Limits, Continuity and Differentiability -

GATE Study Material in PDF

When dealing with Engineering Mathematics, we are constantly exposed to Limits,

Continuity and Differentiability. These concepts in calculus, first proposed separately by
Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, have permeated every walk of life from space
sciences to sewage management. But for a student of Engineering, these concepts form
the bedrock of all their curriculum. They are especially important for GATE EC, GATE
EE, GATE CS, GATE CE and GATE ME. They also appear in other exams like BSNL, BARC,
IES, DRDO etc.

You may download these free GATE Notes in PDF so that your GATE preparation is
made easy and you ace your paper. You may also want to read the following articles on
Engineering Mathematics.

Recommended Reading List -

Types of Matrices

Properties of Matrices

Rank of a Matrix & Its Properties

Solution of a System of Linear Equations

Eigen Values & Eigen Vectors

Linear Algebra Revision Test 1

Laplace Transforms

Limits
Suppose f(x) is defined when x is near the number a. (this means that f is defined on
some open interval that contains a, except possibly at a itself.)

Then we can write lim f(x) = L

xa

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And we can say, the limit of f(x), as x approaches a, equals L"

An alternative notation for lim f(x) = L is f(x) L as x a

xa

Example 1:
x1
Find the value lim x2 1
x1

Solution:
x1
Here f(x) = x2 1 is not defined at x = 1 but that does not matter because the

definition of lim f(x) says that we consider values of x that are close to a but not
xa

equal to a.

So, from the above two tables we can say that

x1 x1
lim x2 1 = lim (x1)(x+1)
x1 x1

1
lim x+1 = 0.5
x1

Example 2:
sin x
Find the value of lim =?
x0 x

Solution:
The expansion of sin x according to Taylor series is
x3 x5
sin x = x 3! + 5! +

sin x x2 x4
f(x) = = 1 3! + 5! +
x

lim f(x) = 1
x0

Note:
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1. lim f(x) = L, if and only if lim f(x) = L and lim+ f(x) = L
xa xa xa

2. sin x is a bounded function and it oscillates between -1 and 1 i.e. -1 sin x 1

Limit Laws
If lim f(x) and lim g(x) exist then
xa xa

1. lim[cf(x)] = c [lim f(x)] where c is constant.

xa xa
2. lim[f(x)g(x)] = lim f(x) . lim g(x)
xa xa xa
f(x) lim f(x)
xa
3. lim g(x) = if lim g(x) 0
xa lim g(x) xa
xa
n
4. lim[f(x)]n = [lim f(x)] where n is positive integer.
xa xa
5. lim c = c
xa
6. lim x = a
xa
lim g(x)
7. lim f(x)g(x) = lim f(x)xa
xa xa
n
8. lim f(x) = nlim f(x)
xa xa

Standard limit Values

xn an
1. lim = nan1
xa xa
ex 1
2. lim = log e e = 1
x0 x

ax 1
3. lim = log e a
x0 x

sin x
4. lim =1
x0 x

tan x
5. lim =1
x0 x

b
6. lim(1 + ax)x = eab
x0

a bx
7. lim (1 + x) = eab
x
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 1
ax +bx x
8. lim ( 2 ) = ab
x0

b
9. lim ax sin ax = b
x

b
10. lim ax tan ax = b
x

sinh x
11. lim =1
x0 x

tanh x
12. lim =1
x0 x

sin1 (x)
13. lim =1
x0 x

tan1 (x)
14. lim =1
x0 x

1cos ax a2
15. lim =
x0 x2 2!

1cos ax a4
16. lim =
x0 x4 4!

Indeterminate Forms
The following forms are to be considered as Indeterminate forms.
0
, ,0 , , 00 , 1 , 0
0

0
If the functions are in the form of or then to find limit we need to apply L hospitals
0
rule.

f(x) lim f(x) lim f(x)

xa xa
i. e. lim g(x) = = .= L
xa lim g(x) lim g(x)
xa xa

Example 3:
sin xx
Find the value of lim
x0 x2

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Solution:
0
It is in form
0

So, to solve the above problem we need to apply L hospital rule

lim f(x) cos x1 0
xa
= = (0) Form
lim g(x) 2x
xa

Again apply L Hospital Rule then

lim f(x) sin x
xa
= lim =0
g(x) x0 2

Note:
0
1. If the functions are in the form of (0 ) then reducing them into (or) and then
0
apply L hospital rule.
2. If the limit value is in the form of ( - ) then we need to follow this procedure to
find the limit value.

i. e. lim(f(x) g(x)) = lim f(x) lim g(x)

xa xa xa

3. If f(x) = and g(x) = as x a

1 1 1
Then lim[f(x) g(x)] = lim [g(x) f(x)] f(x)g(x)
xa xa

Then apply L hospital form.

Example 4:
Find the value of lim(sec x tan x)
x
2

Solution:
1 sin x
lim (sec x tan x) = lim (cos x cos x)
x x
2 2

(1sin x)
= lim
x cos x
2

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 0 cos x
Now it is in (0) form L Hospital Rule gives = lim sin x = 0
x
2

Example 5:
Find the value of limx x
x0

Solution:
It is in the form of 00 and the following procedure is used to find the value of limit.

Let y = xx

log y = x log x

lim log y = lim(x log x)

x0 x0

1
log x x
lim log y = lim 1 = lim 1 = lim x = 0
x0 x0 x
x0 2 x0
x

log y = 0 y = x x = e0 = 1

Example 6:
Find the value of lim(tan x)cos x
x
2

Solution:
It is in the form of (0)

Let y = tan x cos x

lim log y = lim cos x log tan x

x x
2 2

log tan x
= lim , Now, it is in the form of ()
x sec x
2

1 sec2 x
lim tan x sec x tan x
x
2

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 sec x
lim tan2 x
x
2

Again applying L-Hospitals rule gives,

sec x tan x
lim 2 tan x sec2 x
x
2

cos x
= lim =0
x 2
2

y = e0 = 1

Continuity
A function f is said to be continuous at a number a if lim f(x) = f(a)
xa

Notice that above definition requires three things if f is constant at a:

1. f(x) is defined
2. lim f(x) exist
xa
3. lim f(x) = f(a)
x0

Example 7:
For what value of k. the given function is continuous?
1
f(x) = (1 + kx)x when x 0}
e3 when x=0

Solution:
1
lim f(x) = ekxx = ek
x0

But, f(0) = e3

Since, the function f(x) is continuous k = 3

Differentiability
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Suppose f is a real function and c is a point in its domain. The derivative of the function f
at c is defined by
f(c+h)f(c)
f (c) = lim , provided the limit of the function exists.
h0 h

d
Derivative of function f at c is denoted by f(c) or (f(x))|x=c
dx

The process of finding derivative of a function is called differentiation.

Note:
f(c+h)f(c)
1. If lim does not exist then we can say that f is not differentiable at c.
h0 h
2. In other words we say that a functions f is differentiable at a point c in its domain if
f(c+h)f(c) f(ch)f(c)
both lim+ and lim are finite and equal.
h0 h h0 h

Standard Rules of Differentiation

1. (U V)' = U' V'
2. (UV)' = U'V + UV'
U VU UV
3. ( ) =
V V2

Example 8:
1
The function f(x) = x sin x at x = 0 is differentiable or not differentiable?

Solution:
Right Hand Limit (R):
1
f(0+h)f(0) h sin 1
f (c+) = lim = h
= sin
x0+h h h h

Left Hand Limit (L):

1
f(0h)f(0) h sin( )
(c) h
f = lim =
x0h h h

1
= sin h
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f(c + ) f(c )

Hence, it is not differentiable

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