Extensions of the Limit Concept

One-sided limit, Infinite limits and

Limits at infinity
One-Sided Limits
Limits of the form
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = 𝑳
 

𝒙→𝒂

are called two-sided limits since the values of

 

get close to from both the right and left sides

of .

Limits which consider values of on only one side

 

of are called one-sided limits.

 A function has a limit as approaches if and
 
•
only if it has left-hand and right-hand limits
there, and these one-sided limits are equal:


 

and
  𝐥𝐢𝐦
+ ¿ 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )= 𝑳
𝒙→𝒄 ¿
One-Sided Limits
The right-hand limit,
  𝐥𝐢𝐦
+ ¿𝒇 ( 𝒙) 𝑳
𝒙→𝒂 ¿

is read “the limit of as approaches

 

from the right is .”

Asgets closer and closer to from the

 

right the values of get closer

and closer to .
One-Sided Limits

The left-hand limit,

 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) 𝑳
−
𝒙→𝒂

is read “the limit of as approaches

 

from the left is .”

Asgets closer and closer to from the

 

left the values of get closer

and closer to .
Limits by Graph
  𝐥𝐢𝐦    
𝟑
+¿ 𝒇 (𝒙 )
𝒙→𝟒 ¿

 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙  )  
𝟕
−
𝒙→4

𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
 

𝒙→4
   
𝑫𝑵𝑬
 

𝒙 → −5
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙  )
−
 
𝟔
Limits by Graph
 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙  )  
𝟔
−
𝒙→𝟒

  𝐥𝐢𝐦    
𝟑
+¿ 𝒇 (𝒙 )
𝒙 → −6 ¿

 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
𝒙 → −6
−
   
𝟑
 

𝒙 → −6
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙  )  
𝟑
 Example:
Draw
  a sketch of the graph, and find the indicated limit
if it exists; if the limit does not exist, state the reason.
𝟐𝒊𝒇𝒙 <𝟏
{
𝟏 . 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = − 𝟏 𝒊𝒇 𝒙=𝟏
− 𝟑 𝒊𝒇 𝒙 >𝟏
  𝐜 .𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
 
a.
𝒙→ 1

𝐛 . 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
 
−
𝒙 →1
Cont’d Solution :
 
𝟐𝒊𝒇𝒙 <𝟏 𝒙 𝟏 𝟎 −𝟏 −𝟐
{
     
   

𝟏 . 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = −𝟏 𝒊𝒇 𝒙=𝟏  
𝒇 ( 𝒙 )   𝟐   𝟐  𝟐  𝟐
−𝟑 𝒊𝒇 𝒙 >𝟏
Point (1,-1)
 
a.     𝐥𝐢𝐦
+ ¿ (− 𝟑 )
 
−𝟑
 
 
𝒙 𝟏  𝟐  𝟑   𝟒
 
𝒙→1 ¿

𝐛 . 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
      𝐥𝐢𝐦 ( 𝟐 )    
𝟐
 
𝒇 ( 𝒙 )  −𝟑  −𝟑  −𝟑 −𝟑
 
−
𝒙 →1
− 𝒙→1

𝐜 .𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) 
 
DNE
𝒙→ 1 (1,-1)
 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆
 
𝒙→1
𝐥𝐢𝐦
+ ¿𝒇 ( 𝒙 )
¿
 
≠𝒙𝐥𝐢𝐦
→1
 
−
𝒇 (𝒙)
   𝟐  
𝒙 − 𝟒 𝒊𝒇𝒙 <𝟐
𝟐 . 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = 𝟒 𝒊𝒇 𝒙=𝟐
𝟐 {
𝟒 − 𝒙 𝒊𝒇 𝟐< 𝒙
  𝒙  𝟐  

  = 4,
 

 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )   𝟎  −𝟑 −
 − 𝟏 −𝟐
  𝟒 −𝟑
   𝟎

Pt. (2,4)

      𝐥𝐢𝐦
  𝒙   𝟐   𝟑  𝟒
a. + ¿ (𝟒 −𝒙 )
𝟐
 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )   0  − 𝟓 −𝟏𝟐
𝒙→2 ¿

   
𝟎  
(2,4)

𝐛 . 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙  )  𝐥𝐢𝐦 ( 𝒙 𝟐 − 𝟒 )
 
− −
𝒙 →2 𝒙→ 2
   
𝟎
𝐜 .𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 )  
 
𝒙→ 1
 3.
 

 
a.   ) 𝟏 +𝟏  0
𝒍𝒊𝒎 ( 𝒙 +𝟏  −
−
𝒙 → −𝟏

𝐛.
  𝒍𝒊𝒎     𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝟐
 
+ ¿𝒇 ( 𝒙)
𝒙 →− 𝟏 ¿ 𝒙 → −𝟏+ ¿ 𝒙 ¿

  𝐜 . 𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) Does not exist (DNE) Since

