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Continuity of A Function

This document discusses continuity of functions. It defines continuity of a function at a number and on an interval. There are three conditions for continuity at a number: the function value exists, the limit as x approaches c exists, and the limit equals the function value. There are two types of discontinuity - removable and essential. Removable discontinuities can be fixed, essential discontinuities cannot. The document provides examples and theorems related to continuity of common functions like polynomials, radicals, exponentials, and logarithms.

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Jophii Samoranos
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108 views

Continuity of A Function

This document discusses continuity of functions. It defines continuity of a function at a number and on an interval. There are three conditions for continuity at a number: the function value exists, the limit as x approaches c exists, and the limit equals the function value. There are two types of discontinuity - removable and essential. Removable discontinuities can be fixed, essential discontinuities cannot. The document provides examples and theorems related to continuity of common functions like polynomials, radicals, exponentials, and logarithms.

Uploaded by

Jophii Samoranos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Limits and Continuity

LESSON 1.5: CONTINUITY OF A FUNCTION


OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lessons, the students must have;
1.illustrated continuity of a function at a number,
2. determined whether a function is continuous at a
number or not,
3.illustrated continuity of a function on an interval or not,
4. determined whether a function is continuous on an
interval or not, and
5. illustrated different types of discontinuity
(hole/removable, jump/essential, asymptotic/infinite).
Consider the function:
2
𝑥 − 3𝑥 − 4
𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥+1
Verifying by the graph.
𝑥 2 −3𝑥−4
𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥+1
Continuity of a Function at a Number
The function 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous at a
number 𝒄 if and only if the following three
conditions hold:
1. 𝒇 𝒄 exists,
2. 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 exists, and
𝒙→𝒄
3. 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒇 𝒄
𝒙→𝒄
Types of Discontinuity

a. Removable Discontinuity
The function 𝒇 𝒙 has a removable
discontinuity at 𝒙 = 𝒄 if 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 = 𝑳, 𝑳 exists,
𝒙→𝒄
but 𝒇(𝒄)is undefined or 𝒇(𝒄) ≠ 𝑳. The
discontinuity can be removed by redefining 𝒇(𝒄)
so that 𝒇(𝒄)= 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 .
𝒙→𝒄
Example 1.
𝟐
𝒙 − 𝟒 ⅈ𝒇𝒙 ≠ 𝟏
Let 𝐟 𝐱 = ൝𝟐, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟏
Show that the function has a
removable discontinuity at 𝑥 = 1.
Verifying by the graph.
𝟐
𝒙 − 𝟒 ⅈ𝒇𝒙 ≠ 𝟏
𝐟 𝐱 = ൝𝟐, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟏
Types of Discontinuity

b. Essential Discontinuity
The function 𝒇 𝒙 has an essential
discontinuity at 𝒙 = 𝒄 if 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 𝒙 does not exist.
𝒙→𝒄
This discontinuity is nonremovable. We have
two cases.
i. If 𝐥𝐢𝐦−𝒇 𝒙 exists and 𝐥𝐢𝐦+𝒇 𝒙 exists but
𝒙→𝒄 𝒙→𝒄
𝐥𝐢𝐦−𝒇 𝒙 ≠ 𝐥𝐢𝐦+𝒇 𝒙 , then 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 does not exist.
𝒙→𝒄 𝒙→𝒄 𝒙→𝒄
This discontinuity is also called jump discontinuity.
Example 2.
−𝟐, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 < −𝟐
Show that 𝐟 𝐱 = ൞𝟏, ⅈ𝒇 − 𝟐 ≤ 𝒙 ≤ 𝟑has a jump
𝟓, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 > 𝟑
discontinuities at 𝑥 = −2 and 𝑥 = 3
Verifying by the graph.
−𝟐, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 < −𝟐
𝐟 𝐱 = ൞𝟏, ⅈ𝒇 − 𝟐 ≤ 𝒙 ≤ 𝟑
𝟓, ⅈ𝒇 𝒙 > 𝟑
ii. If 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 = −∞ or 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙 = +∞, then 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝒇 𝒙
𝒙→𝒄 𝒙→𝒄 𝒙→𝒄
does not exist. This essential discontinuity is also called an
infinite discontinuity.
Example 3.
𝟑𝒙−𝟖
Let 𝒇 𝒙 =
𝒙+𝟒 𝟐
Show that 𝒇 𝒙 has an infinite discontinuity at 𝒙 = −𝟒
Verifying by the graph.
𝟑𝒙−𝟖
𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟐
𝒙+𝟒
Limits and Continuity

