 6x 40. lim sin x ln x function approaches  more slowly than any power of x.
xl0 xl0
2
41. lim x 3e x 42. lim 1  tan x sec x 69. If an initial amount A0 of money is invested at an interest rate i
xl x l  4
compounded n times a year, the value of the investment after
43. lim ln x tan x2 44. lim x tan1x t years is

 
xl1 xl

 
nt
i
1 A  A0 1 
45. lim  csc x 46. lim csc x  cot x n
xl0 x xl0

 
If we let n l , we refer to the continuous compounding of
1 1 interest. Use l’Hospital’s Rule to show that if interest is com-
47. lim (sx  x  x) 2 48. lim 
xl xl1 ln x x1 pounded continuously, then the amount after n years is
49. lim x  ln x 50. lim xe 1x  x A  A0 e it
xl xl
2 70. If an object with mass m is dropped from rest, one model for
51. lim x x 52. lim tan 2x x
xl0 xl0 its speed v after t seconds, taking air resistance into account, is

53. lim 1  2x1x

xl0
54. lim
xl
  1
a
x
bx
v
mt
c
1  e ctm 

  x where t is the acceleration due to gravity and c is a positive

3 5
55. lim 1  2 56. lim x ln 21  ln x constant. (In Chapter 9 we will be able to deduce this equation
xl x x xl
from the assumption that the air resistance is proportional to
the speed of the object.)
57. lim x 1x 58. lim e x  x1x (a) Calculate lim t l  v. What is the meaning of this limit?
xl xl
(b) For fixed t, use l’Hospital’s Rule to calculate lim m l  v.

59. lim
xl
  x
x1
x
60. lim cos 3x5x
xl0
What can you conclude about the speed of a very heavy
falling object?

 
71. The first appearance in print of l’Hospital’s Rule was in
2 2x  3 2x1
61. lim cos x1x 62. lim the book Analyse des Infiniment Petits published by the
xl0 xl 2x  5 Marquis de l’Hospital in 1696. This was the first calculus
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ textbook ever published and the example that the Marquis
used in that book to illustrate his rule was to find the limit
; 63–64 |||| Use a graph to estimate the value of the limit. Then use of the function
l’Hospital’s Rule to find the exact value.
s2a 3x  x 4  a s
3
aax
63. lim x lnx  5  ln x y
xl a  sax
4 3

64. lim tan xtan 2x as x approaches a, where a  0. (At that time it was common
x l 4
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
to write aa instead of a 2.) Solve this problem.
 WRITING PROJECT THE ORIGINS OF L’HOSPITAL’S RULE ❙❙❙❙ 315

72. The figure shows a sector of a circle with central angle . Let 76. If f is continuous, show that
A  be the area of the segment between the chord PR and
the arc PR. Let B  be the area of the triangle PQR. Find f x  h  2 f x  f x  h
lim  f x
lim l 0 A B . hl0 h2
P
77. Let
A(¨) 2
e1x if x  0
f x 
0 if x  0
B(¨)
¨ (a) Use the definition of derivative to compute f 0.
O Q R (b) Show that f has derivatives of all orders that are defined
on . [Hint: First show by induction that there is a poly-
73. If f  is continuous, f 2  0, and f 2  7, evaluate nomial pnx and a nonnegative integer k n such that
f nx  pnxf xx k n for x  0.]
f 2  3x  f 2  5x
lim
xl0 x ; 78. Let
74. For what values of a and b is the following equation true? x x
if x  0

 
f x 
sin 2x b 1 if x  0
lim a 2 0
xl0 x3 x
(a) Show that f is continuous at 0.
75. If f  is continuous, use l’Hospital’s Rule to show that (b) Investigate graphically whether f is differentiable at 0 by
f x  h  f x  h zooming in several times toward the point 0, 1 on the
lim  f x graph of f .
hl0 2h
(c) Show that f is not differentiable at 0. How can you recon-
Explain the meaning of this equation with the aid of a diagram. cile this fact with the appearance of the graphs in part (b)?

WRITING PROJECT
The Origins of L’Hospital’s Rule
L’Hospital’s Rule was first published in 1696 in the Marquis de l’Hospital’s calculus textbook
Analyse des Infiniment Petits, but the rule was discovered in 1694 by the Swiss mathematician
John (Johann) Bernoulli. The explanation is that these two mathematicians had entered into a
curious business arrangement whereby the Marquis de l’Hospital bought the rights to Bernoulli’s
mathematical discoveries. The details, including a translation of l’Hospital’s letter to Bernoulli
proposing the arrangement, can be found in the book by Eves [1].
Write a report on the historical and mathematical origins of l’Hospital’s Rule. Start by pro-
viding brief biographical details of both men (the dictionary edited by Gillispie [2] is a good
source) and outline the business deal between them. Then give l’Hospital’s statement of his rule,
which is found in Struik’s sourcebook [4] and more briefly in the book of Katz [3]. Notice that
l’Hospital and Bernoulli formulated the rule geometrically and gave the answer in terms of dif-
ferentials. Compare their statement with the version of l’Hospital’s Rule given in Section 4.4 and
show that the two statements are essentially the same.
1. Howard Eves, In Mathematical Circles (Volume 2: Quadrants III and IV) (Boston: Prindle,
Weber and Schmidt, 1969), pp. 20–22.
2. C. C. Gillispie, ed., Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York: Scribner’s, 1974). See the
article on Johann Bernoulli by E. A. Fellmann and J. O. Fleckenstein in Volume II and the
article on the Marquis de l’Hospital by Abraham Robinson in Volume VIII.
|||| The Internet is another source of infor- 3. Victor Katz, A History of Mathematics: An Introduction (New York: HarperCollins, 1993),
mation for this project. See the web site p. 484.
www.stewartcalculus.com 4. D. J. Struik, ed., A Sourcebook in Mathematics, 1200 –1800 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Uni-
and click on History of Mathematics. versity Press, 1969), pp. 315–316.