DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS THE DERIVATIVE ‘The management of a firm is willing to increase its advertising budget as long as its profit increases. The expenditure on advertising that produces maximum profit is at the point where the rate of growth of profit slows to 0. However, if an increase in expenditure on advertising causes the rate of growth of the profit to become negative, then too much is apent on advertising. In general, the task of finding the optimum level of expenditure is not at all easy. In this chapter we will see how one branch of calculus, called differential calculus, is used to optimized such variables. In addition, the basic idea of differential calculus is the derivative. The definition of derivative requires the idea of a limit. . Just what do we mean by the term “limit”? In everyday language we refer it to the speed limit of a car, the limit of one’s endurance, credit limit on a loan, or stretching a spring to its limits. Those term all suggest that a limit is a type of bound, which on some occasions may not be reached but on another occasions may be reached or ever exceeded. Consider a spring that will break only if a weight of 1 kilogram or more is attached to it. Suppose we want to determine how far the spring will stretch without breaking. We could conduct an experiment by increasing the weight attached to the spring and measuring the spring length p at ench weight, as shown in Figure 5.1. As the attached weight approaches 1 kilogram, we need to use increase gradually ita weight so as not to yeach the 1-kilogram maximum. By recording the successive spring lengths, ‘we should be able to determine the value L that p approaches as the weight m approaches 1 kilogram. Symbolically, we write poLasm—?il (m< 1) and we can say that L is the limit of the length p.me 9 m= 899 Figure 5.1 5.1 THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION ‘A mathematical limit is like the limit of a spring. Suppose we are interested to find the limit of the function given by ~ x= fG) = x-1 as x approaches 1. Note that this function ig defined for all values of x except when x = 1 ince at this point the denominator is zero. What we seek, however, 18 the value that fx) approaches a4 x approaches 1. To determine the values of f(x) as x assume different values near 1, you could program the calculator and evaluate fx). In approaching 1 from left, we could use the values x= 0.3, 0.5, 0.75, 0.9, 0.999 (x < 1) and from right, we could use x = 1.5, 1.25, 14, 101, 1.001 {x > 1) Table 6.1 gives the value! valuea of x. 3 of fix) that correspond to these 10 differentx approaches I from left _f approaches 1 from right (x) approaches 3 + i approaches 3.0 Table 5.1 Evidently, as x takes on values closer and closer to 1, regardless of whether x approaches 2 from left (x < 1) or from the right (x > 1), the : _ corresponding values of x become closer and closer to 3. In. symbols, we denote this limit by ffx) + 3 as x + I or by the equation 3 -1 x -3 a2 x Eventhough f(x) is undefined when x = 1, it appears fro that we can force f(x) to be arbitrarily close to the value of 3 Bee values of x sufficiently close to 1. ane With these observations as background, the limit of a functi now be defined. Hen en ‘5.1.1 DEFINITION OF LIMIT If {(x) becomes arbitrarily close toa single number L as x approaches a from either side, then we write lim fix) = L x40 . and say that the limit of f(x) as x approaches a is L.52 RULES TO evaLuATe UMITS OF FUNCTIONS Itis important that you lea are used in evaluating limits. are stated ag rules for evalu: Let. aes te gai be real numbers and n be a positive integer, If limits 0! G(X) exist ag x approaches 4, then the following rules are valid. If b is a’ constant function, then lim b = b 2 Limxsa , 18 rn torecegnize the types of functions that Below are some properties of limits which ating limits, 3 Lim Tb £00) = bitim £(x}) xa Lim [f(x) + g(x)} = lim fj] + iim glx) woe 0 re 5. Lim TEtx) gtx) = Oia f@h (ia atx) fig) ime fla) Provided that 6 Lim —— = 28 dim glx) # 0 - xs gix) lim g(x) : re xa 7. Vim (fG)F = him [ft)]" Par za 8. *Hm Bf) = oflim fa) oO * Tf nis even and lim f(x) = L, then we require L > 0. me Exampie 1: Find the limit of jim In this case, the constant function is unaffected by the value of x thus, the limit is simply iim a=3 Example 2: Evaluate lim x? x2 Using rule 7, we can. evaluate the limit by direct substitution, Ym «3 = 24=38 . xExample 3: Evaluate iia (x? + 5x - 4) im (a2 . eo _& Em @ +dx=4) = lim x + lim 3s lim 4 = 2+ 3(2)-4 = 446-4 lim (2432-4) = 6 Example 3 is an illustration of combined rules of limits that con ba evaluated by direct substitution, Example 4: Find the limit: lim x?