NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

MA2002 Calculus Tutorial 2

T UTORIAL PART I

This part consists of relatively basic questions which cover the course materials. The solutions
to some selected questions will be recorded.

1. Find the following limits.

µ ¶
1 1 ¡p ¢
(a) lim + 2 , (b) lim− 9 − x + ⌊x + 1⌋ .
x→1 x − 1 x − 3x + 2 x→9

(The floor function ⌊x⌋ denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to x.)

2. Use the given graph of f (x) = 1/x to find a number δ > 0 such that
¯ ¯
¯1
0 < |x − 2| < δ ⇒ ¯¯ − 0.5¯¯ < 0.2.
¯
x

3. Prove the following limits using the ϵ, δ-definition.

µ ¶
4
(b) lim 2x 2 − x − 1 = 2,
¡ ¢
(a) lim x − 2 = 2,
x→3 3 x→−1

2x 2 + 3x − 2
(c) lim x 3 = 1, (d) lim = 1.
x→1 x→1 x +2

4. Use the ϵ, δ-definition of limit and one-sided limit to show that

lim f (x) = L if and only if lim f (x) = lim+ f (x) = L.

x→a x→a − x→a

1
 MA2002 CALCULUS TUTORIAL 2 2

5. Suppose that lim f (x) = ∞ and lim g (x) = c, where c is a real number. Using the precise
x→a x→a
definition of limit and infinite limit, prove that

lim ( f (x) + g (x)) = ∞.

x→a

6. Definition of Limit at Infinity. We write lim f (x) = L if f (x) is arbitrarily close to L when x
x→∞
is sufficiently large. Precisely, it means that for every ϵ > 0 there is a number N such that

x > N ⇒ | f (x) − L| < ϵ.

One can verify that the limit laws for x → a still hold for x → ∞. From now on, we will use the
limit laws at infinity without proof unless stated otherwise.

(a) Write down the precise definitions of

(i) lim f (x) = L, (ii) lim f (x) = ∞.
x→−∞ x→∞
x 1
(b) Use the precise definition to show that lim = .
x→∞ 2x + 1 2

T UTORIAL PART II

This part consists of relatively difficult questions to promote independent learning and in-
culcate critical thinking abilities. The solutions will not be recorded. You may attempt them
after you have gained a good understanding of the questions in Part I. The complete solution of
this part is provided.
³p p ´
1. Find the limit lim x2 + x − x2 − x .
x→∞

2. (i) Prove using the ϵ, δ-definition that for a > 0,

p p
lim 3 x = 3 a.
x→a

[Hint: Recall that b 3 − c 3 = (b − c)(b 2 + bc + c 2 ).]

(ii) Based on the idea in part (i), prove that for a > 0, n ∈ Z+ ,
p p
lim n x = n a.
x→a

3. Suppose that lim f (x) = ∞ and lim g (x) = c, where c is a positive number. Prove by the
x→a x→a
precise definition that
lim f (x)g (x) = ∞.
x→a
 MA2002 CALCULUS TUTORIAL 2 3

Answers to Part I:

1. (a) −1, (b) 9.

2. 4/7.