Previously, we utilized graphs to solve limits. More specifically, we could discern what the y-value was approaching when we approach a specific value along the x-axis from both the left and the right. But graphs are not the only ways to calculate limits. In fact, as most textbooks will tell you, we can evaluate limits via 4 different methods:
This says that the limit as x approaches C of some sum of two functions is equal to the limit of each one of those functions taken separately and added together. This is our divide and conquer property. We have another divide and conquer property when looking at products.
Apply the basic limit laws and simplify. lim x → 6 ( 2 x − 1) x + 4. lim x → 6 ( 2 x − 1) x + 4. In each step, indicate the limit law applied. lim x → a f ( x) = f ( a). lim x → a f ( x) = f ( a).
At x =0, f (x) doesn't have any specific value on the graph. When this happens, we say that f (x) increases without bound as x approaches c. Every time this happens with a limit, we can simply write that the limit does not exist because f (x) does not approach any fixed, finite value as x approaches c.
The limit laws allow us to evaluate limits of functions without having to go through step-by-step processes each time.
Use the limit laws to evaluate the limit of a function.
Step 1. After substituting in , we see that this limit has the form . That is, as approaches 2 from the left, the numerator approaches −1 and the denominator approaches 0. Consequently, the magnitude of becomes infinite. To get a better idea of what the limit is, we need to factor the denominator: . Step 2.
Root law for limits: for all if is odd and for if is even.
Both and fail to have a limit at zero. Since neither of the two functions has a limit at zero, we cannot apply the sum law for limits; we must use a different strategy. In this case, we find the limit by performing addition and then applying one of our previous strategies. Observe that
By now you have probably noticed that, in each of the previous examples, it has been the case that . This is not always true, but it does hold for all polynomials for any choice of and for all rational functions at all values of for which the rational function is defined.
As we have seen, we may evaluate easily the limits of polynomials and limits of some (but not all) rational functions by direct substitution. However, as we saw in the introductory section on limits, it is certainly possible for to exist when is undefined. The following observation allows us to evaluate many limits of this type:
lim x → a f ( x) = lim x → a h ( x).
lim x → a p ( x) q ( x) = p ( a) q ( a) when q ( a) ≠ 0.
Example 2.20 does not fall neatly into any of the patterns established in the previous examples. However, with a little creativity, we can still use these same techniques.
For all polynomials and rational functions - and even trig functions and square roots - if the function is defined at the limit, the value of the function at that limit is equal to the limit itself.
To recap, the easy way to find limits: For continuous functions, use substitution for finding limits. What I mean by this is if f (x) is continuous, then the limit as x goes to C of f (x), is equal to f evaluated at C.
A limit can tell us the value that a function approaches as that function's inputs get closer and closer to a number. Learn more about how to determine the limits of functions, properties of limits and read examples. Updated: 10/24/2021
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All of these functions - the trig functions that are defined, the square roots when they're defined, polynomials, rational functions - are continuous functions. When you have a continuous function, the limit of that function, as you approach some number like C, equals the value of that function at C.
One final possibility when we look for a limit as x approaches c is that f (x) never approaches anything as x gets closer and closer to c: we could have behavior, like in the graph given below, where f (x) just oscillates more and more wildly as x gets closer and closer to c from either the left or the right.
If f (x) eventually gets closer and closer to a specific value L as x approaches a chosen value c from the right, then we say that the limit of f (x) as x approaches c from the right is L .
Similarly, as x decreases without bound, or as we move farther and farther to the left on the graph, f (x) appears to get closer and closer to two. Again, here the behavior of f (x) as x decreases (or grows more and more negative) is that it grows ever closer to 2, even if it can never reach it.
For many straightforward functions, the limit of f (x) at c is the same as the value of f (x) at c. For example, for the function in the graph below, the limit of f (x) at 1 is simply 2, which is what we get if we evaluate the function f at 2. Because the point (1,2) is on the graph of f (x), the limit is is 2, so we could write:
It can never reach zero, because the function has no end: x can continue to increase forever. But the behavior of the function as x increases is that it grows ever closer to 0, even if it can never reach it.
In this case, f (x) appears to increase without bound: it just seems to get bigger and bigger as we move to the right on the graph, without ever approaching a specific y -value.
For the function in the graph below, f (x) is not defined when x = 1 because as x gets closer and closer to 1 from the right, f (x) just keeps getting bigger and bigger: the closer that x gets to 1 from the right, the bigger f (x) gets. And as x gets closer and closer to 1 from the left, f (x) just keeps getting smaller and smaller (or more and more negative): the closer that x gets to 1 from the left, the smaller (or more negative) f (x) gets.