Math 112 Lecture 001 B Handouts

Why Limits?
Limits are used in calculus to
dene and calculate the slope of a tangent line
calculate velocities and rates of change
dene and calculate areas and volumes

But, more generally, limits provide a way to extend the operation of function
evaluation.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 2/21
Example 1 An Indeterminate Form
Consider the function
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
The domain of this function is
Continuing Example 1
Evaluating f at x = 1 gives
f (1) =
2
0
which is obviously undened. Use your
graphing calculator or Maple to plot the graph
of this function in the viewing rectangle
2, 3
4, 4
.
Evaluating f at x = 1 gives
f (1) =
0
0
which is again undened. However, now we do not necessarily get an
arbitrarily large value, as in the last case. This is an indeterminate form.
Something different happens at x = 1 than at x = 1. The difference is
hinted at by the graph we saw earlier. There is an open circle on the graph
at x = 1.
To investigate what happens to f at
x = 1 make a table of values near
x = 1.
x f (x)
Denition of Limit
From Example 1 we see that even though f (1) is not dened there is a
nite and precisely dened limiting value for f at x = 1. We say that
lim
x1
x + 1
x
2
1
=
1
2
The following denition makes this more precise.
Denition: Limit of a Function
We say that
lim
xa
f (x) = L
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily close to L by making x sufciently close to a,
on either size of a.
Example 2 Applying the Denition
From the table of values in Example 1 we see
that in order to keep the value of f (x) within 0.2
of the limit value L = 0.5, so that
0.7 f (x) 0.3
we only need to have x within 0.5 of the limit
point x = 1, so that
1.5 x 0.5
The graph below illustrates the
relation between the two intervals
above.
1.5 0.5
0.3
0.7
If we want to decrease the vertical extent of the box on the previous slide, in
order to keep the graph of the function f inside the box, we must decrease
the horizontal extent of the box as well.
If we wish to keep the value of f (x) within 0.03 of the limit value, i.e.,
0.53 f (x) 0.47, i.e., make the vertical extent of the box smaller,
how much do we have to decrease its horizontal extent?
Does a Limit Always Exist?
An important feature of the denition of the limit of a function is that we
must be able to make the value of f (x) arbitrarily close to L by making x
sufciently close to a, on either side of a. In some cases we get a different
value if we make x close to a on different sides of a. In this case the limit
does not exist.
This leads to the idea of one-sided limits. We will introduce a function in
which one-sided limits play a role in Example 3 and then give the denition
of one-sided limits.
There are other cases in which a limit does not exist. We will investigate
some of them later.
Example 3 A Step Function
g(x) =
|x|
x
1
1
x
y
The Absolute Value Function
The absolute value function is
another piecewise function. Its
formula is
|x| =
x if x < 0
0 if x = 0
x if x > 0
Its graph looks like this:
x
y
For the function g dened at the beginning of Example 3, what can we say
about the limit
lim
x0
g(x)?
Denition of One-Side Limits
Based on the behavior of the function in Example 3 we see that a function
can get close to different values as a we approach a specic x value from
the two possible directions. This leads to
Denition: Limits from the Right and from the Left
We say that
lim
xa
+
f (x) = R
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily close to R by making x sufciently close to a
with x > a, that is for x to right of a. This is the limit of f at a from the
right, or from above.
Checking for the Existence of a Limit
We can check to see if a limit exists by checking the one-sided limits. The
limit
lim
xa
f (x)
exists and is equal to L if and only if both
lim
xa
f (x) and lim

xa
+
f (x)
exist, and
lim
xa
f (x) = L and lim

xa
+
f (x) = L
Otherwise, the regular, two-sided, limit does not exist.
Example 4 Calculating Limits
h(x) =
2x + 8 if x < 1
2x + 4 if 1 x < 1
x
2
2x + 2 if x 1
Graph each branch separately:
2 2
2
4
6
x
y
Calculate each limit, if it exists. If the limit does not exist, explain why.
(a) lim
x1
h(x) (b) lim

x1
+
h(x)
(c) lim
x1
h(x) (d) lim
x1
h(x)
(e) lim
x1
+
h(x) (f) lim
x1
h(x)
Innite Limits
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
from Example 1. This function takes arbitrarily large, positive and negative,
values near x = 1. So the function is undened there. We can use limits to
say this more precisely.
Denition of Innite Limits
Denition: Innite Limits
We say that
lim
xa
f (x) =
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily large and positive by making x sufciently
close to a, on either side of a.
Similar denitions apply for one-sided innite limits.
Denition of One-Sided Innite Limits
Denition: One-Sided Innite Limits
We say that
lim
xa
+
f (x) =
close to a with x > a.
We say that
lim
xa
f (x) =
close to a with x < a.
Example 5 Evaluating Innite Limits
For the function
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
from Example 1 give the value as + or for each limit, or explain why
the innite limit does not exist.
(a) lim
x1
f (x)
(b) lim
x1
+
f (x)
(c) lim
x1
f (x)

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Why Limits?

Limits are used in calculus to

dene and calculate the slope of a tangent line

calculate velocities and rates of change

dene and calculate areas and volumes

f (x) and lim

f (x) = L and lim

h(x) (b) lim

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