MATH 103-991 Winter 2024

Lecture 4
The topics of the lecture have been adapted from:
Applied Calculus, 11th Edition, Hoffman et al: Chapters 1.4-1.6, Appendix-A (Limits )
 LIMITS
As you will see in subsequent chapters, calculus is an enormously powerful branch of mathematics with a wide
range of applications, including curve sketching, optimization of functions, analysis of rates of change, and
computation of area and probability. What gives calculus its power and distinguishes it from algebra is the concept
of limit, and the purpose of this section is to provide an introduction to this important concept. Our approach will be
intuitive rather than formal. The ideas outlined here form the basis for a more rigorous development of the laws and
procedures of calculus and lie at the heart of much of modern mathematics.
Roughly speaking, the limit process involves examining the behavior of a function f(x) as x approaches a number c
that may or may not be in the domain of f. Limiting behavior occurs in a variety of practical situations. For instance,
absolute zero, the temperature at which all molecular activity ceases, can be approached but never actually attained
in practice. Similarly, economists who speak of profit under ideal conditions or engineers profiling the ideal
specifications of a new engine are really dealing with limiting behavior.
Illustration of the limit process: Suppose the manager of a real estate firm determines that t years from now, roughly
S units in a certain neighborhood will be sold, where
.
How many sales should be expected 1 year from now?
Our first instinct may be simply evaluate S(t) at t=1, but that computation results in the meaningless fraction .
However, it is still possible to make the required computation by evaluating S(t) for values of t that are very close to
1-year mark, both slightly before the year is up (t<1) and just afterward (t>1).
A few such calculations are summarized in the following table:
t 0.95 0.98 0.99 0.999 1 1.001 1.01 1.1 1.2
S(t) 3.859 3.943 3.972 3.997 Undefined 4.003 4.028 4.285 4.572

The numbers on the bottom line of this table suggest that S(t) approaches the number 4 as t gets closer and closer
to 1. Thus, it is reasonable to expect 4 sales to be made in the target neighborhood 1 year from now. The functional
behavior in this example can be described by saying “S(t) has the limiting value 4 as t approaches 1,” or,
equivalently, by writing
More generally, the limit of a function f(x) as x approaches the number c can be defined informally as follows:
Geometrically, the limit statement means that the height of the graph y = f(x) approaches L as x approaches c from
both sides, as shown in given Figure:
The interpretation is illustrated along with the tabular approach to
computing limits in the given Example:
Example: Use a table to estimate the limit .
Answer: Let and compute f (x) for a succession of values of x approaching 1 from the left and from the right:

The numbers on the bottom line of the table suggest that f (x) approaches 0.5 as x approaches 1; that is,
.
The graph of f (x) is shown in the given Figure. The limit computation says that the height of the graph of y =f (x)
approaches L =0.5 as x approaches 1. This corresponds to the “hole” in the graph of f (x) at (1, 0.5).
It is important to remember that limits describe the behavior of a function near a particular point, not necessarily at
the point itself. This is illustrated in the given Figure. For all three functions graphed, the limit of f (x) as x
approaches 3 is equal to 4. Yet the functions behave quite differently at x = 3 itself. In Figure (a), f (3) is equal to the
limit 4; in Figure (b), f (3) is different from 4; and in Figure (c) , f (3) is not defined at all.

Three functions for which limit :

The next figure shows the graph of two functions that do not have a limit as x approaches 2. The limit does not exist
in Figure (a) because f(x) tends toward 5 as x approaches 2 from the right and tends toward a different value, 3, as x
approaches 2 from the left. The function in Figure (b) has no finite limit as x approaches 2 because the values of f
(x) increase without bound as x tends toward 2 and hence tend to no finite number L. Such so-called infinite limits.

Two functions for which does not exist:

Limits obey certain algebraic rules that can be used to simplify computations. These rules, which should seem
plausible on the basis of our informal definition of limit.

Properties of Limits:

Here are two elementary limits that we will use along with the limit rules to compute limits involving more
complex expressions.

In geometric terms, the limit statement says that the height of

the graph of the constant function f (x)=k approaches k as x approaches c.
Similarly, says that the height of the linear function f (x) = x
approaches c as x approaches c. These statements are illustrated in the Figure.
Computation of Limits:

Examples:
(i) Finding the limit of a Polynomial: Find
Answer: Apply the properties of limits to get
x)+ 8 =
(ii) Finding the limit of a Rational Function: Find .
Answer: We have . Since , we can quotient rule for limits to
get =
(iii) Showing that a Limit Does not Exist: Find .
Answer: Since denominator , the quotient rule for limits does not apply in this case.
Since the numerator , we can conclude that the limit of the quotient does not exist.
The graph of the function in the given figure gives us a
better idea of what is actually happening in the example. In the figure
we can note that f(x) increases without bound as x approaches 2 from
the right and decreases without bound as x approaches 2 from the left.

