Unit 3

Chapter 3
Limits and Continuity

As we all see, calculus is an enormously powerful branch of mathematics with a wide

range of applications, including optimization of functions, analysis of rates of change,
and computation of area. What gives calculus its power and distinguishes it from
algebra is the concept of limit. The purpose of this section is to give an introduction to
this important concept. The approach will be intuitive.
The Limit Concept

Limits describe what happens to a function f(x) as its variable x approaches a

particular number c. Suppose we want to find out what happens to the function
x2  x  2
f ( x)  as x approaches 1. Although f(x) is not defined at x = 1, we can see
x 1
what is happening by evaluating f(x) at values of x that get closer and closer to 1
from both the left and the right. The following table shows the behavior of f(x) for x
near 1.

x approaches 1 from the left x approaches 1 from the right

X 0.8 0.9 0.95 0.99 1 1.001 1.01 1.05 1.1
f(x) 2.8 2.9 2.95 2.99 3.001 3.01 3.05 3.1

This table suggests that f(x) approaches the number 3 as x gets closer and closer to 1
from either side. This may be described by saying “the limit of f(x) as x approaches 1
is 3” and written symbolically as

lim f ( x)  3
x 1

x2  x  2
The graph of the function f ( x)  (see Figure 1) is a straight line with a
x 1
“hole” at (1, 3). The points on the graph approach this “hole” as x approaches 1 from
either side.

1
 y

x2  x  2
y  f ( x) 
3 x 1

Figure 1

It is important to understand that limits describe the behavior of a function

near a particular number, not at the number itself. This is illustrated in the Figure 2
x2  x  2
which shows the graph of y  f ( x)  and the graphs of two other
x 1
functions g(x) and h(x). We have lim f ( x)  3 , lim g ( x)  3 , lim h( x)  3 . However,
x 1 x 1 x 1

f (1) is not defined while g (1)  1 and h(1)  3 .

x2  x  2
y  f ( x) 
3 x 1

x
1

2(a)

2
 y
 x2  x  2

y  g ( x)   x  1 if x  1
3
1 if x  1

x
1

2(b)

y
y  h( x)  x  2
3

x
1

2(c)

The next figure shows the graph of two functions.

Figure 2

y  f (x)
3

x
2

3(a)

3
 y

y  g (x)

x
2

3(b)

Figure 3

For the function in figure 3(a), lim f ( x ) does not exist because f(x) approaches 3 as x
x 2

approaches 2 from the right and f(x) approaches a different number 2 as x approaches
2 from the left. For the function g(x) in figure 3(b), g(x) increases without bound as x
gets closer and closer to 2. In this situation, we may say that g(x) approaches infinity
as x approaches 2 and write

lim g ( x)  
x2

Calculating Limits

Limits obey certain rules which may be used in calculations. These rules should seem
plausible on the basis of our intensive discussion of limits. These rules are listed
below:

Suppose lim f ( x)  L and lim g ( x)  M where L and M are real numbers.

xc x c

Then,

a. lim f ( x)  g ( x)  lim f ( x)  lim g ( x)  L  M

x c x c x c

b. lim f ( x)  g ( x)  lim f ( x)  lim g ( x)  L  M

x c x c x c

c. For any constant R, limRf ( x)  R lim f ( x)  RL

x c x c

d. lim f ( x) g ( x)  lim f ( x) lim g ( x)  LM

xc  xc   xc 

f ( x) lim f ( x) L
e. lim  x c  , provided that M  0
x c g ( x) lim g ( x) M
x c
4

x c
x c

f. If p is any real number, lim f ( x)  lim f ( x)  L , provided that
p p p

Lp is defined.
We also have the following simple rules:

For any number c and any constant R,

g. lim R  R
x c

h. lim x  c
x c

Using these rules, we can calculate many simple limits.

Example 1: Find lim 2 x 2  5

x 3
 
Solution:


lim 2 x 2  5
x 3

 lim 2 x 2  lim 5          rulea 
  
x 3 x 3

 lim 2 lim x 2  lim 5      ruled 

 lim 2lim x   lim 5      rule f 

x 3 x 3 x 3
2
x 3 x 3 x 3

 23  5        ruleg , ruleh 

2

 23

Note that when x = 3, 2 x2  5  23 . So, in this example, the limit is the same as what
we get by substituting x = 3.

