Business Maths - Lecture 7
Business Maths - Lecture 7
1
Learning outcomes
• Compute limits of simple functions.
• Understand the concept of continuous functions and their
properties.
• Compute the slope of a tangent line using first principles.
• Use the basic rules of differentiation to compute the
derivatives of polynomials.
2
Limit of a function
• Consider a function defined by f(x) = x + 2. We want to
find the value of f(x) when x approaches a fixed number 3.
• Note that the value of f(x) will never reach 5; it just gets
closer and closer to 5.
4
Limit of a function
2
x 4
• Consider another function g x .
x 2
x2 4
lim 4
x 2
x 2 5
Graphical illustration
x2 4
g x
x 2
x2 4
lim g x lim 4
x 2 x 2
x 2 6
Properties of limits
• Suppose lim f x L, lim g x M
x a x a
No. Property
r r
3 x a x a x a
Properties of limits
No. Property
f x lim f x L
5 lim x a
x a g x lim g x M
x a
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Evaluating the limit of a function
• We can make use of properties of limits to evaluate the
limit of most functions.
• In the case of rational functions, it is possible that the
limit of the denominator is equal to 0, i.e. the limit has
an indeterminate form.
• We use a different strategy to evaluate the limits in
these cases.
• Factorize and simplify the numerator and denominator
• Replace the original function with the simplified function.
• Evaluate the limit of the new function. 9
Example 7.1
• Evaluate the following limits.
7 5 175
2
2 2 2
(a) lim 7 x 7 lim x 7 lim x
x 5 x 5 x 5
x 2 x 2 x 2
(c) lim 5 x x 1 5 lim x lim x 1 5 4
x 4 x 4 x 4
4 1 41
x 5 lim x 5 6
(d ) lim x 1 2
x 1 x 2 lim x 2 3
x 1 10
Example 7.1
(e) Since lim x 7 0 , an indeterminate form is obtained.
x 7
lim
x 2 49
lim
x 7 x 7
lim x 7 14
x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7
2 x 2 32 2 x 4 x 4
lim lim lim 2 x 4 16
x 4 x4 x 4 x4 x 4
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Limits at infinity
• When x gets larger and larger instead of approaching a
fixed number, we say that x approaches infinity.
• A function might approach a value when x approaches
infinity.
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Limits at infinity
• When a function f has the limit L when x approaches
infinity, i.e. increases without bound, we write
lim f x L
x
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Limits at infinity
• To compute the limit of a function at infinity, note that for
n ≥ 1, 1 1
lim n 0 and lim n 0
x x x x
• E.g.
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Evaluating limits at infinity
The following technique is often used:
1. Determine the highest power of x in the denominator
of the expression, say xn.
2. Divide all the terms in both the numerator and
denominator by xn.
3. Use the results above to evaluate the limit for each
term.
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Example 7.2
x2 x 1
• Evaluate lim
x 2 x 2 8
x2 x 1
2 2 2
x x 1 x 2
x x
lim lim 2
x 2 x 2 8 x 2x 8
2
2
x x
1 1
Highest power of x 1 2
x x 1 0 0 1
in the denominator lim
x 8 2 0 2
2 2
x 16
Example 7.3
• Sierra’s furniture store estimates that the average cost
of making x chairs per year is given by the function
50000
C x 40
x
• Evaluate lim C x and interpret your results.
x
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Example 7.3
50000
lim C x lim 40
x x
x
40 0
40
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One-sided limits
• In evaluating lim f x,x can approach the value a in two
x a
ways.
• x is always lesser than a. We say x approaches a from the left
hand side (of a number line) and use a– to represent a number
slightly smaller than a. The limit is denoted by
lim f x
x a
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Example 7.4
1, if x 0
• Let f x . Does lim f x exist?
1, if x 0 x 0
lim f x 1
x 0
lim f x 1
x 0
3. lim f x f a 22
x a
Continuous functions
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Continuous functions
• If f and g are continuous at the point x = a, then the
following functions are also continuous at that point:
(a) [f(x)]n (where n is a real number),
(b) f ± g,
(c) fg and f/g (provided that g(a) ≠ 0).
• From these properties,
1. A polynomial function is continuous at all values of x
2. A rational function y = f(x)/g(x) is continuous at all 24
Example 7.5
• Find the values of x for which each function is continuous.