Note: If the numerator and the denominator of the given rational function both approach zero, i.e., , we should try to
simplify the function algebraically and then use the fact that “if f(x) = g(x) for x≠c, then . This is another way of
saying that the limit as x approaches c is about what happens close to c not at c.
In general, when both the numerator and denominator of a quotient approach zero as x approaches c, your strategy
will be to simplify the quotient algebraically (as in Example below by canceling x - 1). In most cases, the simplified
form of the quotient will be valid for all values of x except x = c. Since we are interested in the behavior of the
quotient near x = c and not at x = c, we may use the simplified form of the quotient to calculate the limit.
(iv) Finding a Limit using Algebra: Find .
Answer: As x approaches 1, both the numerator and the denominator approach zero, and we can draw no conclusion
about the size of the quotient. To proceed, observe that the given function is not defined when x = 1 but that for all
other values of x, you can cancel the common factor x = 1 to obtain

The graph of the function is shown in the

given Figure. Note that it is like the graph in the previous
Figure with a hole at the point (1, 2).
(v) Finding a Limit using Algebra: Find .
Answer:
We perform the
multiplication

using the identity

with and b = 1.
Limits Involving Infinity: “Long-term” behavior is often a matter of interest in business and economics or the
physical and life sciences. For example, a biologist may wish to know the population of a bacterial colony or a
population of fruit flies after an indefinite period of time, or a business manager may wish to know how the average
cost of producing a particular commodity is affected as the level of production increases indefinitely. In mathematics,
the infinity symbol ∞ is used to represent either unbounded growth or the result of such growth. Here are definitions
of limits involving infinity we will use to study long-term behavior:

Note: The statement “ x decreases without bound means that the input x of the function becomes larger
and larger in absolute value while remaining negative.
Geometrically, the limit statement means that as x increases without bound, the graph of f (x) approaches the
horizontal line y = L, while means that the graph of f (x) approaches the line y = M as x decreases without bound.
The lines y = L and y = M that appear in this context are called horizontal asymptotes of the graph of f (x). There
are many different ways for a graph to have horizontal asymptotes, one of which is shown the given Figure.

A graph illustrating limits at infinity and horizontal asymptotes:

The algebraic properties of limits listed earlier in this section also apply to limits at infinity. In addition, since any
reciprocal power for k > 0 becomes smaller and smaller in absolute value as x either increases or decreases
without bound, we have these useful rules:
Examples:
(i) Finding a Limit at Infinity:
Answer:

:
(ii) Finding a Limit at Infinity:

Answer:
(iii) Applying a Limit at Infinity:

Answer:
Infinite Limits: If the functional values f(x) increase or decrease without bound as x approaches c, then technically
does not exist. However, the behavior of the function in such a case is more precisely described by using the
following notation, which is illustrated in the given example.
Example: Using an Infinite Limit to Study Average Profit: A manufacturer determines that when x hundred units
of a particular product are produced and sold, the profit will be thousand dollars. What happens to the average profit
when the production level is very small?
Answer: The average profit is thousand dollars per hundred units.
To find what happens at a very low level of production , we examine the limit of AP(x) as :
since becomes negative and grows large in absolute value.
We interpret this limit as saying that as fewer and fewer units are produced , the average profit derived from
producing each unit is actually huge loss. This makes sense because when only a few units are produced, fixed start-
up cost dominate any revenue that may be derived from sales.
One-Sided Limits and Continuity:
The dictionary defines continuity as an “unbroken or uninterrupted succession.” Continuous behavior is certainly an
important part of our lives. For instance, the growth of a tree is continuous, as are the motion of a rocket and the
volume of water flowing into a bathtub. In this section, we shall discuss what it means for a function to be continuous
and shall examine a few important properties of such functions.
One-Sided Limits: Informally, a continuous function is one whose graph can be drawn without the “pen” leaving the
paper (Figure on the left). Not all functions have this property, but those that do play a special role in calculus. A
function is not continuous where its graph has a “hole or gap” (Figure on the right), but what do we really mean by
“holes and gaps” in a graph? To describe such features mathematically, we require the concept of a one-sided limit
of a function; that is, a limit in which the approach is either from the right or from the left, rather than from both
sides as required for the “two-sided”.

Continuity and discontinuity:

Example: The given Figure shows the graph of inventory I as a function of time t for a company that immediately restocks to
level L1 whenever the inventory falls to a certain minimum level L2 (this is called just-in-time inventory). Suppose the first
restocking time occurs at t = t1. Then as t tends toward t1 from the left, the limiting value of I(t) is L2, while if the approach is
from the right, the limiting value is L1.

One-sided limits in a just-in-time inventory example:

Examples:
(i) Evaluating One-Sided Limits:

Answer:
(ii) Evaluating Infinite One-Sided Limits:

Answer:
Existence of a Limit: We notice that the two-sided limit does not exist for the function in Example (i) since the
functional values f (x) do not approach a single value L as x tends toward 2 from each side.
In general, we have the following useful criterion for the existence of a limit:

Example: Using One-Sided Limits to Find a Two-Sided Limit:

Answer:
Continuity: A continuous function is one whose graph has no “holes or gaps.”
A “hole” at x = c can arise in several ways, three of which are shown in the given Figure:

The graph of f (x) will have a “gap” at x = c if the one-sided limits and are not equal. Three ways this can happen
are shown in the given Figure:
So what properties will guarantee that f (x) does not have a “hole or gap” at x = c? The answer is surprisingly
simple. The function must be defined at x = c, it must have a finite, two-sided limit at x = c; and must equal f (c).
To summarize:

Continuity of Polynomials and Rational Functions:

These limit formulas can be interpreted as saying that a polynomial or a rational function is continuous wherever it is
defined.
Examples: (i) Showing that a Polynomial is Continuous:
Answer:
(ii) Showing that a Rational Function is Continuous:

Answer:

(iii) Decide if a Function is continuous:

Answer: