DIFFERENTIAL

CALCULUS
Module 1

INTRODUCTION
Differential Calculus deals with the study of the
rates at which quantities change. It is one of the two
principal areas of calculus (integration being the
other). In this course, we use two tools for analyzing
and describing the behavior of the functions: limits
and derivatives. Students will be able to use these
tools to solve application problems in a variety of
settings ranging from physics to business and
economics.
 Topic Overview
The limit of a function is the primary concept that distinguishes calculus from
algebra and analytic geometry. The nature of calculus is fundamental to the study of
calculus. Thus, it is important to acquire a good working knowledge of limit before
moving on to other topics of calculus.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Identify and discuss the use of differential calculus in real life situations.
2. Develop and use a strategy for finding limits.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Evaluate limits using the properties of limits.
2. Determine one-sided limits and continuity at a point.

Content exploration
The term “calculus” was derived from a Latin word calx which means stone and
from a Greek word ethalis which means limestone.
In 1864, a German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz
published his early work on calculus, while an English astronomer, physicist and
mathematician Isaac Newton made an early study on the subject in 1665 but did not
published his work until 1704. These two mathematicians are now considered as the
founders of today’s calculus.
The subject Calculus is divided into four areas namely, differential calculus,
integral calculus, differential equations and calculus of variation.
Differential Calculus is a branch of mathematics which deals with derivatives and limits.
There is large number of applications of calculus in our daily life. It can’t be possibly
illustrated in a single view. Some of these are described below:
1. Biologists use differential calculus to determine the exact rate of growth in a
bacterial culture when different variables such as temperature and food source
are changed.
2. To calculate the velocity and trajectory of an object, predict the position of the
planets and understand electromagnetism.
3. It is used to determine the rate of a chemical reaction and to determine some
necessary information of radioactive decay reaction.
 4. The field of epidemiology – the study of the spread of infectious disease – relies
heavily on calculus. It can be used to determine how far and fast a disease is
spreading, where it may have originated from and how to best treat it.

Limits
Limit, mathematical concept based on the idea of closeness, used primarily to
assign values to certain functions at points where no values are defined, in such a way
as to be consistent with nearby values. For example, the function (x2 − 1)/(x − 1) is not
defined when x is 1, because division by zero is not a valid mathematical operation. For
any other value of x, the numerator can be factored and divided by the (x − 1),
giving x + 1. Thus, this quotient is equal to x + 1 for all values of x except 1, which has no
value. However, 2 can be assigned to the function (x2 − 1)/(x − 1) not as its value
when x equals 1 but as its limit when x approaches 1.

Let f be the function that is defined on an open interval containing a, but possibly
not defined at a itself. Let L be a real number. The statement is

lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝐿
𝑥→𝑎

defines the limit of the function f(x) at a point a. L is the value that the function has as
the point a is approached.

Continuity at a point
At function f is continuous at a point if

lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑓(𝑎)
𝑥→𝑎

The following are the three conditions being satisfied:

1. f(a) exists, that is, f is defined at a;

2. lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) exists;
𝑥→𝑎
3. The two numbers are equal.

Continuity test at a point x = a;

lim 𝐹 (𝑥 ) = lim− 𝐹 (𝑥 ) = 𝐹(𝑎)

𝑥 → 𝑎+ 𝑥→𝑎
 one-sided limits
Suppose f is a function such that it is not defined for all values of x. Rather, it is
defined in such a way that it “jumps” from one y to value of next instead of smoothly
going from one y value to the next.

The figure above shows that y = f(x) is not defined for all values of x.

The figure above shows that y = f(x) “jumps” from a positive value to a negative
value.
The statement lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑅 means that as x approaches “a” from the right or from
𝑥→𝑎
the positive infinity, the function f has the limit R.
Likewise, the statement lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝐿 means that as x approaches “a” from the left
𝑥→𝑎
hand side or from the negative infinity, the function f has the limit L.
If f is defined in an open interval containing a, except possible at a, then
lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝐿
𝑥→𝑎

if and only if lim+ 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = lim− 𝑓 (𝑥 )

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎
 properties of limits
The following are important theorems and properties of limits considering the following:

lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿 lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐾

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

1. If lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿 , then it is unique.

𝑥→𝑎

2. lim [ 𝑓(𝑥) + 𝑔(𝑥)] = lim 𝑓(𝑥) + lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐿 + 𝐾

