2.

1 Rates of Change and Limits

Suppose you drive 200 miles, and it takes you 4 hours.

mi
Then your average speed is: 200 mi  4 hr  50
hr

distance x
average speed  
elapsed time t

If you look at your speedometer during this trip, it might

read 65 mph. This is your instantaneous speed.


A rock falls from a high cliff.

The position of the rock is given by: y  16t 2

After 2 seconds: y  16  22  64

64 ft ft
average speed: Vav   32
2 sec sec

What is the instantaneous speed at 2 seconds?


 16  2  h   16  2 
2 2
y
Vinstantaneous  
t h

for some very small where h = some very

change in t small change in t

We can use the TI-89 to evaluate this expression for

smaller and smaller values of h.


 16  2  h   16  2 
2 2
y
Vinstantaneous  
t h
 16   2  h  ^ 2  64   h h   1,.1,.01,.001,.0001,.00001
y
We can see that the velocity
approaches 64 ft/sec as h becomes
h t
very small.
1 80
We say that the velocity has a limiting
0.1 65.6
value of 64 as h approaches zero.
.01 64.16
(Note that h never actually becomes .001 64.016
zero.) 64.0016
.0001
.00001 64.0002

 16  2  h   16  22
2
The limit as h
approaches zero:
lim
h0 h

16  lim
 4  4 h  h 2
 4
Since the 16 is
unchanged as h
h 0 h
approaches zero,
we can factor 16 4  4h  h 2  4
out. 16  lim
h 0 h
0
16  lim  4  h   64
h 0


 sin x
Consider: y
x
What happens as x approaches zero?
Graphically:
Y= y  sin  x  / x

2
2
 /2
WINDOW

GRAPH

y  sin  x  / x

Looks like y=1


y  sin  x  / x
Numerically:

TblSet

TABLE

You can scroll

down to see
more values.


y  sin  x  / x

sin x
It appears that the limit of as x approaches zero is 1
x

TABLE

You can scroll

down to see
more values.


 Limit notation: lim f  x   L
x c

“The limit of f of x as x approaches c is L.”

sin x
So: lim 1
x 0 x


The limit of a function refers to the value that the
function approaches, not the actual value (if any).

lim f  x   2
x 2

not 1


 Properties of Limits:

Limits can be added, subtracted, multiplied, multiplied

by a constant, divided, and raised to a power.

For a limit to exist, the function must approach the

same value from both sides.

One-sided limits approach from either the left or right side only.


 lim f  x 
2
x 1 does not exist
because the left and
1
right hand limits do not
match!
1 2 3 4

At x=1: lim f  x   0 left hand limit

x 1

lim f  x   1 right hand limit

x 1

f  1  1 value of the function


 2 lim f  x   1
x 2
1
because the left and
right hand limits match.
1 2 3 4

At x=2: lim f  x   1 left hand limit

x 2

lim f  x   1 right hand limit

x2

f  2  2 value of the function


 2 lim f  x   2
x 3
1
because the left and
right hand limits match.
1 2 3 4

At x=3: lim f  x   2 left hand limit

x 3

lim f  x   2 right hand limit

x 3

f  3  2 value of the function


 The Sandwich Theorem:

If g  x   f  x   h  x  for all x  c in some interval about c

and lim g  x   lim h  x   L, then lim f  x   L.
x c x c x c

1
Show that: lim x sin    0
2
x 0
x
1
The maximum value of sine is 1, so x sin    x 2
2

 x
1
The minimum value of sine is -1, so x sin     x 2
2

 x
1
So:  x  x sin    x 2
2 2

 x 
 1
lim  x  lim x sin    lim x 2
2 2
x 0 x 0
 x  x0
1
0  lim x sin    0
2
x 0
 x
1
By the sandwich theorem: lim x sin    0
2
x 0
x
Y= WINDOW


