1.3 One Sided Limits0001

1.
3 One-Sided Limits
(MAT060 - Calculus with Analytic Geometry 1)
NESTOR G. ACALA, PhD
Mathematics Department
Mindanao State University Main Campus
Marawi City
[email protected]
One-Sided Limits
To say that a function f has a limit L as x approaches a means that f must be

defined on both sides of a, and its values f (x ) must approach L as x approaches a
from either side. For this reason, ordinary limits are also called two-sided limits.
In this section we extend the concept of limit to one-sided limits, which are limits
as x approaches a from the left-hand side or the right-hand side only.
Right-Hand Limit
Let f (x ) be defined on an open interval (a, b) where a < b. If f (x )
approaches arbitrarily close to L as x approaches a from within the interval
(a, b), then we say that f has right-hand limit L at a, and we write
lim f (x ) = L.
x →a +
Note: The notation lim+ is read, "x approaches a from the right" which means
x →a
that x approaches a through numbers that are greater than a.
Left-Hand Limit
Let f (x ) be defined on an open interval (c , a) where c < a. If f (x )
approaches arbitrarily close to M as x approaches a from within the interval
(c , a), then we say that f has left-hand limit M at a, and we write
lim f (x ) = M .
x →a −
Note: The notation lim is read, "x approaches a from the left" which means
x →a −
that x approaches a through numbers that are less than a.
Remark. The limit theorems discussed in Section 1.2 still hold if ”x → a” is
replaced with ”x → a+ ” or ”x → a− ”.
Example 1. √
Let f (x ) = 4 − x 2 . The domain of f is [−2, 2] and its graph is the
semicircle shown in the next figure. We have
p p p p
lim + 4 − x 2 = 4 − 02 = 0 and lim 4 − x 2 = 4 − 02 = 0.
x → −2 x → 2−
Note that the function does not have a left-hand limit at x = −2 or a

right-hand limit at x = 2.
y
2
√
y= 4 − x2
• • x
-2 0 2
√
Figure: y = 4 − x2
Theorem 1.7 (One-sided vs. Two-sided Limits)
lim f (x ) exists and is equal to L if and only if
x →a
lim f (x ) = L and lim f (x ) = L.

x →a − x →a +
In other words, a function f (x ) has a limit L as x approaches a if and only if the

left-hand and right-hand limits both exist and these one-sided limits are both
equal to L.
√
Example 2. Evaluate lim 1 − x, if it exists.
x → 1−
√
Solution:√When x < 1, 1 − x is a real number, hence we can find the left-hand
limit of 1 − x at x = 1.
Now, √ √ √
lim 1 − x = 1 − 1 = 0 = 0.
x → 1−
√
x +1−1
Example 3. Evaluate lim , if it exists.
x → − 1+ x
Solution: For x > −1,

√ √ √
x +1−1 −1 + 1 − 1 0−1
lim = = = 1.
x → − 1+ x −1 −1
x −4
Example 4. Evaluate lim+ √ , if it exists.
x→ 4 x −4
Solution: For x > 4, direct substitution yields 00 . Rationalizing the denominator

gives √ √
x −4 x −4 (x − 4) x − 4 √
√ ·√ = = x − 4.
x −4 x −4 x −4
Therefore,
x −4 √ √
lim+ √ = lim+ x − 4 = 4 − 4 = 0.
x→ 4 x − 4 x→ 4
Recall: For any real number x, the absolute value of x is defined as,

x , if x ≥ 0
|x | =
−x , if x < 0
|x |
Example 5. Does lim exist?
x→ 0 x
Solution: Direct substitution yields 00 . Note that we cannot factor nor rationalize
the given expression. But since the expression involves absolute value, we apply
one-sided limits. Computing the right-hand limit, we have
|x | x
lim + = lim + = lim+ 1 = 1.
x→ 0 x x→ 0 x x →0
For the left-hand side limit, we have
|x | −x
lim = lim+ = lim+ (−1) = −1.
x →0− x x →0 x x →0
Since
|x | |x |
lim+ 6= lim− ,
x →0 x x →0 x
|x |
we conclude that lim does not exist.
x →0 x
Example 6. Define function h(x ) as follows:

3x , if x ≤ 2
h(x ) = 2
10 − x , if x > 2
Does lim h(x ) exist?

x→ 2
Solution: Since the domain of the function is cut at x = 2, we evaluate the limit
using one-sided limit. Thus, we have
lim h(x ) = lim + (10 − x 2 ) = 10 − 22 = 10 − 4 = 6,

x → 2+ x→ 2
and
lim h(x ) = lim 3x = 3(2) = 6.

x → 2− x → 2−
Since lim + h(x ) = 6 = lim h(x ),

x→ 2 x → 2−
lim h(x ) = 6.
x→ 2
Example 7. Define function r (t ) as follows:
2t − 1, if t ≤ −1
(
r (t ) = 1−t
, if t > −1
2
Does lim r (t ) exist?
t → −1
Solution: We check the existence of the limit using one-sided limits. Note that

1−t 1 − (−1) 2
lim + r (t ) = lim + = = =1
t → −1 t→ − 2 2 2
and
lim r (t ) = lim 2t − 1 = 2(−1) − 1 = −3.

t → −1− t → −1−
Since
lim r (t ) 6= lim r (t ),
t → − 1+ x → − 1−
We have, lim r (t ) does not exist. .

t → −1
Exercise. Evaluate the limit, if it exists.
6 − 2x
1. lim 2
x →3− x − 2x − 3
√
x
2. lim+
x →0 x
1 − 2x , x ≤ −2
3. lim F (x ), where F (x ) = ,
x →−2 3 − x , x > −2
x −2
4. lim
x → 2 |2 − x |

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1.

NESTOR G. ACALA, PhD

To say that a function f has a limit L as x approaches a means that f must be

Note that the function does not have a left-hand limit at x = −2 or a

lim f (x ) = L and lim f (x ) = L.

In other words, a function f (x ) has a limit L as x approaches a if and only if the

Solution: For x > −1,

Solution: For x > 4, direct substitution yields 00 . Rationalizing the denominator

Does lim h(x ) exist?

lim h(x ) = lim + (10 − x 2 ) = 10 − 22 = 10 − 4 = 6,

lim h(x ) = lim 3x = 3(2) = 6.

Since lim + h(x ) = 6 = lim h(x ),

lim r (t ) = lim 2t − 1 = 2(−1) − 1 = −3.

We have, lim r (t ) does not exist. .

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