LESSON 1.5: CONTINUITY OF A FUNCTION


Continuity of a Function on an Interval
𝒇 𝒙 is continuous on an open interval 𝒂, 𝒃 if
it is continuous at every x-value in the interval.
𝒇 𝒙 is continuous on a closed interval [𝒂, 𝒃]if and
only if
a. 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous on the open interval (𝒂, 𝒃),
b. 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous from the right at 𝒙 = 𝒂, which
means that 𝒇 𝒂 exists, 𝐥𝐢𝐦+𝒇 𝒙 exists, and
𝒙→𝒂
𝐥𝐢𝐦+𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒇(𝒂)
𝒙→𝒂
c. 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous from the left at 𝒙 = 𝒃, which
means that 𝒇 𝒃 exists, 𝐥𝐢𝐦−𝒇 𝒙 exists, and
𝒙→𝒃
𝐥𝐢𝐦−𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒇(𝒃)
𝒙→𝒃
Example 4.
Let 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟏𝟔 − 𝒙𝟐
Show that 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous on the interval
[−𝟒, 𝟒].
Verifying by the graph.
Example 5.
𝐱−𝟏
Let 𝐟 𝐱 =
𝐱 𝟐 +𝟐𝐱
Verifying by the graph.
Seatwork 1:
Let 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟗 − 𝒙𝟐
Show that 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous on the interval
[−𝟑, 𝟑].
Theorems on the Continuity of a Function

1. Polynomial functions 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒂𝒏 + 𝒙 𝒏
𝒏−𝟏
𝒂𝒏−𝟏 𝒙 + . . . . 𝒂𝟏 𝒙 + 𝒂𝟎 are continuous
everywhere.
𝒇 𝒙
2. Rational 𝒇 𝒙 = , 𝒈 𝒙 ≠ 𝟎, are continuous
𝒈 𝒙
at every number in their domains.
3. The radical function 𝒇 𝒙 = where 𝒏 is a
positive integer, is continuous at every number
if 𝒏 is odd. If 𝒏 is even, 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous at
every positive number.
𝒙
4. The exponential function 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒃 , where
𝒃 ≠ 𝟏,𝒃 > 𝟎, is continuous at every number in
its domain.
5. The logarithmic function 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒃 𝒙,
where 𝒃 ≠ 𝟏,𝒃 > 𝟎, is continuous for all
numbers greater than zero.

6. The trigonometric functions are continuous at


every number in their domains.
7, Suppose 𝒇 𝒙 and 𝒈 𝒙 are functions that are
continuous at 𝑥 = 𝑐. Then,
a. 𝒇 𝒙 + 𝒈 𝒙 is continuous at c.
b. 𝒇 𝒙 − 𝒈 𝒙 is continuous at c.
c. 𝒇 𝒙 ∙ 𝒈 𝒙 is continuous at c.
𝒇 𝒙
d. 𝒈 𝒙
is continuous at c if 𝒈 𝒄 ≠ 𝟎.
e. 𝒌 ∙ 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous at c, where 𝑘 is a real
number.
8. If the function g 𝒙 is continuous at x=c and
the function 𝒇 𝒙 is continuous at 𝒈 𝒄 , then
the composition of the functions 𝒇 𝒙 and 𝒈 𝒙 ,
denoted by 𝒇 ∘ 𝒈 𝒙 = 𝒇 𝒈 𝒙 , is
continuous at 𝒙 = 𝒄.
Seatwork 2: Find the x-values where the function is
continuous.

𝟒 𝟑 𝟐 𝟏
1. 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟓𝒙 + 𝟐𝒙 −
𝟐
𝟓𝒙
2. 𝒇 𝒙 =
𝒙−𝟐 𝟑
𝒙+𝟒
3. 𝒇 𝒙 =
𝒙𝟐 +𝟒

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