CHAPTER 06

Limit and Continuity

Chap6. Limit and Continuity 1/38

6.1 Limit of Functions

6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

6.4 Continuity of Functions

6.5 Engineering Problem

Chap6. Limit and Continuity 2/38

 6.1 Limit of Functions

Definition of a Limit
[Table6-1] mathematical notation of approaching
mathematical
meaning notation
𝑥 approaches 𝑎

𝑥 approaches 𝑎 from the left of 𝑎

𝑥 approaches 𝑎 from the right of 𝑎

Definition 6-1 Limit of a Function

If 𝑓(𝑥) approaches the real number 𝐿 infinitely when 𝑥 approaches 𝑎, the real
number 𝐿 is called the limit or limit value of 𝑓(𝑥) at 𝑥 = 𝑎 ,and is expressed as
follows.

When 𝑥 approaches 𝑎 , 𝑓(𝑥) converges to 𝐿 .

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Definition of a Left-hand Limit and a Right-hand Limit

Definition 6-2 Left-hand Limit and Right-hand Limit

(1) If 𝑓(𝑥) approaches the real number 𝐿1 infinitely when 𝑥 approaches 𝑎 from
the left , the real number𝐿1 is called the left-hand limit of 𝑓(𝑥) at 𝑥 = 𝑎 , and
is expressed as follows.

(2) If 𝑓(𝑥) approaches the real number 𝐿2 infinitely when 𝑥 approaches 𝑎 from
the right , the real number 𝐿2 is called the right-hand limit of 𝑓(𝑥) at 𝑥 = 𝑎 ,
and is expressed as follows.

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Definition of a Left-hand Limit and a Right-hand Limit

example 6-1

Find the limits when the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓 𝑥

is the same as the picture on the right.

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Definition of a Left-hand Limit and a Right-hand Limit

example 6-2

Find the following limits.

&

&

&

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Evaluation of the existence of a Limit

Theorem 6-1 Evaluation of the existence of a Limit

(1) If 𝐿 is a real number and lim− 𝑓(𝑥) = lim+ 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿 .
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

(2) If lim− 𝑓(𝑥) ≠ lim+ 𝑓(𝑥) , then lim 𝑓(𝑥) is not exist .
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

example 6-3

Find the limits of the followings when the

graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) is same as the right.

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Evaluation of the existence of a Limit

example 6-4

Find the limits of the followings.

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Positive Infinity and Negative Infinity

• when a value increasess infinitely  Infinity or positive infinity ∞

• when a value is negative and decreases infinitely  negative infinity -∞

[Table 6-2] positive infinity [Table 6-3] negative infinity

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 6.1 Limit of Functions

Positive Infinity and Negative Infinity

example 6-5

Find the limits of the followings.

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Basic Formulas of Limit

Theorem 6-2 Basic Formulas of Limit

If lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐵 when 𝐴, 𝐵 are real numbers ,

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎
the followings are established.

𝑘: 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 ,

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Basic Formulas of Limit

example 6-6

When 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥3 − 1 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1 2 , find the following limits.

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Limit of Indeterminate Form

When 𝑥 → 𝑎 or 𝑥 → ±∞ ,
0 ∞
The forms such as , , ∞−∞, ∞×0
0 ∞
 Indeterminate Form

0
In and ∞ × 0, 0(zero) means approaching 0(zero),
0
not number 0(zero).

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Limit of Indeterminate Form

𝟎
Theorem 6-3 Limit Calculation of the indeterminate form
𝟎

(1) fractional function : After finding the common factor of the numerator
and denominator, reducing the fraction, and calculate the limit.

(2) irrational function : After reducing the fraction by rationalizing

the radical sign in the numerator or denominator, and calculate the limit.

example 6-7

Find the following limits

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Limit of Indeterminate Form

∞
Theorem 6-4 Limit Calculation of Indeterminate form
∞

(1) when order of numerator > order of denominator ,

𝑓(𝑥) 𝑓(𝑥)
lim =∞ or lim = −∞
𝑥→∞ 𝑔(𝑥) 𝑥→∞ 𝑔(𝑥)

At this time, the limit is determined as ∞ or −∞ by the sign of the term of

the highest order of 𝑓(𝑥) and the sign of the term of the highest order of 𝑔 𝑥 .

