1

BC Calculus Day 1: Limits, Continuity and IVT

Summary:

I. Definition of a Limit: Informally becomes arbitrarily close to a single number , as

approaches from either side then the limits of , as approaches is …

.
II. Properties of Limits:

Let and be real numbers, and let be a positive integer.

1)

2)

3)

4) (If is even, then must be positive)

Operations with Limits

Let and be real numbers and let be a positive integer. If the limits of and
exist as approaches , then

1) Constant Multiple:

2) Addition or Subtraction:

3) Multiplication:

4) Division:

5) Power:

6) Radical:

(if is even, , must be positive)

Limits of Polynomial and Rational Functions
 2

If is a polynomial function and is any real number, then .

If is a rational function given by and is a real number such that ,

then .

The Limit of a Composite Function

If and are functions such that and , then

III. Strategies for Finding Limits

1. Numerical approach: construct a table of values.

2. Graphical approach: draw a graph.
3. Analytical approach: use algebra or calculus.

Techniques for Evaluating Limits:

 Direct Substitution: the limit of as approaches does not depend on the value

of at . However, we use direct substitution when . This function

is continuous at .
 Cancellation technique: Used when is undefined. Factor in order to cancel out the
denominator, then substitute in the value is approaching.
 Rationalise the numerator: Use when direct substitution leads to the indeterminate form
0/0, then substitute into the new equation.
 Simplify a complex fraction.
 Know your special limits:

Special Limits

1. 3.

2. 4.

 If you are looking at limits as , when you have a polynomial divided by a

polynomial, a very helpful technique is to divide each term by the variable to the greatest
exponent. Why does this work?
 3

The Squeeze Theorem

If for all in an open interval

containing , except possibly at itself, and if

then exists and is

equal to .

L’Hospital’s Rule:

IV. One-sided Limits

One sided limits approach different values from the left and from the right.

(Limit from the left) (Limit from the right)

Existence of a Limit

If is a function and and are real numbers then: if and only if the left and
right limits are equal to .

V. Infinite Limits and Limits at Infinity

a. Infinite Limits: Vertical Asymptotes
b. Limits at Infinity: End Behavior: Horizontal Asymptotes

Definition of Vertical Asymptotes

 4
If approaches infinity (or negative infinity) as approaches from the right or from the left,
then the line is a vertical asymptote of the graph of

If a function has a vertical asymptote at , then is not continuous at .

Definition of Horizontal Asymptotes.

If is a function and and are real numbers, the statements and

denote limits at infinity. The lines and are horizontal

asymptotes of the graph of .

y=L1
y=f ( x ) y=L
y=f ( x )
y=L2

A limit at infinity specifies a finite value approached by a function as increases (or

decreases) without a bound.

When finding horizontal asymptotes, remember .

VI. Continuity
*** Definition of Continuity ***

Let “ ” be a number in the interval and let be a function whose domain contains the interval

. The function is continuous at the point if:

 5

1) is defined.

2) exists

3)

If is continuous at every point in the interval then it is continuous on the interval .

If you want to state a function is not continuous, you MUST show why … eg: not continuous because

the left and right hand limits don't match, or .

Continuity of Functions
1) A polynomial function is continuous at every real number
2) A rational function is continuous at every number in its domain.
3) , , and are continuous everywhere.
4) is continuous for .

If a function is continuous at every number in an open interval except , then is a discontinuity of

the function. A discontinuity can be removable or non-removable.

The number is a removable discontinuity of if the graph of has a hole at the point

where is the lim of as . (e.g. Ex.2b: to remove the discontinuity, you redefine

).

A discontinuity at is non-removable if the function cannot be made continuous at by

redefining the function at (e.g. Ex.2a).
Non-removable discontinuities include jump discontinuities (eg. step functions where the one

sided limits exist but have different values), infinite discontinuities ( eg. ) and
oscillating discontinuities (eg. Where the function oscillates too much to have a limit like

).

Continuity at a Point:
 6

If a function is not continuous at a point , we say is discontinuous at and is a point of

discontinuity of . Note that need not be in the domain of .

A function is right-continuous at a point in its domain if .

It is left-continuous at a point in its domain if .

Continuous Functions

A function is continuous on an interval if and only if it is continuous at every point of the interval. A
continuous function is one that is continuous at every point of its domain. A continuous function

need not be continuous on every interval. For example, is not continuous on but it is

continuous over its domain

.

Theorem: Properties of Continuous Functions

 7
If the functions and are continuous at , then the following combinations are continuous at
.
1. Sums:
2. Differences:
3. Products:
4. Constant Multiples: , for any number

5. Quotients: , provided

6. Powers: , provided it is defined on an open interval containing ,

where and are integers.

Theorem: Composite of Continuous Functions

If is continuous at and is continuous at , then the composite is continuous at .

Theorem: If is continuous at the point and , then

VII. IVT
The Intermediate Value Theorem
 8
Suppose that is continuous on the closed interval and is any number between
and . Then there is a number for which .
The theorem basically states that if is continuous on then must take on every value
between and at least once. That is, a continuous function cannot skip over any
numbers between its values at the two endpoints. To do so, the graph would need to leap across the
horizontal line , something continuous functions cannot do. A function may take of a given
value of more than once.

Put into your calculator. Now use the trace function to find . On the calculator you
cannot get a solution as the answer is irrational. Yet the IVT says there exists such a value.

If is not continuous on . There is no such that .

Practical (if ridiculous) example of the IVT: If on my 5 th birthday, I was 1.5 meters tall J, and on my
6th birthday I was 3 meters tall, then for any height between 1.5 m and 3 m, there must have been
a time when my height was exactly . There is no way I could "jump" from one height to the next.

Corollary: (Useful application of the IVT when )

Suppose that is continuous on and and have opposite signs (ie:

). Then there is at least one number for which . ( is then a
zero of )

The IVT and its corollary are examples of existence theorems; they tell you that there exists a number
satisfying some condition, but they do not tell you what is.

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/IntermediateValueTheorem/
9
10
 11

Discuss the following in terms of limits and continuity.

12
 13

Continuity.
14