Limits

The formal definition of a limit is: If f(x) becomes arbitrarily close to a single number
L as x approaches C from the left and right, then L is defined to be the limit of
f(x).

lim f ( x )=L

The formula is:

x c

Now what this really means is what the values really close to a number are. Lets do
some examples to demonstrate what this means.
Fill out the tables and graph the functions:
6

4
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

For the function f(x) = 3x+2:

X

.75

.9

.99

.999

F(
x)

4.2
5

4.
7

4.9
7

4.99
7

1 1.00
1
5 5.00
3

1.0
1
5.0
3

1.
1
5.
3

1.2
5
5.7
5

Now, f(1) is = 5

lim (3 x+2)=5
x 1

These are the same because y is getting very close to the value of 5 as x is getting
very close to 1.

1.25
1.2
1.15
1.1
1.05
1

x 23 x +2
x2

0.95
0.9
0.85
0.8
0.75
1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5

For the function f(x)

X
F(
x)

1.7
5
.75

1.
9
.9

1.9
9
.99

1.99
9
.999

2.00
1
1.00
1

2.0
1
1.0
1

2.
1
1.
1

=:

2.2
5
1.2
5

Now, f(2) is = undefined

2

lim (
x 2

x 3 x +2
)=1
x2

These are the different because of the hole in the graph. At the exact point of 2,
there is no y-value, but really close to 2, the numbers get arbitrarily close to the
value of 1.

F(x)

0.0
1
-1

0.00
1
-1

0.0001

0.000
1

0.001

0.01

-1

12
10
8
6

|x|
x

4
2
0
-0.01

-0.01

0.01

0.01

For the function f(x) =

Now, f(0) is = underfined

| x|

lim (
x 0

)=Does Not Exist (DNE)

In this graph, do not have any value for y at zero, also as you approach zero from
the right, you get values of 1, then when you approach it from the left, you get
values of 1. Because these are two different values, the function does not have a
limit at zero.

For the function f(x) =

-0.01

F(x)

1x10

0.00
1
1x10

0.000
1
1x108

1
x2

0.000
1

0.001

0.01

1x108

1x106

1x10
4

Now, f(0) is = undefined

lim (
x 0

1
)=()
x2

These is no value when x is a zero, for the function does not exist, but as the graph
gets very close to the number zero from the left and right, the graph approaches
heaven. It keeps increasing indefinitely, so we say it is approaching infinity.

This is the graph of the graph of:

sin

1
x

As it approaches zero, it begins to oscillate

between -1 and 1. For all oscillations and
other funky graphs like this one, the Limit
does not exist for the given value.
In review, Limits do not occur at:

jumps (example 3)
asymptotes (example 4)
oscillations (example 5)

Now lets go through some rules.

1. If the

lim f ( x )
x c

is precisely f(c), then f(x) is continuous at c.

2. Functions that are continuous at c are called well-behaved.

3. The limit can be evaluated by direct substitution.
Theorems:
1. Basic Limits
Let b & c be some real number and n be a positive integer:
i.

ii.

iii.

lim ( b )=b

lim ( 3 )=3

x c

x 2

lim ( x )=c

lim ( x )=4

x c

x 4

lim ( x )n=c n

lim ( x )2=22=4

x c

x 2

2. Properties of Limits
Let b and c be real numbers, let n be a positive integer, and let f and g
be functions with the following limits:

x c

lim [ f ( x ) g (x) ] =L K

b. Sum and difference:

d. Quotient:

x c

lim [ f ( x )g(x) ]=LK

x c

lim
x c

[ ]

f (x)
L
= , provided K 0
g(x ) K
n

e. Power:

x c

lim [ bf ( x) ] =bL

a. Scalar multiple:

c. Product:

lim f ( x ) =Llim g ( x )=K

lim [ f (x) ] =Ln

x c

x c

3. Limits of Polynomial and Rational functions

a. If p is a polynomial function (well-behaved and continuous everywhere)
and c is a real number, then

x 2 +2
=(2)2+2=6
lim

lim p ( x )= p(c )
x c

x 2

b. If r is a rational functions given by

such that

q ( x ) 0

lim r ( x )=r ( c )=
x c

r ( x) =

p(x)
q(x)

and c is a real number

, then

p(c )
q(c)

4. Limits of a Composite Function

a. If f and g are functions such that

lim g ( x )=Llim f ( x ) =f (L)

x c

xL

, then

lim f ( g ( x ))=f ( lim g(x))=f (L)

x c

x c

b. Example

f ( x )= xg ( x )=x 2+4
Method 1:
~find f(g(x)) then find limit of answer at zero

x2 + 4=f ( g ( x ) ) , then find lim

x 2 + 4 , which equals 0+4= 4=2
x 0
Method 2:
~find limit of g(x) at zero then limit of f(x) at answer from g(x)
2

lim x +4=0+ 4=4

x 0

lim x= 4=2
x4

5. Limits of Trig functions

a. Let c be a real number in the domain of the given trig functions

lim sin x=sin c

x c

0
sin

=02=0
sin 2 x=
lim
x 0

lim cos x=cos c

x c

lim tan x=tan c

x c

lim tan x=
x 0

sin 0 0
= =0
cos 0 1