Calculus I 345

Section 4-10 : L’Hospital`s Rule and Indeterminate Forms

Back in the chapter on Limits we saw methods for dealing with the following limits.
x 2 − 16 4 x2 − 5x
lim lim
x→4 x−4 x →∞ 1 − 3 x 2

In the first limit if we plugged in x = 4 we would get 0/0 and in the second limit if we “plugged” in
infinity we would get ∞ −∞ (recall that as x goes to infinity a polynomial will behave in the same
fashion that its largest power behaves). Both of these are called indeterminate forms. In both of these
cases there are competing interests or rules and it’s not clear which will win out.

In the case of 0/0 we typically think of a fraction that has a numerator of zero as being zero. However,
we also tend to think of fractions in which the denominator is going to zero, in the limit, as infinity or
might not exist at all. Likewise, we tend to think of a fraction in which the numerator and denominator
are the same as one. So, which will win out? Or will neither win out and they all “cancel out” and the
limit will reach some other value?

In the case of ∞ −∞ we have a similar set of problems. If the numerator of a fraction is going to infinity
we tend to think of the whole fraction going to infinity. Also, if the denominator is going to infinity, in
the limit, we tend to think of the fraction as going to zero. We also have the case of a fraction in which
the numerator and denominator are the same (ignoring the minus sign) and so we might get -1. Again,
it’s not clear which of these will win out, if any of them will win out.

With the second limit there is the further problem that infinity isn’t really a number and so we really
shouldn’t even treat it like a number. Much of the time it simply won’t behave as we would expect it to
if it was a number. To look a little more into this, check out the Types of Infinity section in the Extras
chapter at the end of this document.

This is the problem with indeterminate forms. It’s just not clear what is happening in the limit. There
are other types of indeterminate forms as well. Some other types are,

( 0 )( ± ∞ ) 1∞ 00 ∞0 ∞−∞

These all have competing interests or rules that tell us what should happen and it’s just not clear which,
if any, of the interests or rules will win out. The topic of this section is how to deal with these kinds of
limits.

As already pointed out we do know how to deal with some kinds of indeterminate forms already. For
the two limits above we work them as follows.
x 2 − 16
lim = lim ( x + 4=
) 8
x→4 x−4 x→4

© 2018 Paul Dawkins http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu

 Calculus I 346

5
2 4−
4 x − 5x x = −4
lim = lim
x →∞ 1 − 3 x 2 x →∞ 1 3
2
−3
x

In the first case we simply factored, canceled and took the limit and in the second case we factored out
an x 2 from both the numerator and the denominator and took the limit. Notice as well that none of the
competing interests or rules in these cases won out! That is often the case.

So, we can deal with some of these. However, what about the following two limits.
sin x ex
lim lim
x →0 x x →∞ x 2

This first is a 0/0 indeterminate form, but we can’t factor this one. The second is an ∞ ∞
indeterminate form, but we can’t just factor an x 2 out of the numerator. So, nothing that we’ve got in
our bag of tricks will work with these two limits.

This is where the subject of this section comes into play.

L’Hospital’s Rule
Suppose that we have one of the following cases,
f ( x) 0 f ( x) ± ∞
=lim =OR lim
x→a g ( x ) 0 x→a g ( x ) ±∞
where a can be any real number, infinity or negative infinity. In these cases we have,
f ( x) f ′( x)
lim = lim
x→a g ( x ) x→a g ′ ( x )

So, L’Hospital’s Rule tells us that if we have an indeterminate form 0/0 or ∞ ∞ all we need to do is
differentiate the numerator and differentiate the denominator and then take the limit.

Before proceeding with examples let me address the spelling of “L’Hospital”. The more modern spelling
is “L’Hôpital”. However, when I first learned Calculus my teacher used the spelling that I use in these
notes and the first text book that I taught Calculus out of also used the spelling that I use here.

Also, as noted on the Wikipedia page for L’Hospital's Rule,

“In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name was commonly spelled "l'Hospital", and he
himself spelled his name that way. However, French spellings have been altered: the silent
's' has been removed and replaced with the circumflex over the preceding vowel. The
former spelling is still used in English where there is no circumflex.”

© 2018 Paul Dawkins http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu

Calculus I 347

So, the spelling that I’ve used here is an acceptable spelling of his name, albeit not the modern spelling,
and because I’m used to spelling it as “L’Hospital” that is the spelling that I’m going to use in these
notes.

Let’s work some examples.

Example 1 Evaluate each of the following limits.

sin x
(a) lim
x →0 x
5t 4 − 4t 2 − 1
(b) lim
t →1 10 − t − 9t 3

ex
(c) lim 2
x →∞ x

Solution
sin x
(a) lim
x →0 x
So, we have already established that this is a 0/0 indeterminate form so let’s just apply L’Hospital’s
Rule.
sin x cos x 1
lim = lim = = 1
x →0 x x →0 1 1

5t 4 − 4t 2 − 1
(b) lim
t →1 10 − t − 9t 3
In this case we also have a 0/0 indeterminate form and if we were really good at factoring we could
factor the numerator and denominator, simplify and take the limit. However, that’s going to be more
work than just using L’Hospital’s Rule.

5t 4 − 4t 2 − 1 20t 3 − 8t 20 − 8 3
lim = lim = = −
t →1 10 − t − 9t 3 t →1 −1 − 27t 2 −1 − 27 7

ex
(c) lim
x →∞ x 2

This was the other limit that we started off looking at and we know that it’s the indeterminate form
∞ ∞ so let’s apply L’Hospital’s Rule.
ex ex
=lim
lim
x →∞ x 2 x →∞ 2 x

Now we have a small problem. This new limit is also a ∞ ∞ indeterminate form. However, it’s not
really a problem. We know how to deal with these kinds of limits. Just apply L’Hospital’s Rule.
ex ex ex
lim = lim = lim = ∞
x →∞ x 2 x →∞ 2 x x →∞ 2

Sometimes we will need to apply L’Hospital’s Rule more than once.

© 2018 Paul Dawkins http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu