BASIC CALCULUS

Chapter 1: Limits and Continuity

LEARNING COMPETENCIES

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. illustrate continuity of a function at a number,

2. determine whether a function is continuous at a number or not; and
3. illustrate continuity of a function on an interval

P21 Learning Skills: Critical Thinking, Critical Reading, Technology Literacy, and Problem Solving

Pre – Assessment
ACTIVATE YOUR SCHEMA! Process and answer this question: Why is it that a rational
function always have a restriction in its domain? Think hard and write your answer on the line
provided.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________

LEARNING OUTPUTS
LO1.3: Solves problems involving continuity of a function.

TIME ALLOTMENT
180 minutes (3 hours)

LESSON 3: Continuity

About the Lesson

In this lesson, you will be dealing with the concept of continuity and discontinuity of a
function. The idea of continuity is very important in the study of calculus. Illustrative examples
about continuity of a function at a given number and to an interval is the main concern of the
lesson. Moreover, types of discontinuity are also discussed.

Introduction

Good morning! How are you today?

The idea of continuity is very important in the study of Calculus. It is arguably the most
important concept different branches of mathematics. We can say that a function is continuous
at a point if we can trace the graph of the function without lifting our pen. In real life, physical
phenomena are usually continuous. For example, the displacement or velocity of a moving
vehicle varies continuously with respect to time.

Geometrically, you can think of a function that is continuous at every number in an

interval as a function whose graph has no break in it. The graph can be drawn without removing
your pen from the paper.

1
 BASIC CALCULUS

Opening Activity – ENGAGE: Everywhere Continuous or Discontinuous

Using Geogebra or any graphing software, you can easily observe the behavior of a
function whether it is continuous or discontinuous at a certain interval. For illustration purposes,
consider the graphs of different functions below.

Figure 3.1 Graph of Quadratic and Piece-wise function

The graph of the function y = x 2 − x + 1 is continuous in the entire real number line. It is a
quadratic function in which the domain is an element of real numbers. However, the piece-wise
 x 2 if x  2
function defined by h( x) =  is continuous at the intervals (−, 2) and (2, +), but the
1 if x  2
limit as h(x) approaches 2 does not exists. These will give us the idea about the conditions for a
function to be continuous.

2
 BASIC CALCULUS

EXPLORE

Continuity of a Function

Definition:
A function is continuous at a point if and only if lim f ( x) = f (a).
x →a

The definition above implies that the three conditions must be satisfied for a function f to
be continuous at a. These are the following:

1. f (a) exists
2. lim f ( x) exists; and
x →a

3. lim f ( x) = f (a).
x →a

The conditions above says that f(x) is continuous at a if it approaches f(a) as x approaches
a. Hence, a continuous function f(x) has the property that a small change in x produces only a
small change in f(x). In fact, the change in f(x) can be kept as small as we please by keeping the
change in x sufficiently small. If the function is defined near a or in other words is defined on an
open interval containing a, except perhaps at a, we say that the function is discontinuous at a or
has a discontinuity at a.

Bear in Mind!
If at least one of these three conditions fail, we can say that the function f has a
discontinuity at a, or f is discontinuous at a.

Types of Discontinuity

1. If f is discontinuous at a and the second condition is not satisfied, the discontinuity

is called essential or nonremovable. Essential discontinuity can be classified as
infinite or jump discontinuity. The graphs are shown below.

Figure 3.2 Infinite discontinuity

3
 BASIC CALCULUS

For infinite discontinuity, at least one of the two limits is infinite. Observe that
as the values of x approaches -2 from left, the function f(x) approaches positive
infinity. Moreover, as the values of x approaches -2 from right, the function f(x)
approaches negative infinity.

Figure 3.3 Jump discontinuity

The jump discontinuity occurs whenever the graph of the function

terminates at one point and jumps at another point. In this type of discontinuity, the
left hand and the right hand limits exist but unequal.

2. If f satisfies the second condition but fails to satisfy first and third, the discontinuity is
called removable. A function with removable discontinuity at a point can be
redefined or manipulated so that it will no longer be discontinuous at that point.

Figure 3.4 Removable discontinuity

4
 BASIC CALCULUS

Observe the graph in figure 3.4. Notice that the removable discontinuity
occurs when there is a hole in the graph of the function.

The examples below will illustrate how the three conditions work for the continuity of a
function.

Example

Determine whether each of the functions below is continuous or not at the given value of a.
1
1. f ( x) = , a = −2
x +42

x +1
2. g ( x) = ,a = 2
x −x−2
2

 x x 1

3. h( x) =  2 x = 1, a = 1
2 x − 1 x  1

Solution: We need to find out if the three conditions are satisfied.
1. First condition at x = -2
The value of f at -2 is
1 2
f (−2) = =
(−2) + 4 2 4

Second condition is to evaluate lim f ( x),

x →−2

1 2
lim =
x →−2
x2 + 4 4
Since -2 is in the domain of f, we can just directly substitute that number to f(x).
2
In the third condition, it guarantees that lim f ( x) = f ( −2) = . Hence, we
x →−2 4
conclude that f is continuous at -2.
x +1 3
2. The value of g (2) = = which is undefined. Since g(a) does not exists, it has
x −x−2 0
2

nonremovable infinite discontinuity at a=2.

3. This will be left as your practice exercise. Follow the procedures below:

a. Evaluate if h(a ) exists

b. Find lim h( x) if it exists; and
x →a

c. Compare if the lim h( x) = h(a).

x →a

5
 BASIC CALCULUS

The graph of the three functions is shown below.

Figure 3.5 Continuity and Discontinuity

6
 BASIC CALCULUS

EXPLAIN

Processing Questions

x3 − 2 x 2 − 2 x − 3
• Let f ( x) = 3 for x  3. How should f be defined at x = 3 so that it becomes
x − 4x2 + 4x − 3
continuous function on all real numbers?

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

• How can you identify if a function is continuous or not in a given number?

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

• If f is continuous on ( −,  ) , what can you say about its graph?

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

7
 BASIC CALCULUS

ELABORATE

To check your understanding of the lesson, answer the following questions. You may
use calculator when necessary. Use the space provided for your answers.

x3 − 8
1. Let g ( x) = . Show that g is not continuous in the set of real numbers.
x2 − 4

x−4
2. Determine whether the function h( x) = is continuous at the following values:
x 2 − 16
a. x = 2 b. x = 3 c. x = 4

8
 BASIC CALCULUS

EVALUATE

Activity 3.1

Directions: Solve the following problems completely. Show your complete solutions in the
space provided.

ax 2 + x, x 1
1. Find the value of a if the given function f ( x) =  is continuous in the set of
cos  x − 2ax, x  1
real numbers.

 x 2 + ax + b, x  1

 3
2. Find the value of a & b if the given function f ( x) =  , 1  x  2 is continuous in
 x +1
− x 2 + 2ax − b, x  2
the set of real numbers.