(2) when order of numerator = order of denominator ,

𝑓(𝑥) 𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓

lim = 𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓
𝑥→∞ 𝑔(𝑥)

(3) when order of numerator < order of denominator ,

𝑓(𝑥)
lim =0
𝑥→∞ 𝑔(𝑥)

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 6.2 Basic Operation and Indeterminate Form of a Limit

Limit of Indeterminate Form

example 6-8

Find the following limits

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

Theorem 6-5 Limit Calculation of Exponential Function and

Logarithmic Function

By L’Hospital’s theorem, when 𝑥 → ∞, it diverges to ∞ faster in the order of

the next function.

Logarithmic Function< Polynomial Function < Exponential Function

Using this, the following results can be obtained.

Logarithmic Function Logarithmic Function

(1) lim =0 (2) lim =0
𝑥→∞ Polynomial Function 𝑥→∞ Exponential Function

Polynomial Function Polynomial Function

(3) lim = ±∞ (4) lim =0
𝑥→∞ Logarithmic Function 𝑥→∞ Exponential Function

Exponential Function Exponential Function

(5) lim = ±∞ (6) lim = ±∞
𝑥→∞ Logarithmic Function 𝑥→∞ Polynomial Function

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

example 6-9

Find the following limits

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

The irrational number 𝒆, the base of the natural logarithm and

the natural constant, is defined using the limit.

Theorem 6-6 Calculation of Limit by using the definition of

irrational number 𝒆

1
If lim □ = 0 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 lim (1 + □) = 𝑒
□
𝑥→0 𝑥→0

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

example 6-10

Find the following limits

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Trigonometric Functions

Theorem 6-7 Calculation of Limit for Trigonometric Function

If lim □ = 0, the followings are established.

𝑥→0

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Trigonometric Functions

example 6-11

Find the following limits

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Trigonometric Functions

Theorem 6-8 Squeeze Theorem

If 𝐿 is a real number and 𝑓(𝑥) ≤ 𝑔(𝑥) ≤ ℎ 𝑥 for all 𝑥 in the vicinity of 𝑥 = 𝑎

and
lim 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝐿 = lim ℎ 𝑥
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

, then lim 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝐿 .
𝑥→𝑎

[Fig 6-1] Squeeze theorem

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 6.3 Limit of Transcendental Functions

Limit of Trigonometric Functions

example 6-12

Find the following limits

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 6.4 Continuity of Functions

Continuity in a Point
Definition 6-3 Continuity in a point

If 𝑓(𝑥) meet the following three conditions, 𝑓(𝑥) is continuity in 𝑥 = 𝑎.

(1) lim 𝑓(𝑥) exsists.

𝑥→𝑎
(2) f(a) exsists.
(3) lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑓(𝑎) is established.
𝑥→𝑎

Case(a): lim 𝑓(𝑥) doesn’t exsist Case(b): 𝑓(𝑎) doesn’t exsist Case(c): lim 𝑓(𝑥) ≠ 𝑓(𝑎)
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

[Fig6-3] in case that 𝑓(𝑥) is not continuous at 𝑥 = 𝑎

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 6.4 Continuity of Functions

Continuity in a Point

example 6-13

Evaluate whether the following functions at given point are continuous

or not.

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 6.4 Continuity of Functions

Continuity in the Interval

Definition 6-4 Continuity in the interval

If 𝑓(𝑥) is continuous in all points of the interval 𝐼 , 𝑓(𝑥) is called

“continuity in the interval 𝐼”.

▪ The set of the points that algebraic functions are continuous

Theorem 6-9 The set of the points that the rational function is continuous

The sets of the points that the rational function is continuous, are as follows.

(1) Polynomial function : continuous in ℝ , the set of the all real numbers

(2) Fractional function : continuous in ℝ – { points making the denominator zero }

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 6.4 Continuity of Functions

Continuity in the Interval

example 6-14

Find the sets of the points that the following functions are continuous.

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 6.4 Continuity of Functions

Continuity in the Interval

Theorem 6-10 The set of the points that the irrational function is continuous

The sets of the points that the irrational function is continuous, are as follows.

(1) Irrational functions with the odd radical sign:

continuous in the domain of the function inside the radical sign

(2) Irrational functions with the even radical sign:

continuous in the interval that the function inside the radical sign is not
negative

example 6-15

Find the sets of the points that the following functions are continuous.

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 6.4 Continuity of a Function

Continuity in the Interval

▪ The set of the points that transcendental functions are continuous

- the transcendental function combined with the algebraic function
→ Considering the domain of the transcendental function and the
domain of the combined algebraic function, we obtain a set of points
where the given function is continuous.

example 6-16

Find the sets of the points that the following functions are continuous.

