The concept of continuity

RT1 St. Arnold Janssen Click -to edit Master subtitle style

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Definitions

According to Euler -

A continuous curve is one such that its nature can be expressed by a single function of x. If a curve is of such a nature that for its various parts ... different functions of x are required for its expression, ... , then we call such a curve discontinuous.

According to Bolzano -

A function f(x) varies according to the law of continuity for all values of x inside or outside certain limits ... if [when] x is some such value, the difference f( x + omegalc ) - f(x) can be made smaller than any given quantity provided omegalc can be taken as small as we please.

According to Cauchy-

The function f will be, between two assigned values of the variable x, a continuous function if for each value of x between these limits the [absolute] value of the difference f (x + a ) - f (x) decreases indefinitely with a .

According to Dirichlet - One thinks of a and b as two fixed

values and of x as a variable quantity that can progressively take all values lying between a and b. Now if to every x there corresponds a single, finite y in such a way that, as x continuously passes through 1/4/13interval from a to b, y = f(x) also gradually changes, then y is the

The Concept of Continuity

The goal of this section is to introduce the concept of continuity. Graphically, a function is said to be continuous if its graph has no holes, jumps, or increases/decreases without bound at a certain point. Stated differently, a continuous function has a graph which can be drawn without lifting the pencil from the paper.

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Continuity at a Point

We say that a function f(x) is continuous at x = a if and only if the functional values f(x) get closer and closer to the value f(a) as x is sufficiently close to a. We write:

limxa (x) = f(a).

This means, that for any given > 0 we can find a > 0 such that:

|x-a| < implies |f(x)-f(a)| < .

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In words, we say f is continuous at a" if, for each open interval J containing f(a), we can find an open interval I containing a so that for each point x in I, f(x) lies in the interval J. See Figure 8.1

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Example 8.1

(i) Property 5 of the previous section shows that polynomials are continuous everywhere. (ii) Similarly, if h(x) = f(x)/g(x) is a rational function and a is a number such that g(a) 0 then

limxa f(x)/g(x) = f(a)/g(a)

That is, h(x) is continuous at numbers that are not zeros of the function g(x). (iii) Trigonometric functions are continuous at values where they are defined.
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Discontinuity:

A function f(x) that is not continuous at x = a is said to be discontinuous there. We exhibit three examples of discontinuous functions.

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Example 8.2

(Removable Discontinuity)

Show that the function f(x) = x2+x-2/x-1 is discontinuous at x = 1. SOLUTION: Graphing the given function (see Figure 8.2) we find

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Figure 8.2

The small circle indicates an excluded point on the graph. Thus, we see that f(1) is undefined and therefore f(x) is discontinuous at x = 1. Note that

limx1f(x) = 3

Thus, if we redefine f(x) in such a way that f(1) = 3 then we create a continuous function at x = 1. That is, the discontinuity is removable

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Example 8.3

(Infinite Discontinuity)

Show that f(x) = 1/x is discontinuous at x = 0.

Solution:

According to Figure 7.4, we have that limx0 1 /x does not exist. Thus, f(x) is discontinuous at x = 0. Since limx0 f(x) = , we call x = 0 an infinite discontinuity.

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Example 8.4

(Jump Discontinuity)

Show that f(x) = |x|/x discontinuous at x = 0.

SOLUTION: The fact that f(x) is discontinuous at x = 0 follows from Figure 8.3 below

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Figure 8.3

Theorem 8.1

If f and g are two continuous functions at x = a and k is a constant then all of the following functions are continuous at x = a.

Scalar Multiple kf Sum and Difference f g Product f *g Quotient f /g , provided that g(a) 0.

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Theorem 8.2

(Continuity of Composite Functions)

The composition of two continuous functions is continuous.

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Determine if f(x) = 3x2 2 is continuous at x = -1

The three conditions must be true: 1. The limit of the function as x approaches -1 is limx-1 f(x) = lim x-1 (3x2 2) = lim x-1 3x2 - lim x-1 2 = 3(-1)2 2 = 1 2. The value of the function at x = -1 is f(-1) = 3(-1)2 2 =32 =1 3. Since limx-1 f(x) = f(-1) = 1, then the function f(x) = 3x 2 2 is
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Continuity on an Interval

We say that a function f is continuous on the open interval (a,b) if it is continuous at each number in this interval. If in addition, the function is continuous from the right of a, i.e. limxa+ f(x) = f(a), then we say that f is continuous on the interval [a, b). If f is continuous from the left of b,i.e. limxb- f(x) = f(b) then we say that f is continuous on the interval (a,b]. Finally, if f is continuous on the open interval (a, b), from the right at a and from the left at b then we say that f is continuous in the interval [a, b].

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Example 8.5

Find the interval(s) on which each of the given functions is continuous: (i) f1(x) = x2-1/x2-4.

Solution: (-,-2) U (-2,2) U (2, ) (ii) f2(x) = csc x Solution: x n where n is an integer. (iii) f3(x) = sin ( 1/x ). Solution: (- ,0) U (0,) (iv) f5(x) ={3-x, if -5 x < 2 x-2, if 2 x < 5

Solution: Since limx2- f5(x) = limx2- (3-x) = 1 and limx2+ (x-2) = 0, f5 is continuous on the interval [-5,2) U (2,5) 1/4/13

The Intermediate Value Theorem

Continuity can be a very useful tool in solving equations. So if a function is continuous on an interval and changes sign then definitely it has to cross the x-axis. This shows that the function possesses a zero in that interval.

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Theorem 8.3 (Intermediate

Value Theorem)

Let f be a continuous function on [a,b] with f(a) < f(b): If f(a) < d < f(b) then there is a c b such that f(c) = d.

Example 8.6 Show that cos x = x3 -x has at least one zero on the interval [/4 , /2]. Solution Let f(x) = cos x- x3 + x. Since f(/4) 1.008 > 0 and f(/2) -2.305 < 0, by the IVT there is at least one number c in the interval (/4, /2 ) such that f(c) = 0

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EXERCISES
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Determine if the polynomial or rational function is continuous at the given values of c. If the function is continuous, find the limit as x approaches c.
1.

f(x) = 2 5x3; c = 1 f(x) = x2 3x 1; c = 1 f(x) = x3 2x2 + 3x 4; c = 2 f(x) = 2x5 + 3x4 8x3 + x2 + 5x 9; c = -1 f(x) = x7 + 2x6 4x5 + x4 5x3 + x2 3x + 8; c = -1 f(x) = 3x/x+2; c = 1 f(x) = x2 9/x 3; c = 2 f(x) = x2 + 6x + 5/x 3; c = -2 f(x) = x/x + 1; c = 0 f(x) = x2/x2 2; c = 1

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