Limits and Continuity

Content
• Limits

• One‐sided limits, infinite limits, and limits at infinity.

• Continuity and Discontinuity

• Continuity Applied to Inequalities

• Business problems???

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 Limits
The limit of f (x) as x approaches a is the number L, written
lim f  x  L provided that we can make the values f (x) as
xa
close as we like to L, and keep them that close, by taking x
sufficiently close to, but different from, a. If there is no such
number, we say that the limit of f (x) as x approaches a does
not exist.

What to know?
x
a
f(x)
L
Notation

10.1 Limits (2 of 9)
Example 1 – Estimating a Limit from a Graph
Estimate lim f  x  , where the graph of f is given below.
x 1

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 Examples

10.1 Limits (4 of 9)
Properties of Limits

1. If f (x)  c is a constant function, then

lim f  x  lim c  c
xa xa
2. For any positive integer n,
lim xn  an
xa
If lim f  x and lim g x exist and c is a constant then
xa xa
3. lim  f (x)  g(x)  lim f  x  lim g x and
xa xa xa
lim  f (x) g(x)  lim f  x  lim g x
xa xa xa

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10.1 Limits (5 of 9)
Properties of Limits, continued

4. lim  cf (x)  c lim f  x

xa xa
If lim f  x and lim g x exist and n is a positive integer then
xa xa
lim f  x
f (x) xa
5. lim  if lim g x  0
xa g(x) lim g x xa
xa

6. lim f (x)  n lim f  x

n
xa xa
Finally, we note that if f and g are two functions for which
f (x)  g(x), for all x  a, then lim f  x  lim g x .
xa xa

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10.1 Limits (6 of 9)
Recall
1. If f ( x)  c is a constant function, then
lim f  x   lim c  c
xa xa
2. For any positive integer n,
lim x n  a n
xa

Example 3 – Applying Limit Properties 1 and 2

a. lim 7  7; lim 7  7
x2 x 5

b. lim x 2  62  36
x 6

c. lim t 4   2   16
4

t 2

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 Examples
1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

10.1 Limits (8 of 9)
Example 7 – Finding a Limit
x2  1
Find lim .
x 1 x  1

Solution: As x  1, both numerator and denominator approach

0, so we cannot use Property 6. However, we can assume that
x 2  1 ( x  1)( x  1)
x  1 and simplify the fraction:   x  1 for x  1.
x 1 x 1
Now we recall the fundamental result that if f ( x)  g ( x) for all
x  a, then lim f ( x)  lim g ( x ). Applying this gives
x a x a

x2  1 ( x  1)( x  1)
lim  lim  lim  x  1  1  1  2.
x 1 x  1 x 1 x 1 x 1

Notice that, although the original function is not defined at  1,

it does have a limit as x  1.
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10.1 Limits (9 of 9)
Example 9 – Form 0/0
f  x  h  f  x 
If f (x)  x2  1, find lim .
h0 h
Solution:
f  x  h  f  x (x  h)2  1  (x2  1)
lim  lim 
h0 h h0 h
As h  0, both the numerator and denominator approach 0.
Therefore, we will try to express the quotient in a different form, for h  0.
(x  h)2  1  (x2 1)
lim 
h0 h
 x2  2xh  h2  1  x2  1
 lim
h0 h
2xh  h2 h(2x  h)
 lim  lim  lim (2x  h)  2x.
h0 h h0 h h0

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Example

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (1 of 7)
The figure to the left shows the graph of
a function f . As x approaches 0 from the
right, f (x) approaches 1. We write this
as lim f (x)  1. On the other hand, as x
x0
approaches 0 from the left, f (x) approaches
1, and we write lim f (x)  1.
x0

As another example, consider f (x)  x  3

as x approaches 3. We conclude that
lim x  3  0.
x3

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (2 of 7)

1
Consider the graph of y  f (x) 
x
for x  0. (See figure to the right.)
As x approaches 0 from the right,
1
becomes positively infinite; as x
x
1
approaches 0 from the left,
x
becomes negatively infinite.

Symbolically, these infinite limits are

1 1
written lim   and lim  
x0 x x0 x

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (3 of 7)
Example 1 – Infinite Limits
Find the limit (if it exists)
2
a. lim
x 1 x  1
Solution: As x approaches  1 from the right, x  1 approaches 0 but is
always positive.
2
Thus, lim   and the limit does not exist.
x 1 x  1
x2
b. lim 2
x 2 x  4

Solution: Here we are dividing numbers near 4 by numbers near 0.

x2
At this stage we can write lim 2 does not exist.
x 2 x  4

x2 x2 1
Notice that lim 2  lim  lim
x 2 x  4 x  2 ( x  2)( x  2) x 2 x  2

1 1 1
Since lim   and lim  , lim is neither  nor  .
x2 x  2 x 2 x  2 x 2 x  2

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (4 of 7)

1
Now let us examine the function f ( x)  as x becomes infinite.
x
We can see that as x increases without bound through positive
values, the values of f ( x) approach 0. Likewise, as x decreases
without bound through negative values, the values of f ( x) also
approach 0.

1 1
Symbolically we write lim  0 and lim  0
x  x x  x

Both of these limits are called limits at infinity .

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (5 of 7)
Example 3 – Limits at Infinity
Find the limit (if it exists).
4
a. lim
 x  5
x  3

Solution: As x becomes very large, so does (x  5)3 .

Dividing 4 by very large numbers results in numbers near 0.
Thus,
4
lim 0
 5
3
x 
x 
b. lim 4  x
x 

Solution: As x gets negatively infinite, 4  x becomes positively infinite.

We conclude that lim 4  x  
x 

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (6 of 7)

1
In general, for p  0, lim  0 and, if p is such that 1 / x p is
x x p

1
defined for x  0, lim p  0.
x x

If f (x) is a rational function and an xn and bmxm are the terms

in the numerator and denominator, respectively, with the
a xn
greatest power of x, then lim f (x)  lim n m
x x b x
m

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10.2 Limits (Continued) (7 of 7)
Example 5 – Limits at Infinity for Polynomial Functions

 
a. lim x3  x2  x  2  lim x3 . As x becomes very negative,
 
x x
so does x . Thus, lim x3  x2  x  2  lim x3  
3
x x

 
b. lim 2x3  9x  lim  2x3   because  2 times a very
x x
negative number is very positive.

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Examples

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