(a) f x 3x 4 x 8
Since f(x) is a polynomial function, it is continuous for all
values of x.
5x
(b) g x 2
x 1
Note that the denominator x2 + 1 can never be 0. Hence
g(x) is continuous for all values of x.
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Example 7.5
• Find the values of x for which each function is continuous.
7x
(c ) h x 2
x 1
Observe that x2 – 1 = (x + 1)(x – 1) and therefore the
denominator is equal to 0 when x = 1 or –1.
Therefore, h(x) is continuous for all values of x except
where x = 1 or –1.
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Exercise
• Try Discussion questions Q1, 2, and 3.
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Slope of a tangent line
• A tangent line to the curve cuts the curve at only one point.
• The slope of a curve at a given point is equivalent to the
slope of the tangent line
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Slope of a tangent line (First principles)
• Want to find the slope of
the tangent at point P.
• Choose a point Q on the
curve a small distance
from P.
f x h f x
Slope of PQ
x h x
f x h f x
h 29
Slope of a tangent line (First principles)
• Want to find the slope of
the tangent at point P.
• Choose a point Q on the
curve a small distance
from P.
f x h f x
Slope of PQ
x h x
f x h f x
h 30
Slope of a tangent line (First principles)
• Make Q approach P along
the curve by decreasing
the value of h.
• When h approaches zero,
the line PQ approaches the
tangent line to P.
• When h approaches zero,
the slope PQ approximates
the slope of the tangent
line to P. 31
Slope of a tangent line (First principles)
• Limit of the slope of PQ
when h approaches zero is
the slope of the tangent line.
• This limit is the derivative of
f at x and is denoted by f’(x).
f x h f x
f ' x lim
h 0 h
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Example 7.6
• Find the slope of the tangent line to the graph of f(x) = x2.
What is the slope of the curve at the point where x = 3?
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Example 7.6
f x h f x
2 2
x h x
f ' x lim lim
h 0 h h 0 h
x 2 2hx h 2 x 2
lim
h 0 h
2hx h 2
h 2 x h
lim lim lim 2 x h 2 x
h 0 h h 0 h h 0
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Basic rules of differentiation
• Certain rules have been derived to simplify the process
for finding the derivative of f at x .
• The process is called differentiation.
• f’(x) is used to mean the derivative of a function f with
respect to x. To indicate that we are differentiating f with
respect to x, we write
d
f ' x f x
dx
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Basic rules of differentiation
• Rule 1: If c is a constant, then
d
c 0
dx
E.g. f x 5
d
f ' x 5 0
dx
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Basic rules of differentiation
• Rule 2 (The power rule): If n is a real number, then
d n
dx
x nx n 1
E.g. f x x 7
d 7
f ' x x 7 x 7 x
7 1 6
dx
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Basic rules of differentiation
• Rule 3: If c is a real number and f is a differentiable
function, then
d d
cf x c f x
dx dx
E.g. f x 2 x 7
d d 7
f ' x 2 x 2 x 2 7 x 6 14 x 6
7
dx dx
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Basic rules of differentiation
• Rule 4: If f and g are functions, then
d d d
f x g x f x g x
dx dx dx
E.g. f x x 5
7
d 7 d 7 d
f ' x x 5 x 5 7 x 6
dx dx dx
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Example 7.7(a), (b)
• Find the derivatives of the following functions.
1
3
(a) f x x x 3x 1
2
x
d 12 d 1
d d 1
d 1
f ' x x 3 x x 3x x 3 x
1 2 1 2
dx dx dx dx dx
1 1
1 1 1 1 3
x 2
3 1 x 1 1
= x 2
3x 2
or 2
2 2 2 x x
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Example 7.7(a), (b)
(b) g x x x 1 x x
3 4
d 4 d 4 d 1
g ' x x x x x 4 x 4 1 1 x1 1
dx dx dx
4 x 3 x 0 4 x3 1
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Example 7.8
• Find the slope and an equation of the tangent line to the
graph of f(x) = x3 + 7 at the point (1, 8).
y 8 3 x 1
y 8 3 x 3
y 3x 5
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Exercise
• Try Discussion questions Q4, 5 and 6.
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