Why Limits?

Limits are used in calculus to

dene and calculate the slope of a tangent line

calculate velocities and rates of change

dene and calculate areas and volumes

But, more generally, limits provide a way to extend the operation of function
evaluation.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 2/21
Example 1 An Indeterminate Form
Consider the function
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
The domain of this function is
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 3/21
Continuing Example 1
Evaluating f at x = 1 gives
f (1) =
2
0
which is obviously undened. Use your
graphing calculator or Maple to plot the graph
of this function in the viewing rectangle

2, 3

4, 4

.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 4/21
Continuing Example 1
Evaluating f at x = 1 gives
f (1) =
0
0
which is again undened. However, now we do not necessarily get an
arbitrarily large value, as in the last case. This is an indeterminate form.
Something different happens at x = 1 than at x = 1. The difference is
hinted at by the graph we saw earlier. There is an open circle on the graph
at x = 1.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 5/21
Continuing Example 1
To investigate what happens to f at
x = 1 make a table of values near
x = 1.
x f (x)
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 6/21
Denition of Limit
From Example 1 we see that even though f (1) is not dened there is a
nite and precisely dened limiting value for f at x = 1. We say that
lim
x1
x + 1
x
2
1
=
1
2
The following denition makes this more precise.
Denition: Limit of a Function
We say that
lim
xa
f (x) = L
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily close to L by making x sufciently close to a,
on either size of a.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 7/21
Example 2 Applying the Denition
From the table of values in Example 1 we see
that in order to keep the value of f (x) within 0.2
of the limit value L = 0.5, so that
0.7 f (x) 0.3
we only need to have x within 0.5 of the limit
point x = 1, so that
1.5 x 0.5
The graph below illustrates the
relation between the two intervals
above.
1.5 0.5
0.3
0.7
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 8/21
Continuing Example 2
If we want to decrease the vertical extent of the box on the previous slide, in
order to keep the graph of the function f inside the box, we must decrease
the horizontal extent of the box as well.
If we wish to keep the value of f (x) within 0.03 of the limit value, i.e.,
0.53 f (x) 0.47, i.e., make the vertical extent of the box smaller,
how much do we have to decrease its horizontal extent?
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 9/21
Does a Limit Always Exist?
An important feature of the denition of the limit of a function is that we
must be able to make the value of f (x) arbitrarily close to L by making x
sufciently close to a, on either side of a. In some cases we get a different
value if we make x close to a on different sides of a. In this case the limit
does not exist.
This leads to the idea of one-sided limits. We will introduce a function in
which one-sided limits play a role in Example 3 and then give the denition
of one-sided limits.
There are other cases in which a limit does not exist. We will investigate
some of them later.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 10/21
Example 3 A Step Function
Consider the function
g(x) =
|x|
x
1
1
x
y
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 11/21
The Absolute Value Function
The absolute value function is
another piecewise function. Its
formula is
|x| =

x if x < 0
0 if x = 0
x if x > 0
Its graph looks like this:
x
y
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 12/21
Continuing Example 3
For the function g dened at the beginning of Example 3, what can we say
about the limit
lim
x0
g(x)?
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Denition of One-Side Limits
Based on the behavior of the function in Example 3 we see that a function
can get close to different values as a we approach a specic x value from
the two possible directions. This leads to
Denition: Limits from the Right and from the Left
We say that
lim
xa
+
f (x) = R
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily close to R by making x sufciently close to a
with x > a, that is for x to right of a. This is the limit of f at a from the
right, or from above.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 14/21
Checking for the Existence of a Limit
We can check to see if a limit exists by checking the one-sided limits. The
limit
lim
xa
f (x)
exists and is equal to L if and only if both
lim
xa

f (x) and lim

xa
+
f (x)
exist, and
lim
xa

f (x) = L and lim

xa
+
f (x) = L
Otherwise, the regular, two-sided, limit does not exist.
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Example 4 Calculating Limits
Consider the function
h(x) =

2x + 8 if x < 1
2x + 4 if 1 x < 1
x
2
2x + 2 if x 1
Graph each branch separately:
2 2
2
4
6
x
y
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 16/21
Continuing Example 4
Calculate each limit, if it exists. If the limit does not exist, explain why.
(a) lim
x1

h(x) (b) lim

x1
+
h(x)
(c) lim
x1
h(x) (d) lim
x1

h(x)
(e) lim
x1
+
h(x) (f) lim
x1
h(x)
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 17/21
Innite Limits
Consider the function
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
from Example 1. This function takes arbitrarily large, positive and negative,
values near x = 1. So the function is undened there. We can use limits to
say this more precisely.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 18/21
Denition of Innite Limits
Denition: Innite Limits
We say that
lim
xa
f (x) =
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily large and positive by making x sufciently
close to a, on either side of a.
Similar denitions apply for one-sided innite limits.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 19/21
Denition of One-Sided Innite Limits
Denition: One-Sided Innite Limits
We say that
lim
xa
+
f (x) =
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily large and positive by making x sufciently
close to a with x > a.
We say that
lim
xa

f (x) =
if f (x) can be made arbitrarily large and positive by making x sufciently
close to a with x < a.
Clint Lee Math 112 Lecture 1: Introduction to Limits 20/21
Example 5 Evaluating Innite Limits
For the function
f (x) =
x + 1
x
2
1
from Example 1 give the value as + or for each limit, or explain why
the innite limit does not exist.
(a) lim
x1

f (x)
(b) lim
x1
+
f (x)
(c) lim
x1
f (x)
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