1.

Limits
Intuitive Approach
The most basic use of limits is to describe how a function
behaves as the independent variable approaches a given value.

Dependent variable

y = f ( x)

Independent variable
Example 1
Let us examine the behaviour of the function
f ( x) = x 2 − x + 1
for x- values closer and closer to 2. Let us consider this from
two different perspectives; from its graph and its table of
values.

i. graph y
y =x2-x + 1
f(x)

f(x)

x
x 2 x

From left from right

From this graph we see that as the values of x move closer and
closer to 2 (from either the right side of 2 or the left side of 2),
the values of f(x) move closer to 3.
Note:
In the case of limits, we are not interested in the EXACT
value of the function at that particular given value of x.
 Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

ii. table of values

x 1.0 1.5 1.9 1.95 1.99 1.995 1.999 2 2.001 2.005 2.01 2.05 2.1 2.5 3
f(x) 1.0 1.75 2.71 2.8525 2.9701 2.985025 2.997001 3.003001 3.015025 3.0301 3.1525 3.31 4.75 7

From left-hand-side From right-hand-side

Again, we see that as the values of x move closer to 2, the

values of f(x) move closer to 3.

General idea
If the values of f(x) can be made as close as we like to L by
taking the values of x sufficiently close to a (but not equal to a),
then we write
lim f ( x) = L
x→a
which is read as
“ the limit of f(x) as x approaches a is L” or
“f(x) approaches L as x approaches a”

Example 2
sin x
Use numerical evidence to show that lim =1
x →0 x

x (radians) sin x x (radians)

y= y=
sin x
x x
-1 0.84147 1 0.84147
-0.9 0.87036 0.9 0.87036
-0.8 0.89670 0.8 0.89670
-0.7 0.92031 0.7 0.92031
-0.6 0.94107 0.6 0.94107
-0.5 0.95885 0.5 0.95885
-0.4 0.97355 0.4 0.97355
-0.3 0.98507 0.3 0.98507
-0.2 0.99335 0.2 0.99335
-0.1 0.99833 0.1 0.99833
-0.01 0.99998 0.01 0.99998
0 0
0 1 0 1
From the LHS From the RHS

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One-sided limits
sin x
lim = 1 is called a two-sided limit because it requires
x →0 x
the values of f(x) to get closer and closer to L as values of x are
taken from either side of x = a.
However, some functions exhibit different behaviours on
the two sides of an x – value a, in which case it is necessary to
distinguish whether values of x near a are on the LHS or on the
RHS of a for purposes of investigating limiting behaviour.

Example 3
Consider the function
x ⎧ 1, x > 0
f ( x) = =⎨
x ⎩−1, x < 0
the graph of which is below.

-1

As x approaches 0 from the right, the values of f(x) approach a

limit of 1, and similarly, as the values of x approaches 0 from
the left, the values of f(x) approach a limit of –1. We denote
these limits by writing
x x
lim+ = 1 and lim− = −1
x →0 x x →0 x

Note:
• The superscript “+” indicates a limit from the right
• The superscript “-” indicates a limit from the left
Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

General idea
If the values of f(x) can be made as close as we like to L by
taking the values of x sufficiently close to a (but greater than a),
then we write
lim+ f ( x) = L (1.1)
x→a
and if the values of f(x) can be made as close as we like to L by
taking the values of x sufficiently close to a (but less than a),
then we write
lim− f ( x) = L (1.2)
x→a
Expression (1.1) is read as
“the limit of f(x) as x approaches a from the right is L” or
“f(x) approaches L as x approaches a from the right”.
Similarly, expression (1.2) is read as
“the limit of f(x) as x approaches a from the left is L” or
“f(x) approaches L as x approaches a from the left”.

Existence of a limit
The two-sided limit of a function f(x) EXIST at a if and only
if both of the one-sided limits exist at a and have the same
value; that is

lim f ( x) = L if and only if lim− f ( x) = L = lim+ f ( x)

x→a x→a x→a

Example 4
Explain why
x
lim
x →0 x
does not exist.

Solution
As x approaches 0, the values of f(x) approach –1 from the
left and approach 1 from the right. Thus the one-sided limits
are not the same.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Example 5
For the functions that follow, find the two-sided limits if
they exist.
y
a.
3 lim f ( x) = ?
y = f(x) x→a+
2
lim f ( x) = ?
x→a−
1
x
lim f ( x) =
x→a
a

Does the limit exist? Why?

y
b.
3 lim f ( x) = ?
x→a+
lim f ( x) = ?
2
y = f(x)
x→a−
1
x lim f ( x) =
a x→a

Does the limit exist? Why?

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Infinite limits
Infinite limits are another class of nonexistent limits. It
happens whenever the values of f(x) increase or decrease
WITHOUT bound as the values of x approach a given value.