Using rules (a) – (h), we can show the following:

If p(x) and q(x) are polynomials, then,

p ( x ) p (c )
lim p ( x)  p (c) and lim  , provided that q(c)  0 5
x c x c q ( x ) q (c )
 4  x3
Example 2: Find lim
x  2 2 x  1

Solution:

Since 4  x 3 and 2 x  1 are polynomials and 2 x  1  0 when x = - 2, we have

4  x 3 4   2 4 4
3
lim   
x  2 2 x  1 2 2  1  3 3

Next, we look at examples where the limit cannot be obtained by simple substitution.

x2  x  2
Example 3: Find lim
x 1 x 1

Note that this is the example with which we started our discussion of limits. The given
x2  x  2
expression is not defined when x = 1. We found that lim  3 by examining
x 1 x 1
x2  x  2
the behavior of when x is close to 1 but not equal to 1. Now, we show how
x 1
to calculate this limit without making a table or drawing a graph.

Solution:

Note that for x  1 , we have

x 2  x  2 x  1x  2
  x2
x 1 x 1

Thus, lim
x2  x  2
 lim
x  1x  2  limx  2  1  2  3
x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1

x2  x  6
Example 4: Find lim
x  2 x2

Solution:

6
 As in the last example, the denominator vanishes when x = - 2. We have

lim
x2  x  6
 lim
x  2x  3  lim x  3  2  3  5
x  2 x2 x  2 x2 x  2

x2  1
Example 5: Find lim
x 1 x 2  3 x  2

Solution:

lim 2
x2  1
 lim
x  1x  1  lim x  1  1  1  2
x 1 x  3x  2 x 1  x  1 x  2 x 1  x  2 1 2

x4
Example 6: Find lim
x 4 x 2

Solution: The denominator is 0 when x = 4. This time, we have to rationalize the

denominator.

x4
lim
x4 x 2
 x  4  x  2 
 lim 
x  4 x  2  x  2 
 

 lim
x  4 x 2 
x4
 x 22 2

 lim
x  4 x  2
x4 x4
 
 lim x  2  4  2  4
x4

Continuity

We have already seen that the same functions f(x), lim f ( x)  f (c) (see Example 1).
x c

We now make the following definition:

Definition: A function f is continuous at c, provided that

a. f(c) is defined

b. lim f ( x) exists
x c

c. lim f ( x)  f (c) 7
x c

If f is not continuous at c, we say that f is discontinuous at c.

From our previous discussion, it should be clear that polynomials are continuous at c
for every real number c and rational functions (ratios of two polynomials) are
continuous at c whenever the denominator is non–zero at c. Thus x 2  3x is
1
continuous at all real numbers and is continuous at all real numbers except – 2.
x2

The following figure shows the graph of three functions, each of which is
discontinuous at c.

y  f (x)
f (c) is not defined

x
c

4(a)

8
 y

y  g (x)

lim g ( x) does not exist

xc

x
c

4(b)

y
y  h(x)

lim h( x)  h(c)
xc
(c, h(c))

x
c

4(c)

Figure 4

 x  1 if x 1
Example 7: Let f ( x)  
2  x if x 1

Discuss the continuity of f at 1.

Solution: The graph of y=f(x) is shown in figure 5.

9
 y

Figure 5

From the graph, we see that f(x) approaches 1 as x approaches 1 from the right and
f(x) approaches 2 as x approaches 1 from the left. Thus, lim f ( x ) does not exist. So,
x1

f is discontinuous at 1.

Exercises for limits and continuity:

In problems 1-4, the graph of y  f x  is shown. Find the indicated limit if it exists.

1.
y

3
lim f ( x)
x5

x
5

2.

10
 y

2
lim f ( x)
x4

x
4

3.

2 lim f ( x)
x2

x
2

4.

lim f ( x)
x1
1

x
1

In problem 5 -13 ,find the indicated limit if it exists

5. lim ( x 2  5x  17)
x1

11
 x2
6. lim
x2 x 2  1

x 2  5x
7. lim
x 0 x4

x2 1
8. lim
x 1 x  1

x 2  3 x  10
9. lim
x 5 x5

x 2  3x  4
10. lim
x 4 x 2  5 x  4

x4
11. lim
x  4 x  x  12
2

x 3
12. lim
x 9 x9

4  x2
13. lim
x 2
3  x2  5

In problem 14-16,find all numbers (if any ) where the given function is not continuous.

14. f ( x)  x 3  2 x 2  17x  32

1
15. f ( x) 
x  5x  6
2

3x  4
16. f ( x) 
8x  7

In problem 17-20, decide if the given function in continuous at the specified number.

 x  1 if x  2
17. f ( x)   at 2
 2 if x  2

 2 if x  1
18. f ( x)   at 1
 x  1 if x  1

 x 2  1 if x  3
19. f ( x)   at 3
2 x  4 if x  3

12
  5  3x if x  0

20. f ( x)   3 if x  0 at 0
5  3x if x  0


13