𝒙→ −𝟏
  𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) ≠ 𝒍𝒊𝒎
− + ¿𝒇 ( 𝒙)  
𝒙 → −𝟏 𝒙 →− 𝟏 ¿
 4.
 

 
a.    
𝒙→𝟏
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒙𝟐   ( 𝟏 ) 𝟐  
−
𝟏
𝐛.
  𝒍𝒊𝒎
+ ¿𝒇 ( 𝒙)
   
𝒙→𝟏
𝒍𝒊𝒎
+ ¿ (𝟐 −𝒙 )
 
𝟐 − 𝟏=𝟏
𝒙 →𝟏 ¿ ¿

  𝐜 .𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒇 ( 𝒙  ) 1
𝒙→ 𝟏
Infinite Limits: Limit that does not exist
• Let and . Then
 

does not exist.

• In general, this limit is unbounded and will
approach infinity in positive or negative direction,

 
𝒇 (𝒙)  
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒍𝒊𝒎 =± ∞ or 𝒇 ( 𝒙)
=± ∞ .
𝒙 →𝒂 𝒈 (𝒙 )
+¿
𝒈 (𝒙 )
−
𝒙→𝒂 ¿
Infinite Limits
  𝟎  
=𝟎 ,
𝒄
𝒄
    +𝒄 𝒄
 
(𝒊)  
( 𝒊𝒊+  
) − =− ∞
𝟎 𝟎
+¿ =+∞
¿ 𝟎

( 𝒊𝒊𝒊 )
    −𝒄  
( 𝒊𝒗 )  −𝒄
+¿ =− ∞ −
=+∞
𝟎 ¿ 𝟎
Infinite Limits:

( 𝒊  )
  +𝒄
( 𝒊𝒊 ) + 𝒄    
( 𝒊𝒊𝒊 
)   −𝒄
(
 
𝒊𝒗 )  − 𝒄

𝟎
+¿ =+∞
−
=− ∞ 𝟎
+¿ =− ∞ −
=+∞
¿ 𝟎 ¿ 𝟎

Example:
 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐+𝟐
   
𝟒
1.
 
𝒕+ 𝟐
= 𝟐 =  +¿ ¿ = +∞
𝟐 −𝟒 𝟎
+¿ 𝟐
𝒕 −𝟒
𝒕→𝟐 ¿

𝒕 → 𝟐 ; 𝒕 =𝟑 ;
  +¿ ¿     𝟐
𝒕 −𝟒 = 𝟑 −𝟒 =
  𝟐
𝟓  𝟎
 

The denominator is approaching

 

thru + values.
  + 𝒄
−
=− ∞
𝟎
2  
√ 𝟑+ 𝒙 𝟐  
√𝟑+ ( 𝟎 ) 𝟐  
√𝟑
. 𝐥𝐢𝐦    
𝟎
−
 
−∞
 

𝒙→𝟎
− 𝒙 𝟎

 
𝒙→𝟎 −
;
 
𝒙=−𝟏  − 𝒄
−
=+∞
𝟎

3. 𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝟐 𝒙 − 𝟓 𝒙  
  𝟑 𝟐   𝟑
𝟐(𝟏) −𝟓 (𝟏)
𝟐   𝟐−𝟓   − 𝟑 
 
 
𝟐 𝟐
 
𝟎 𝟎
− +∞
𝒙→𝟏 𝒙 −𝟏 −
( 𝟏 ) −𝟏

 
𝒙→𝟏 −
;
 
𝒙=𝟎 ; 𝒙 −𝟏
  𝟐  
(𝟎) −𝟏 𝟐    
0 −𝟏
 
4.
 
𝒍𝒊𝒎   𝟐
(𝟎) − 𝟑  
−𝟑  
= 𝟐 = +¿ = −∞
𝟐
𝒙 −𝟑
𝟑
𝟎 ¿
+¿ 𝟑 𝟐
𝒙→𝟎 𝒙 +𝒙
¿ ( 𝟎 ) +( 𝟎 )

𝒙→ 𝟎
  +¿¿ ;  
𝒙=𝟏 ;   𝟑
𝒙 +𝒙 𝟐
=
  𝟑 𝟐
( 𝟏 ) +( 𝟏 ) = 2
− 𝒕 +𝟐
   
− ( 𝟐 ) +𝟐  
𝟎
5. 𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝟐 = 𝟐 = 𝟎
𝒕 → 𝟐 (𝒕 − 𝟐 ) ( 𝟐− 𝟐 )
−

 
−( 𝒕 − 𝟐)  
−𝟏  
−𝟏  
𝒍𝒊𝒎 = 𝒍𝒊𝒎 = − =+∞
𝒕 → 𝟐 ( 𝒕 −𝟐 ) ( 𝒕 −𝟐 )
−
𝒕 → 𝟐 ( 𝒕 −𝟐 ) 𝟎−
5.