Example 6
1
Find lim .
x→0 x

Solution
y y
a. b.

y = 1/x 1/x y = 1/x

x x x
0 0
x

1/x

In case (a) as x approaches 0 from the left, the values of f(x)

decrease without bound. We denote this situation as
1
lim− = −∞
x →0 x

In case (b) as x approaches 0 from the right, the values of f(x)

increase without bound. We denote this situation as
1
lim+ = ∞
x →0 x

In both cases, the limit does not exist.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Computing limits
These are algebraic techniques for computing limits based
on theorems.

Basic properties of limits

Theorem 1. Let a and k be real numbers.
(a) lim k = k
x→a
(b) lim x = a
x→a

Example 7 If f ( x) = k is a constant function, then the values of

f ( x) remain fixed at k as x varies, which explains
why f ( x) → k as x → a fro all values of a.

i) lim 3 = 3 (ii) lim3 = 3 (iii) lim3 = 3

x→−25 x→0 x→π

Example 8 If x = a, then as x → a it must be also true that

f ( x) → a .

i) lim x = 0 (ii) lim x = −2 (iii) lim x = π

x→0 x→−2 x→π

y
y=x
f(x) = x

f(x) = x
x
x a x

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Properties of limits
Theorem 2 Let a be a real number and suppose that
lim f ( x) = L1 and lim g ( x) = L2
x→a x→a
then:
(a) lim [ kf ( x) ] = k lim f ( x ) , k is a constant
x→a x →a
(b) lim [ f ( x) ± g ( x) ] = lim f ( x ) ± lim g ( x ) = L1 ± L2
x →a x→a x→a

x →a
(
(c) lim [ f ( x) g ( x) ] = lim f ( x)
x→a
) ( lim g ( x) ) = L L
x→a
1 2

f ( x) lim f ( x) L
(d) lim = x→a
= 1 , provided L2 ≠ 0
x→a g ( x) lim g ( x) L2
x→a

(e) lim n f ( x) = n lim f ( x ) = n L1 , provided L1 ≥ 0 if n is

x→a x→a
even.

These statements are also true for the one-sided limits.

Example 9
i) lim [ f ( x) − g ( x) + 2h( x ) ] = lim f ( x) − lim g ( x )+ 2lim h( x )
x→a x→a x→a x→a

x→a
⎛
⎝ x→a
x→a
⎞
⎠
( )
ii) lim [ f ( x) g ( x ) h( x ) ] = ⎜ lim f ( x ) ⎟ lim g ( x ) ⎜ lim h( x) ⎟
⎛
⎝ x→a
⎞
⎠
( )
3
iii) lim [ f ( x ) ] = lim f ( x)
3

x→a x→a

iv) lim [ f ( x ) ] = ( lim f ( x) )

n
n

x→a x→a

v) lim x = ( lim x ) = a
3
3 3
x→a x→a

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Limits of polynomials and rational functions

Theorem 3 For any polynomial

p( x) = c0 + c1 x + cn x n
and any real number a,
lim p( x) = c0 + c1a + cn a n = p (a)
x→a

Find lim ( x 7 − 2 x 5 + 1) .
35
Example 10
x→1

Solution
From the theorem, we know

(
lim ( x − 2 x + 1) = lim ( x − 2 x + 1) )
35 35
7 5 7 5
x→1 x→1

lim ( x 7 − 2 x 5 + 1) is a polynomial limit hence

x→1

lim ( x 7 − 2 x 5 + 1) = 17 − 2(1)5 + 1 = 0 , therefore

x→1

lim ( x 7 − 2 x 5 + 1) = 035 = 0
35

x→1

5 x3 + 4
Example 11 Find lim .
x →2 x − 3

Solution

From the theorems, we have

5x + 4
3 lim ( 5 x 3
+ 4 ) 5(2)3 + 4
lim = x→2
= = −44
x→1 x − 3 lim ( x − 3) 2−3
x→2

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Special cases of when the limit of the denominator is zero

Whenever the denominator is zero the theorem for finding

the limits of rational functions is NOT applicable.

Two cases to be considered:

Case 1 – the limit of the numerator is not zero
Case 2 – the limit of the numerator is ALSO zero

Case 1
The limit of the rational expression does not exist, i.e. if
f ( x)
lim f ( x) ≠ 0 while lim g ( x) = 0, then lim =∞
x→a x→a x→a g ( x)

Note: ∞ is not a number; it is just a notation to signify the non-

existence of limit.

