SOLUTIONS TO LIMITS OF FUNCTIONS AS X APPROACHES A CONSTANT

SOLUTION 1 :

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SOLUTION 2 :

(Circumvent the indeterminate form by factoring both the numerator and denominator.)

(Divide out the factors x - 2 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 3 :

(Circumvent the indeterminate form by factoring both the numerator and denominator.)

(Divide out the factors x - 3 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 4 :

(Algebraically simplify the fractions in the numerator using a common denominator.)

(Division by

is the same as multiplication by

.)

(Factor the denominator . Recall that

.)

(Divide out the factors x + 2 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 5 :

(Eliminate the square root term by multiplying by the conjugate of the numerator over itself. Recall that .)

(Divide out the factors x - 4 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 6 :

(It may appear that multiplying by the conjugate of the numerator over itself is a reasonable next step. It's a good idea, but doesn't work. Instead, write x - 27 as the difference of cubes and recall that .)

(Divide out the factors form

, the factors which are causing the indeterminate

. Now the limit can be computed. )

= 27 .

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SOLUTION 7 :

(Multiplying by conjugates won't work for this challenging problem. Instead, recall that and note that and the next few mysterious steps.) , and . This should help explain

(Divide out the factors x - 1 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 8 :

(If you wrote that by 5.)

, you are incorrect. Instead, multiply and divide

(Use the well-known fact that

.)

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SOLUTION 9 :

(Recall the trigonometry identity

.)

(The numerator is the difference of squares. Factor it.)

(Divide out the factors form

, the factors which are causing the indeterminate

. Now the limit can be computed. )

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SOLUTION 10 :

(Factor x from the numerator and denominator, then divide these factors out.)

(The numerator approaches -7 and the denominator is a positve quantity approaching 0 .)

(This is NOT an indeterminate form. The answer follows.) . (Thus, the limit does not exist.) Click HERE to return to the list of problems.

SOLUTION 11 :

(The numerator approaches -3 and the denominator is a negative quantity which approaches 0 as x approaches 0 .)

(This is NOT an indeterminate form. The answer follows.) . (Thus, the limit does not exist.) Click HERE to return to the list of problems.

SOLUTION 12 :

(Recall that

.)

(Divide out the factors x - 1 , the factors which are causing the indeterminate form . Now the limit can be computed. )

. (The numerator approaches 3 and the denominator approaches 0 as x approaches 1 . However, the quantity in the denominator is sometimes negative and sometimes positive. Thus, the correct answer is NEITHER NOR . The correct answer follows.)

The limit does not exist. Click HERE to return to the list of problems.

SOLUTION 13 :

(Make the replacement , h approaches 0 . )

so that

. Note that as x approaches

(Recall the well-known, but seldom-used, trigonometry identity .)

(Recall the well-known trigonometry identity

.)

(Recall that

.)

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The next problem requires an understanding of one-sided limits.

SOLUTION 14 : Consider the function i.) The graph of f is given below.

ii.) Determine the following limits.

a.) b.) c.) We have that equal . d.) e.) f.) We have that

. . does not exist since . . since . does not

g.) We have that (The numerator is always -1 and the denominator is always a positive number approaching 0.) , so the limit does not exist. h.) . i.) We have that does not exist since does not equal .

j.) k.) l.)

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SOLUTION 15 : Consider the function Determine the values of constants a and b so that exists. Begin by computing one-sided limits at x=2 and setting each equal to 3. Thus,

and . Now solve the system of equations a+2b = 3 and b-4a = 3 . Thus, a = 3-2b so that b-4(3-2b) = 3 iff b-12+ 8b = 3 iff 9b = 15

iff Then

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About this document ...

Duane Kouba Tue Aug 27 13:48:42 PDT 1996