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

3. lim [ 𝑓(𝑥) − 𝑔(𝑥)] = lim 𝑓(𝑥) − lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐿 – 𝐾

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

4. lim [ 𝑓(𝑥). 𝑔(𝑥)] = lim 𝑓(𝑥). lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐿 . 𝐾

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

𝑓(𝑥) 𝐿
5. lim 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝐾
𝑥→𝑎

1 1
6. lim =
𝑥→𝑎 𝑔(𝑥) 𝐾

7. lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐿
𝑥→𝑎

8. lim [ 𝑐 𝑓(𝑥)] = 𝑐[ lim 𝑓(𝑥)]

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

9. lim 𝑐 𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑐𝑎𝑛
𝑥→𝑎

10. If f is a polynomial function then lim 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑓(𝑎)

𝑥→𝑎

11. lim 𝑛√𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑛√ lim 𝑓(𝑥) , when n is a positive integer.

𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

𝑥 2 −16
Example: Simplify the expression: lim
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥−4

Solution: Since f(x) is polynomial, we can apply:

lim 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑓(𝑎)
𝑥→𝑎

Therefore,

𝑥 2 − 16 2 − 16 −12
lim = = = 6
𝑥→2 𝑥 − 4 2−4 −2
 Special limits
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑥
1. lim =1
𝑥→0 𝑥

1−𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑥
2. lim =0
𝑥→0 𝑥

1 𝑛
3. lim (1 + 𝑛) = 𝑒
𝑛→∞

1
4. lim (1 + 𝑛)𝑛 = 𝑒
𝑛→0

5. For a > 1, then:

lim 𝑎𝑥 = +∞
𝑥→+∞

lim 𝑎𝑥 = 0
𝑥→−∞

lim log 𝑎 𝑥 = +∞
𝑥→+∞

lim log 𝑎 𝑥 = −∞
𝑥→0

6. For 0< a < 2, then:

lim 𝑎𝑥 = 0
𝑥→+∞

lim 𝑎𝑥 = +∞
𝑥→−∞

lim log 𝑎 𝑥 = −∞
𝑥→+∞

lim log 𝑎 𝑥 = +∞
𝑥→0
1
Example: Evaluate: lim (1 + )𝑥𝑙𝑛8
𝑥→∞ 𝑥

Solution:
1 1 𝑥
lim (1 + )𝑥𝑙𝑛8 = [ lim (1 + ) ]𝑙𝑛8
𝑥→∞ 𝑥 𝑥→∞ 𝑥
1 𝑥
By definition: lim (1 + 𝑥) = 𝑒
𝑥→∞

1 𝑥𝑙𝑛8 1 𝑥 𝑙𝑛8
lim (1 + ) = [ lim (1 + ) ] = 𝑒 𝑙𝑛8
𝑥→∞ 𝑥 𝑥→∞ 𝑥
Since ln( 𝑒 𝑥 ) = 𝑒 𝑙𝑛𝑥 = 𝑥, then:
𝑒 𝑙𝑛8 = 8
 Try this

1. Evaluate the following: (Show the step-by-step solutions)

a) lim (𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 − 4) by applying the 10th property
𝑥→3
4𝑥 3 +2𝑥 2 −3
b) lim [ 5 ( )] by applying the 8th property
𝑥→ ∞ 5𝑥 3 +1

4𝑥3 +2𝑥2 −3
2. If lim 𝑓(𝑥) = lim (𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 − 4) and lim 𝑔(𝑥) = lim [ 5 ( )]. Solve for:
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→3 𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→5 5𝑥3 +1
a) lim 𝑓(𝑥) + lim 𝑔(𝑥)
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎
b) lim 𝑓(𝑥) − lim 𝑔(𝑥)
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎
c) lim 𝑓(𝑥) ∙ lim 𝑔(𝑥)
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥→𝑎

Tasks!
1. Write in newsprint or short bond paper an essay entitled “When am I ever going
to use differential calculus in real life”.

2. Find the limit of the following functions:

1
a) cos 𝑦 as y approaches to infinity
sin 7𝜃
b) lim
𝜃→𝜋 𝜃
sin 𝑥
c) lim
𝑥→0 cos 𝑥

References:
1. Toing, J.R., Tiong, J.C. Jr. (2012). Mathematics 1st Edition. First Benchmark Publisher,
Inc.
2. Excel Academic Council (2008) .1001 Solved Problems in Engineering
Mathematics 3rd Edition. First Benchmark Publisher, Inc.