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Limits and Derivatives

The document discusses limits of functions and examples for calculating limits numerically and graphically. It defines the limit of a function f(x) as x approaches a as making the values of f(x) arbitrarily close to L by taking x sufficiently close to a, but not equal to a. Examples calculate limits numerically in tables and graphically to estimate the limit. Calculators may have difficulties with limits involving subtraction or division near zero due to rounding.

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Krystin Diamos
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58 views23 pages

Limits and Derivatives

The document discusses limits of functions and examples for calculating limits numerically and graphically. It defines the limit of a function f(x) as x approaches a as making the values of f(x) arbitrarily close to L by taking x sufficiently close to a, but not equal to a. Examples calculate limits numerically in tables and graphically to estimate the limit. Calculators may have difficulties with limits involving subtraction or division near zero due to rounding.

Uploaded by

Krystin Diamos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2

LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES


LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES

The Limit of a Function

In this section, we will learn:


About limits in general and about numerical
and graphical methods for computing them.



THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Let’s investigate the behavior of the


function f defined by f(x) = x2 – x + 2
for values of x near 2.
▪The following table gives values of f(x) for values of x
close to 2, but not equal to 2.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

From the table and the


graph of f (a parabola)
shown in the figure,
we see that, when x is
close to 2 (on either
side of 2), f(x) is close
to 4.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

In fact, it appears that


we can make the
values of f(x) as close
as we like to 4 by
taking x sufficiently
close to 2.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

We express this by saying “the limit of


the function f(x) = x2 – x + 2 as x
approaches 2 is equal to 4.”
▪The notation for this is:

lim (x 2 − x + 2 ) = 4
x→2

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Definition 1

In general, we use the following


notation.
▪We write lim f (x ) = L
x→a

and say “the limit of f(x), as x approaches a,


equals L”

if we can make the values of f(x) arbitrarily close


to L (as close to L as we like) by taking x to be
sufficiently close to a (on either side of a) but not
equal to a.




THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Roughly speaking, this says that the values


of f(x) tend to get closer and closer to the
number L as x gets closer and closer to the
number a (from either side of a) but x ≠a.
▪A more precise definition will be given in Section
2.4.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

An alternative notation for


lim f (x ) = L
x→a

is f ( x) → L as x → a

which is usually read “f(x) approaches L as


x approaches a.”

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

Notice the phrase “but x ≠ a” in the


definition of limit.
▪ This means that, in finding the limit of f(x) as
x approaches a, we never consider x = a.
▪ In fact, f(x) need not even be defined when x
= a.
▪ The only thing that matters is how f is
defined near a.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION

The figure shows the graphs of


three functions.
▪Note that, in the third graph, f(a) is not defined and, in
the second graph, f ( x) ≠ L.
▪However, in each case, regardless of what happens at
a, it is true that lim f ( x) = L.
x→a

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1


x −1
Guess the value of lim 2 .
x →1 x − 1

▪Notice that the function f(x) = (x – 1)/(x2 – 1) is not


defined when x = 1.
▪However, that doesn’t matter—because the
definition of lim f ( x)says that we consider values
of x that are close
x→a
to a but not equal to a.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

The tables give values


of f(x) (correct to six
decimal places) for
values of x that
approach 1 (but are not
equal to 1).
▪On the basis of the values,
we make the guess that
x −1
lim 2 = 0.5
x →1 x − 1

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

Example 1 is illustrated by the graph


of f in the figure.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

Now, let’s change f slightly by


giving it the value 2 when x = 1 and calling
the resulting function g:
⎧ x −1
⎪ 2 if x ≠ 1
g (x ) = ⎨ x − 1
⎪⎩2 if x = 1

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 1

This new function g still has the


same limit as x approaches 1.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Estimate the value of t2 + 9 − 3.


lim
t →0 t2

▪The table lists values of the function for several values


of t near 0.
▪As t approaches 0,
the values of the function
seem to approach
0.16666666…
▪So, we guess that:

t2 + 9 − 3 1
lim 2
=
t →0 t 6








THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

What would have happened if we


had taken even smaller values of t?
▪The table shows the results from one calculator.
▪You can see that something strange seems to be
happening.
▪If you try these
calculations on your own
calculator, you might get
different values but,
eventually, you will get
the value 0 if you make
t sufficiently small.














THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Does this mean that the answer is


really 0 instead of 1/6?
▪No, the value of the limit is 1/6, as we will
show in the next section.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

The problem is that the calculator


gave false values because t 2 + 9 is
very close to 3 when t is small.
▪In fact, when t is sufficiently small, a calculator’s
value for t 2 + 9 is 3.000… to as many digits as the
calculator is capable of carrying.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

Something very similar happens when


we try to graph the function
2
t +9 −3
f (t ) = 2
t
of the example on a graphing calculator
or computer.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

These figures show quite accurate graphs


of f and, when we use the trace mode (if
available), we can estimate easily that the
limit is about 1/6.

THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION Example 2

However, if we zoom in too much, then


we get inaccurate graphs—again because
of problems with subtraction.

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