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 6.4 Continuity of a Function

Intermediate Value Theorem

Theorem 6-11 Intermediate Value Theorem

If 𝑓(𝑥) is continuous in the closed interval [𝑎, 𝑏] and 𝑓(𝑎) 𝑓(𝑏) < 0 ,
at least one "𝑐” that satisfies 𝑓 𝑐 = 0 exsists in the open interval 𝑎, 𝑏 .

By Theorem 6-11,
if 𝑓(𝑥) is continuous in the closed specific interval and the signs of the
function values in both ends of interval are different, the solution of the
equation 𝑓(𝑥) = 0 exists in the interval.

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 6.4 Continuity of a Function

Intermediate Value Theorem

example 6-17

Verify that the equation “𝑥3 + 3𝑥 − 2 = 0” has the solution in the

interval [0,2].

example 6-18

Verify that the equation “𝑥3 − 2𝑥 − 5 = 0” has the solution.

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Electrical Circuit

The Laplace transform is a very important theory for analyzing electric

circuits.
When the electrical signal applied to the circuit is 𝑓(𝑡) , the initial value
of the circuit is lim+ 𝑓(𝑡) and the final value of the circuit is lim 𝑓(𝑡) .
𝑡→0 𝑡→∞
Here when 𝐹(𝑠) is the Laplace transform of 𝑓(𝑡) , according to the
relationship between 𝑓(𝑡) and 𝐹(𝑠), the followings are establised.

lim 𝑓(𝑡) = lim 𝑠𝐹(𝑠) , lim 𝑓(𝑡) = lim+ 𝑠𝐹(𝑠)

𝑡→0+ 𝑠→∞ 𝑡→∞ 𝑠→0

[Fig 6-4] electrical circuit

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Electrical Circuit

example 6-19

When the electrical signal acting on a circuit is “𝑓 𝑡 = 3 + 2𝑡𝑒 −𝑡 + 4𝑒 −2𝑡 ”,

answer the following questions.
(a) Find the initial value of the circuit.
(b) Find the final value of the circuit.

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Velocity of a Conical Pendulum

A pendulum with one end of a thread fixed and the other end suspended
from a pendulum that moves in a circular motion in a horizontal plane is
called a conical pendulum. The velocity of a conical pendulum is affected
by the centripetal force, a force acting horizontally inside the moving
circle of the object, and the gravity, a force acting vertically downwards on
the object. When the mass of a pendulum moving in a circular orbit is 𝑚,
the length of the thread is 𝐿, the angle between the vertical line and the
thread is 𝜃, the tension of the thread is 𝑇 , the velocity of a pendulum is
𝑣 , the gravitational acceleration is 𝑔, then the formulars finding the
centripetal force and the gravity are as follows.
𝑚𝑣2
𝑇 sin 𝜃 = , 𝑇 cos 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑔
𝑟

Using the ratio of these two forces, we can find the velocity of a conical
pendulum as

𝑣= 𝐿𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Velocity of a Conical Pendulum

example 6-20

The object of mass 𝑀 is suspended on a thread

of the length 2𝑚. If this object rotates at a
constant speed on a circle of radius 𝑟 as shown
in the figure on the right, forming an angle 𝜃
with the vertical line, the following relationship
is established.

𝑣= 2𝑔 sin 𝜃 tan 𝜃

𝑣
Find the value of lim 𝜃 .
𝜃→0

( 𝑔 : gravitational acceleration )

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Temperature of an Antipodes on the Equator

The opposite point relative to the center of the earth is called "antipodes“.
If the equator is expressed as a circle on the coordinate plane, in addition,
a point 𝑃 on the equator is expressed as 𝑃(𝜃) using the positive direction
of angle 𝜃 between the line segment 𝑂𝑃 and the 𝑥-𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠, the antipodes of
𝑃(𝜃) is 𝑃(𝜃 + 𝜋).

North Pole

Equator

South Pole

[Fig 6-6] antipodes

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 6.5 Engineering Problem

Temperature of an Antipodes on the Equator

example 6-21

When 𝑔 𝜃 = 𝑓 𝜃 − 𝑓(𝜃 + 𝜋) for the temperature 𝑓(𝜃) at the point 𝑃(𝜃)

on the equator, verify that “𝑐” that satisfies "𝑔 𝑐 = 0” exists in the closed
interval [0, 𝜋] and explain the result.

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