1
Example 12 Find lim .
( x − 3)
x→3 2

1
lim = +∞ because the limit increases
( x − 3)
x→3 2

y = 1/(x-3)2
without bound.

x
3

2− x
Example 13 Find lim .
x→4 ( x − 4 )( x + 2 )

We want to analyse the limit as the values of x approach 4 from

both side.
2− x 2− x
lim+ = −∞ and lim− =∞
x→4 ( x − 4 )( x + 2 ) x→4 ( x − 4 )( x + 2 )

The limit does not exist.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Case 2
In the case where both lim f ( x ) and lim g ( x) equal zero,
x→a x→a
the numerator and denominator must have one or more
f ( x)
common factors of (x – a). In this case lim can be found
x→a g ( x)
by first cancelling all common factors of (x – a) and applying the
theorem on the resulting expression to find the limit.

x2 − 4
Example 14 Find lim .
x →2 ( x − 2 )

Solution
Since 2 is a zero of both the numerator and the
denominator, they share a common factor of x – 2. The limit
can be obtained as follows:

x2 − 4 ( x − 2 )( x + 2 ) = lim x + 2 = 4 .
lim
x →2 ( x − 2 )
= lim ( )
x→2 ( x − 2) x→2

x 2 − 3x − 10
Example 15 Find lim 2 .
x→5 x − 10 x + 25

Solution
The numerator and the denominator both have a zero at
x = 5, so there is a common factor of x – 5. Then
lim 2
x 2 − 3x − 10
= lim
( x − 5)( x + 2 ) = lim ( x + 2 )
x→5 x − 10 x + 25 x→5 ( x + 5 )( x − 5 ) x→5 ( x − 5 )

This is the limit of Case 1, hence the limit does not exist.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Limits at Infinity
The behaviour of a function as x increases/decreases
without bound. It is sometimes called the end behaviour of a
function. All the properties of limits that apply for real
numbers also apply for limits at infinity.

1 y
Example 16 Find lim .
( x − 3)
x→−∞ 2

Solution From the graph, as the values of x

approach - ∞, we see that the values of f ( x)
approach zero. Therefore, y = 1/(x-3)2
1
lim =0
( − )
x→−∞ 2
x 3 x
0 3

Observation: The end behaviour of a polynomial matches the

end behaviour of its highest degree term.

Example 17 Find lim ( 7 x 5 − 4 x 3 − 10 x + 25 )

x→∞
Solution
lim ( 7 x 5 − 4 x 3 − 10 x + 25 ) = lim 7 x 5 = ∞
x→∞ x→∞

Observation: The end behaviour of a rational function

matches the end behaviour of the highest degree term in the
numerator divided by the highest degree term in the
denominator.
x−5
Example 18 Find lim 2 .
x→∞ x − 10 x + 25

Solution
x−5 x 1
lim 2 = lim 2 = lim = 0
x→∞ x − 10 x + 25 x→∞ x x→∞ x

Note: a real number divided by ∞ is defined to be equal to zero.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

3x + 5
Example 19 Find lim .
x→∞ 6 x − 8

Solution
3x + 5 3x 1 1
lim = lim = lim =
x→∞ 6 x − 8 x→∞ 6 x x→∞ 2 2

5 x3 − 2 x 2 + 1
Example 20 Find lim .
x→∞ 1 − 3x
Solution
5 x3 − 2 x 2 + 1 5 x3 5
lim = lim = lim − x 2 = −∞
x→∞ 1 − 3x x→∞ ( −3 x ) x→∞ 3

Limits involving radicals

3x + 5
Example 21 Find lim 3
x→∞ 6x − 8
Solution
3x + 5 3 3x + 5 3 1
lim 3 = lim =
x→∞ 6x − 8 x →∞ 6x − 8 2

Observation: Rule of thumb: the limit of an nth root is the nth

root of the limit.

Trigonometric functions
Consider the function f ( x) = sin x . The limit as x → ±∞ fail
to exist because the values of the function as x increases or
decreases without bound vary between –1 and 1 without
approaching some specific real number. We write

lim sin x does not exist

x→±∞
(we have no specific notation for this)

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

2. Continuity
Intuitively, the graph of a function can be described as a
“continuous curve” if it has no breaks or holes.
The graph of a function has a break or hole if any of the
following occurs:
• the function f is undefined at c
• the limit of f(x) does not exist as x approaches c
• the value of the function and the value of the limit at c are
different
Graphically these conditions are presented as:
y y

y = f(x) y = f(x)

x x
c c
y

y = f(x)

x
c

Definition. A function f is said to be continuous at x=c

provided the following conditions are satisfied:
1. f (c) is defined.
2. lim f ( x ) exists.
x →c
3. lim f ( x) = f (c) .
x →c
Rule: If one or more of the conditions fails to hold, we will say
that f is discontinuous at x = c.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Example 22 Determine whether the following functions are

continuous at x = 2.
x2 − 4
i) f ( x) =
x−2

⎧ x2 − 4
⎪ ,x≠2
(ii) g ( x) = ⎨ x − 2
⎪3, x=2
⎩

⎧ x2 − 4
⎪ ,x≠2
(iii) h( x) = ⎨ x − 2
⎪4, x=2
⎩

Solution
In each case we must check the conditions listed in the
definition. Once we found a condition that is not satisfied, we
can right away conclude that the function is discontinuous at
x = 2 without checking the rest of the conditions.

