Lecture 1 (Part 1): Limits & Continuity

By
Dr. Khaled M. Abdelgaber
 Lecture objectives
① Limit concept and definition.

② Existence of limit.

③ Squeeze theorem

④ Limit as infinity.

⑤ Limit at infinity.

⑥ Indeterminate forms

⑦ Continuity and types of discontinuity.

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 Limit concept (Illustration 1)
To illustrate the concept of limit, investigate the status
of the function 𝒇𝟏 𝒙 = 𝒙 + 𝟐 close to 𝒙 = 𝟐 as
illustrated in the following table and figure.

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 Limit concept (Illustration 2)
To illustrate the concept of limit, investigate the status
𝒙𝟐 −𝟒
of the function 𝒇𝟐 𝒙 = close to 𝒙 = 𝟐 as
𝒙−𝟐
illustrated in the following table and figure.

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 Limit concept (Illustration 3)
To illustrate the concept of limit, investigate the status
𝒙 + 𝟐, 𝒙 ≥ 𝟐
of the function 𝒇𝟑 𝒙 = close to 𝒙 = 𝟐
𝒙 + 𝟏, 𝒙 < 𝟐
as illustrated in the following table and figure.

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 Limit concept (Definitions)
Definition 1: (Limit)
The expression 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝑳 means that the limit of 𝒇 𝒙
𝒙→𝒂
is 𝑳 as 𝒙 approaches 𝒂 .

Definition 2: (One-sided limits)

① 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭: The expression 𝐥𝐢𝐦+ 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝑳𝟏 means that 𝒇 𝒙
𝒙→𝒂
approaches 𝑳𝟏 as 𝒙 approaches 𝒂 from the 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

② 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭: The expression 𝐥𝐢𝐦− 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝑳𝟐 means that 𝒇 𝒙

𝒙→𝒂
approaches 𝑳𝟐 as 𝒙 approaches 𝒂 from the 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭.

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 Existence of Limit (Theorem)

Theorem 1: (Existence of limit)

The value of the 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 𝒙 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 and equal to 𝑳 if

𝒙→𝒂

𝐥𝐢𝐦+ 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦− 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝑳
𝒙→𝒂 𝒙→𝒂

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 Existence of Limit (Example)

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 Evaluating Limit Graphically (Example)

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 Direct Substitution (Rule + Examples)
Rule 1: (Direct substitution)
Given that the real number 𝒂 belongs to the domain of 𝒇(𝒙)
then
𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒇 𝒂
𝒙→𝒂
provided that the 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬.

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 Existence of Limit (Example)

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 Squeeze Theorem
Theorem 2: (Squeeze Theorem)

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 Squeeze Theorem (Example)

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 Limit as Infinity (Example 1)

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 Limit as Infinity (Example 2)

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 Limit at Infinity (Example)

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