DERIVATIVES USING THE LIMIT DEFINITION

The following problems require the use of the limit definition of a derivative, which is given
by

 .

They range in difficulty from easy to somewhat challenging. If you are going to try
these problems before looking at the solutions, you can avoid common mistakes by
making proper use of functional notation and careful use of basic algebra. Keep in
mind that the goal (in most cases) of these types of problems is to be able to divide

out the   term so that the indeterminant form   of the expression can be
circumvented and the limit can be calculated. 

o PROBLEM 1 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

o PROBLEM 2 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

o PROBLEM 3 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for
  .

o PROBLEM 4 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

o PROBLEM 5 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

This problem may be more difficult than it first appears.

o PROBLEM 6 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

o PROBLEM 7 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for
  .

o PROBLEM 8 : Use the limit definition to compute the

derivative, f'(x), for

 .

o PROBLEM 9 : Assume that

Show that f is differentiable at x=1, i.e., use the limit definition of the
derivative to compute f'(1) .

o PROBLEM 10 : Assume that

Show that f is differentiable at x=0, i.e., use the limit definition of the
derivative to compute f'(0) .
o PROBLEM 11 : Use the limit definition to compute the
derivative, f'(x), for

f(x) = | x2 - 3x | .

o PROBLEM 12 : Assume that

Determine if f is differentiable at x=2, i.e., determine if f'(2) exists.