x2 − 4
(i) For f ( x) = , we see that f(2) is undefined.
x−2
Therefore, f(x) is discontinuous at x = 2.
⎧ x2 − 4
⎪ ,x≠2
(ii) For g ( x) = ⎨ x − 2
⎪3, x=2
⎩
1. g(2) = 3 √
2. lim g ( x) = 4 √
x→2
3. (1.) ≠ (2.) ×
Therefore g(x) is discontinuous at x = 2.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

⎧ x2 − 4
⎪ ,x≠2
(iii) For h( x) = ⎨ x − 2
⎪4, x=2
⎩
1. h(2) = 4 √
2. lim h( x) = 4 √
x→2
3. (1.) = (2.) √
Therefore h(x) is continuous at x = 2.

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

Continuity on an interval

Definition. A function f is said to be continuous on a closed

interval [a, b] if the following conditions hold:
1. f is continuous on (a,b).

2. f is continuous from the right at a, i.e.

lim f ( x) = f ( a )
x→a+

3. f is continuous from the left at b, i.e.

lim f ( x) = f (b)
x →b −

Example 23 Determine the continuity of the function

f ( x) = 9 − x 2 .
Solution
The domain of definition for this function is [-3, 3]. We
will need to investigate the continuity of f on the open interval
(-3, 3) and at the two endpoints x = -3 and x = 3.
i. If c ∈ (−3,3) , then
lim f ( x) = lim 9 − x 2 = lim ( 9 − x 2 ) = 9 − c 2 = f (c)
x →c x →c x →c
f ( x) is continuous on (-3, 3).
ii. at the left endpoint x = -3,
lim+ f ( x) = lim+ 9 − x 2 = lim+ ( 9 − x 2 ) = 0 = f (−3)
x →−3 x →−3 x →−3
f ( x) is continuous at x = -3.
iii. at the right endpoint x = 3,
lim− f ( x) = lim− 9 − x 2 = lim− ( 9 − x 2 ) = 0 = f (3)
x →3 x →3 x →3
f ( x) is continuous at x = 3.
Conclusion: f ( x) is continuous on the closed interval [ -3, 3].

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

3. Definition of a derivative

Definition. Let y = f ( x) be a function. The derivative of a

function f with respect to x, denoted by f ′( x) , is defined by:
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x)
f ′( x) = lim
δ x →0 δx
We can find derivatives of functions using this definitions and
the procedure is called the first principle.

The four steps to the first principle:

1. Given y = f ( x) , express f ( x + δ x)
2. Obtain an expression for f ( x + δ x) − f ( x)
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x)
3. Simplify the expression of
δx
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x)
4. Find the limit: lim which equals f ′( x) .
δ x →0 δx
Example 24 By using the first principle, find the derivatives
of the following functions.
2
i) f ( x ) = x (ii) f ( x) = (iii) f ( x ) =
2
x
x
Solution
(i) Given f ( x ) = x , following the steps, we have
2

1. f ( x + δ x) = ( x + δ x) = x + 2 xδ x + δ x
2 2 2

(
2. f ( x + δ x ) − f ( x) = x + 2 xδ x + δ x
2 2
)− x 2

= δ x (2x + δ x)
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x) δ x ( 2 x + δ x )
3. = = ( 2x + δ x)
δx δx
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x)
4. lim = lim ( 2 x + δ x ) = 2 x
δ x →0 δx δ x →0

⇒ f ′( x) = 2 x

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Materials for Week 1(3 hours)

(ii) Given f ( x) = x , we have

1. f ( x + δ x) = x + δ x
2. f ( x + δ x) − f ( x ) = x + δ x − x
( x +δ x + x )
= ( x +δ x − x )i
( x +δ x + x)
x +δ x − x δx
= =
x +δ x + x x +δ x + x
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x) 1 δx
3. = i
δx δ x x +δ x + x
1
=
x +δ x + x
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x) 1 1
4. lim = lim =
δ x →0 δx δ x →0 x +δ x + x 2 x
1
⇒ f ′( x) =
2 x

2
(iii) Given f ( x ) = , we have
x
2
1. f ( x + δ x ) =
x +δ x
2 2 −2 (δ x )
2. f ( x + δ x) − f ( x ) = − =
x + δ x x x( x + δ x)
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x) −2 (δ x ) ⎛ 1 ⎞ −2
3. = i⎜ ⎟ =
δx x( x + δ x) ⎝ δ x ⎠ x( x + δ x)
f ( x + δ x) − f ( x) −2 −2
4. lim = lim = 2
δ x →0 δx δ x →0 x ( x + δ x ) x
−2
⇒ f ′( x) = 2
x

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