Math 221 Worksheet 3

Wednesday 09/04/19

Group: Name:

Continuity, Limits at Infinity

Instructions. Put the first and last name of everyone in your workgroup at the top of your paper. Everyone is to do
their own worksheet but only one from each group is graded with the score shared. Be sure to show your work and explain
your reasoning.
√
2x2 + 1
1. lim
x→−∞ 3x − 5

We have
√ √ q
1
2x2
+1 x2 2+ x2
lim = lim
x→−∞ 3x − 5 x→−∞ x(3 − x5 )
q
−x 2 + x12
= lim
x→−∞ x(3 − x5 )
q
− 2 + x12
= lim
(3 − x5 )
x→−∞
√ √
2+0 2
=− =− .
3−0 3
√
NOTE: A common mistake in calculating this limit is incorrectly writing x2 = x. This is not true if x < 0. Since
√ taking the limit as x approaches −∞, (i.e. x is becoming larger and larger in the negative direction), we
we are
have x2 = −x in this case.
p 
2. lim x2 + 1 − x
x→∞

We have
√ !
p p  x2 + 1 + x
lim x2 + 1 − x = lim x2 + 1 − x √
x→∞ x→∞ x2 + 1 + x
√ 2
x2 + 1 − x2
= lim √
x→∞ x2 + 1 + x
(x + 1) − x2
2
= lim √
x→∞ x2 + 1 + x
1
= lim √
x→∞ 2
x +1+x
1
= = 0.
+∞
√
NOTE: It is tempting to avoid these calculations and instead say as x approaches infinity that both x2 + 1 and
x approach ∞ as well; hence, the limit is ∞ − ∞ = 0. But this is incorrect. In fact, ∞ − ∞ = 6 0. To see why,
consider the following limit limx→∞ (x − (x + 1)) . Here again, it is tempting to reason that x and x + 1 approach
∞ as x → ∞ and thus the limit is ∞ − ∞ = 0, but upon seeing that x − (x + 1) = −1, the correct answer for the
limit is −1.
x2 + x
3. lim
x→+∞ 3 − x
 We have
x2 + x x(x + 1)
lim = lim
x→+∞ x 3 − 1


x→+∞ 3 − x
x
x+1
= lim 3
x −1
x→+∞
+∞
= = −∞.
0−1

4. Determine the equation for each horizontal asymptote on the graph of the following function. Your answer must be
justified with limits.

36 + 42e6x
f (x) =
2e6x − 46

Recall that limx→−∞ ex = 0 or equivalently limx→∞ e−x = 0. With this, we have

36 + 42e6x 36 + 0 36 18
lim = = =− ,
x→−∞ 2e6x − 46 0 − 46 −46 23
and
36 + 42e6x e6x (36e−6x + 42)
lim = lim
x→∞ 2e6x − 46 x→∞ e6x (2 − 46e−6x )

36e−6x + 42 0 + 42 42
= lim −6x
= = = 21.
x→∞ 2 − 46e 2−0 2

The horizontal asymptotes are y = − 18

23 and y = 21.
5. ? Find the values of a and b that make f continuous everywhere
 2
x −4
 x−2
 if x < 2
2
f (x) = ax − bx + 3 if 2 ≤ x < 3

2x − a + b if x ≥ 3


Recall that a function f (x) is continuous at the point x = x0 if limx→x0 f (x) = f (x0 ). Further, recall that
limx→x0 f (x) = limx→x+ f (x) = limx→x− f (x). We will use this to find a and b. On one hand, we must have
0 0

lim f (x) = lim f (x)

x→2 x→2−
x2 − 4
= lim
x→2− x − 2
(x − 2)(x + 2)
= lim
x→2− x−2
= lim x + 2 = 4.
x→2−

On the other hand, we must have

lim f (x) = lim f (x)

x→2 x→2+
= lim ax2 − bx + 3
x→2+
2
= a(2) − b(2) + 3 = 4a − 2b + 3.

So equating the left and right hand limits, we get that 4 = 4a − 2b + 3, or equivalently 1 = 4a − 2b. In similar fashion,
we observe limx→3 f (x). On one hand, we must have

lim f (x) = lim f (x)

x→3 x→3−
= lim ax2 − bx + 3
x→3−
2
= a(3 ) − b(3) + 3 = 9a − 3b + 3.

On the other hand, we must have

lim f (x) = lim f (x)

x→3 x→3+
= lim 2x − a + b
x→3+
= 2(3) − a + b = 6 − a + b.

Thus, equating these left and right hand side limits, we get that 9a − 3b + 3 = 6 − a + b, or equivalently, 10a − 4b = 3.
Solving the system of equations

4a − 2b = 1
10a − 4b = 3,

yields a = b = 12 .

6. Fill in the blanks: The Intermediate Value Theorem says that

IF
f (x) is continuous on the interval [a, b] and c is any value in the interval [f (a), f (b)],

THEN There is an x0 in the interval [a, b] with f (x0 ) = c.

 cos(x2 sin(x))
7. ? Use the Squeeze Theorem to find lim
x→+∞ ex

Recall that −1 ≤ cos(x) ≤ 1 for any real number x. Thus, we get that −1 ≤ cos(x2 sin(x)) ≤ 1. Dividing everything
by ex , we see that
−1 cos(x2 sin(x)) 1
x
≤ x
≤ x.
e e e
cos(x2 sin(x))
Notice that limx→+∞ − e1x = limx→+∞ 1
ex = 0. So by the squeeze theorem, we get that limx→+∞ ex = 0.

8. Sketch a graph of the functions below, and fill in the following limits at infinity:
ex e−x ln(x) − ln(x) sin(x) arctan(x)
For ex :

For e−x :

For ln(x) :

For − ln(x) :

For sin(x) :
For arctan(x) :

π
(a) lim ex = +∞ (h) lim − ln(x) = (k) lim arctan(x) =
x→+∞ x→−∞ x→+∞ 2
(e) lim ln(x) = +∞ DN E
x→+∞
(b) lim ex = 0 (l) lim arctan(x) =
x→−∞ x→−∞
(f) lim ln(x) = DN E (i) lim sin(x) = DN E π
(c) lim e−x = 0 x→−∞ x→+∞ −
x→+∞ 2
(g) lim − ln(x) = −∞ (j) lim sin(x) = DN E
(d) lim e−x = +∞ x→+∞ x→−∞
x→−∞