+x-6 x33 E+ Direct substitution method cannot be applied here since both the numerator and the denominator are zero by observing the values given, we know that they have a common factor of (x + 3). Thus, for ‘all x # -3. We can cancel this factor to obtain Dee Thus, lim x x-6 _lim@-2)_ -3-2=-5. x9-30 x43 x4-3 Example 5: 2 Find the limit of lim x*+x-2 r9-20 x-2 Since the limit of the denominator is not zero, we can use thé limit rule number 6: Tim x3 + K-a-2oax~ 2 _ 72-2Example 6; Find the limit of = tm 7 ' a-4 x42 ied Observe that the this case, the denomi denominator tenda to 0 as x approaches 4. In nator must be rationalized. lim 4. tim SOO | e+ (a= ae + 2) im e sin ————_ xt x2 dW 2)” Wk 2) te ya = lm Gn + 2) slim Jer a= 4 5,3 ONE-SIDED LIMITS _ In the original example of a spring, we tested for the limit of the spring by using weights that are less than 1 kilograms. However, the definition of the limit lim #0) = L xa requires that we let x approaches a from the right as well as from the left, To denote these twe possible approuches to a, we use the symbols x av read “x approaches a from the left” and x + at read “x approaches 4 from the right*, lim f(x} is called the limit from the left. 1. xa | 2. lim f(x) fa called the limit form the right. zat . Example 1. tas x91 from the left and the mit as x1 the function given by "gq = BA=3l x-1 Find the Tisbil from the right for——x———~——s_Ee in Fi 5.2, we see that From the graph of f, as shown in Figure 5.2, 8 flx) = -3 for all's ‘<1, Therefore, the limit from the left is Tm | fx-31 2g xo x-1l Moreover, gince f(x) = 3 for all x > 1. the limit from the right is - lim [3x-H_ 3 xor ox-1 In this example note that the function approaches different ” limits from the left and from the right. In this case, we 807 that the limit of f(x) as x-r1, does not exist. In order for the limit of a function exist as xa, it must be true that both one-sided limits exist and are equal. . Figure 5.2ed Existence of » Limit a Iffisa f i ® function and a 8nd L are real, numbers, then lim fay ore If and only if him £2) = Lang tim foo = L x~am xoat * One sided limits direct substitu aha Polynomial functions can atsa be evaluated by Example 2: . Find the limit of the function. ‘ fz) = 27+ 5 (a) lim ffx) qb) lim fx} (ce) lim f{x) xol- x1* xl Solutions: . a. Since f(x) ies polynomial function, we cen use direct substitution to determine the that: lim (x? + 5) = -127 + 6 = 6 xl” b. Likewise, the limit from the right is given by ‘ lim (x? + 6) = 127 +526 xolt Since f(x) approaches the same limit from the left and from the right, therefore lim (x? + 5) = 6 xl Exampie 3: Find the limit fx) = an - 7, fa) s 4-3, forx<) of f(x) as x approaches 1: fors>1a then we can use dire flx) ia a polynomial function, Since > 1 to obtain substitution for x lim ftz) = Jim (4x - 24) = x1* xt ap -Uyad-les For ffx) whore x < 1, flx) ig given by the polynomial 4 x. Tp solve this, use direct substitution to obtain lim f\x) = lim (4x-2) = 4-1 3 x17 roi" 1 Since one-sided limits both exist and are equal to 3, we have lim fz) = 3 x1 The sketch below further illustrates the result. ¥ ace 3 4 55 6 Te : Tim fy = 3 a - xl, Figure 5.3Evaluate the following limits: 1. 2. 10. x2 lim x? x32 lim (2x - ) x20 Im 1 x lim (8x + 2) x3-3 - lim (Bx? — 2x? + 4) x1 lim 2 x33 x+2 lim x2-1 xo-l xt+l lim x-3 x33 x49 . lim 2x8 =e 8 xo-l xt] lim yeaa 4 x il. 12. 13. 14. 15. " 16. 17. “18. 20. tim iy x? x1 a x lim 5 xol’ l-x lim (x? + 2-2) 192 lim 22- 3x27-4 ” x00 x” = 3x lim (-3t xo (2+ + lim 2x? - Se +7- x70 x-2 lim x+l 295 x 25 im 2-9 199 Vx- 3"