Proof of LHospitals Rule

Theorem: Suppose
 ,   exist and    0 for all  in an interval 
,  .

  
 
  
If lim
   0  lim   and lim  exists then lim  lim  .
            

Proof: We may assume that


  0  
 (since the limit is not affected by the value of
the function at
). Also   0, else     0 at some  " 
,  by Rolles Theorem.
% & 
Define #  
  $ '& , then #
  0  #, and # is continuous on (
,  and
% &  
#   
   $   exists on 
, .
' & 

 % )   % & 
By Rolles Theorem there exist  " 
,  such that #    0, hence ' )  
 '&.

% &  % )  
Since
*  * , it follows that lim& '&  lim ')   . +


The theorem can be adapted for  

, ,  
,   -, or lim
   -  lim.
It does not apply e.g. if   0/ ,
   1/ 2 sin1/  and    1/ (can you see why?)
Proof of LHospitals Rule Peter Jipsen math.chapman.edu