𝒕→𝟐
  −
; 𝒕 =𝟏
 
; 𝒕 −𝟐
 
= 𝟏− 𝟐
 
= −𝟏
 
Limits at Infinity

• If a function approaches a constant value

 

L1 as the independent variable increases

without bound, i.e. then we write

 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = 𝑳𝟏
𝒙→∞
Limits at Infinity

• Similarly, if a function approaches a

 

constant value L2 as the independent variable

decreases without bound, i.e. , then we
write
 
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒇 ( 𝒙 ) = 𝑳𝟐
𝒙 → −∞

• In any of these cases, we say that

 
has a
limit at infinity.
Cont’d Limits at Infinity

The following are the possibilities for limits

and
 

(i) One limit exists but the other does not.

(ii) Both and exist, and

 

equal the same number.

Cont’d Limits at Infinity

(iii) Both and exist,

 

but they have different values.

(iv) Neither and exists.

 
Limits at Infinity of Rational Function

 
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒑 ( 𝒙 ) =  L 𝒑 ( 𝒙)
{ }
 
𝑰𝒇 𝒙 →𝒃
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒒 ( 𝒙 ) =  ± ∞
 
 𝒍𝒊𝒎 =𝟎
𝒙→𝒃 𝒒 ( 𝒙 )
𝒙 →𝒃
Examples:
 
1.

 
𝟏 Divide each term by the
𝐥𝐢𝐦 =𝟎 variable with the highest
𝒙→∞ 𝒙
exponent.
Cont’d Example: 𝟑
𝟐
 
𝟏   𝟐𝒙    
𝟑 𝒙  

𝟑 +¿ 𝟑 − 𝟑
 
1.    
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒙 𝒙 𝒙
𝟑
𝒙→∞  
𝟐 𝒙    𝟑 𝒙
𝒙
𝟑 +¿
𝒙
𝟑 From
𝟎
   
𝟎   𝟏
𝟏   𝐥𝐢𝐦 =𝟎
   
𝟐    𝒙→∞ 𝒙
𝟑 +¿ − 𝟑
 
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒙 𝒙  
 
−𝟑  
𝟑
   
−
𝒙→∞  
𝟑  𝟎 𝟐
  𝟐
𝟐 +¿
 
 
𝟐
𝒙
 𝟐
𝟐𝒙     𝒙
 
𝟓  

𝟑 − 𝟑 +¿ 𝒙 𝟑
 

𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒙 𝒙
 
2.   
𝒙 → −∞   𝟑
𝟒𝒙  
𝟏
𝟑 −
 

𝒙
𝟑
𝒙
From
𝟎
 
𝟎
   
𝟎  
𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝟏
=𝟎
𝟏 𝒙→∞ 𝒙
 
𝟐    
𝟓
𝒙
 
− 𝒙𝟐  
𝟑 +¿ 0
 
 
𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒙    
𝟎
 
𝒙 → −∞  
𝟏  
𝟎  
𝟒
𝟒 − 𝒙𝟑
   
    
𝟐
𝒙 𝟒 𝟒
 
3.     𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒙 →+∞ 
√ 𝒙
𝒙
𝟐
+
𝒙
𝟐

 
𝟒
   
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒙 →+∞
√  
𝟏+ 𝟐
𝒙 
𝒙
 
𝟒
√𝒙 𝟐 +¿ √ 𝒙
 
𝟐
𝒙+¿ 𝒙
 
From
𝟒 0

   
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒙 →+∞
√ 𝟏+ 𝟐
𝒙
  𝟒 0
 
 
√𝟏
1
 
 
𝟏
1
 
1
  𝟏
𝐥𝐢𝐦 =𝟎
𝒙→∞ 𝒙

 
𝟏+¿
 
𝒙
Two Special Trigonometric Limits
   
1. 2.

Example:  
𝟏
 
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟒 𝒙  𝒔𝒊𝒏
 
𝟒 𝒙
𝟏 . 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒙→ 𝟎 𝒙
 
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟒
𝒙→𝟎 ( )
𝟒𝒙
   
𝟒  𝟏
     
𝟒
 𝟏
 
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟗 𝒙
 

 
2.    
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝟗𝒙
 
(
𝟗𝒙 )   9
𝒙→𝟎  
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟕 𝒙
 
𝟏 7
 
𝟕𝒙 𝟕𝒙 ( )
𝟑𝒙
 
 
𝟑
 
3.   𝒍𝒊𝒎
   

𝒙→𝟎 𝟏
 
5
 
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟓 𝒙
 
5 ( 𝟓𝒙 )
   𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒕
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒕 =
𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝒕
 
4.    
𝒍𝒊𝒎
 
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒕
𝒕 →𝟎  
( 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝒕 ) 𝒕  
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒙
=𝟏
𝒙→𝟎 𝒙
𝟏
 
 
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒕  
𝟏
 

[ ( )] [
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒕→𝟎 𝒕
𝒍𝒊𝒎
𝒕 → 𝟎 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝒕 ]
 
𝟏 𝟏
 
   
𝟏 [ 𝒄𝒐𝒔 ( 𝟎 ) ]    
𝟏 𝟏 ( )    
𝟏