1

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES

Theory ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Exercise - 1 : Basic Objective Questions............................................................................................ 10

Answer Key ........................................................................................................................................ 15

 10
LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES
 Chapter 10
3

LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES

1. INTRODUCTION  lim f  x   
xa

Calculus is the mathematics of motion and change, while Limits From Graph
algebra, geometry, and trigonometry are more static in nature.
th
The development of calculus in the 17 century by Newton, f(x)
Leibnitz and others grew out of attempts by these and earlier l
mathematicians to answer certain fundamental questions
about dynamic real-world situations. These investigations
1.
led to two fundamental procedures- differentiation and
integration; which can be formulated in terms of a concept a
called- limit.
LHL = l, RHL = l
In a very real sense, the concept of limit is the threshold to
modern mathematics. You are about to cross that threshold,
 lim f  x   l
and beyond lies the fascinating world of calculus. xa

2. LIMIT OF A FUNCTION f(x)

The notation : l
lim f  x   L
x c 2.
is read “the limit of f (x) as x approaches c is L” and means a
that the functional values f (x) can be made arbitrarily close
to a unique number L by choosing x sufficiently close to c LHL = l, RHL = l
(but not equal to c).
 lim f  x   l
xa
2.1 One-Sided Limits
2.1.1 Right-hand Limit (RHL) : We write f(x)
lim f  x   lim f  a  h  l1 if we can make the l2
x a h0

number f (x) as close to l1 as we please by choosing l1

x sufficiently close to a on a small interval (a, b)
immediately to the right of a. 3.
2.1.2 Left-hand limit (LHL) : We write
lim f  x   lim f  a  h   l2 if we can make the a
x  a h0

number f (x) as close to l2 as we please by choosing LHL = l1, RHL = l2

x sufficiently close to a on a small interval (c, a)
immediately to the left of a.  LHL  RHL
2.1.3 Limit of a function f (x) is said to exist as x  a
(x approaches a) when ;
 lim f  x  does not exist
lim f  x   lim f  x    (finite quantity) x a
x a x a

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 
(a) lim log f  x   log  lim f  x    log l ; (provided l > 0)
x a  x  a 
l1
lim f  x 
(b) lim e f  x   e x  a  el .
4. x a

a
1
7. If lim f  x     or – , then lim  0.
x a x a f x
LHL = l1
RHL = Not defined (approaches ) 4. EVALUATION OF ALGEBRAIC LIMITS

So lim f  x  does not exist. Let f (x) be an algebraic function and ‘a’ be a real number.
x a
Then lim f (x) is known as an algebraic limit.
x a

3. ALGEBRA OF LIMITS 3 5
E.g. lim x 1 , lim 1  x  1  x , lim x  32 etc.
x 1 x 1 x 0 x x 2 x  2
Let f and g be two real functions with domain D. We define
four new functions f ± g, f g, f /g on domain D by setting are algebraic limits.
( f ± g) (x) = f (x) ± g (x), ( f g) (x) = f (x) × g (x)
4.1 Direct substitution method
( f /g)(x) = f (x)/g(x), if g(x)  0 for any x  D.
Following are some results concerning the limits of these If by direct substitution of the point in the given expression
we get a finite number, then the number obtained is the limit
functions.
of the given expression.
Let both lim f  x  and lim g  x  exist and equal l and m If upon substituting the point in the given expression, we
xa x a
get the following forms. :
respectively, then
0 
, ,  – , 0 × , °, 0°, 1
1. lim  f  g  x   lim f  x   lim g  x   l  m 0 
x a x a x a
(Indeterminate Forms)
2. lim  f g  x   lim f  x   lim g  x   lm
x a x a x a Then we can’t find the value of limit by direct substitution.
Following methods are followed to find the limit of the
 f  lim f  x  l function.
3. lim    x   x a  , provided m  0.
x a  g  lim g  x  m
x a 4.2 Factorisation method

4. lim k f  x   k . lim f  x  , where k is constant. f x

x a x a Consider lim . If by putting x = a the rational function
x a g  x
gx
5. lim  f  x    l m ; ( provided lim f  x   0 ) f x 0 
x a x a takes the form , etc, then (x–a) is a factor of
g x 0 
 
6. lim fog  x   f  lim g  x    f  m  ; provided f (x) both f (x) & g(x). In such a case we factorise the numerator
x a  x a  and denominator, and then cancel out the common factor
is continuous at g (x) = m. (x–a). After cancelling out the common factor (x–a), we again
In particular put x = a in the given expression and see whether we get a
meaningful number or not. This process is repeated till we
get a meaningful number.

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4.3 Rationalisation method

5. STANDARD LIMITS
This is particularly used when either numerator or
denominator, or both involve expressions consisting of 5.1 Trigonometric Limits
square roots (radical signs)
NOTE : Sometimes, it is easier to convert limit to a new To evaluate trigonometric limits the following results are
variable h that tends to 0. For this, we can use substitution very useful.
x = a + h or x = a – h.
sin x
1. lim 1
4.4 Method of evaluating algebraic limits when x  x 0 x

To evaluate this type of limits we follow the following tan x

2. lim 1
procedure. x0 x
Step–1 : Write down the given expression in the form of a (in 1 & 2, x is measured in radians)
f x sin 1 x
rational function, i.e., , if it is not so. lim 1
g x 3.
x0 x
Step–2 : If k is the highest power of x in numerator and
tan 1 x
denominator both, then divide each term in numerator 4. lim 1
and denominator by xk.
x 0 x

1 sin xº 
Step–3 : Use the result lim  0 , where n > 0. 5. lim 
x  xn x 0 x 180

Important Results : 6. lim cos x  1

x 0

If m, n are positive integers and a0, b0  0 are non-zero sin  x  a 

7. lim 1
x a x a
a 0 x m  a1x m 1  .... a m1 x  a m
numbers, then lim
x  b0 x n  b1x n 1  .... b n 1 x  b n tan  x  a 
8. lim 1
x a  x  a 

 a0
b , if mn 5.2 Exponential & Logarithmic Limits
 0
  0, if mn To evaluate the exponential and logarithmic limits we use
 , if m  n ,  a 0  b0   0 the following results.

   , if m  n ,  a 0  b0   0
a x 1
1. lim  loge a
x 0 x

NOTES : e x 1
2. lim 1
x 0 x
(1) Sometimes such questions can be solved using
log 1  x 
1 3. lim 1
substitution x  . x 0 x
t
(2) Questions with variable tending to  can be solved using  xn  an  n –1
substitution x = –t. 4. lim    n .a
x a
 x a 

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6. EXPANSIONS TO EVALUATE LIMITS gx gx lim  f  x  1 g  x 

lim  f  x    lim 1  f  x  1   exa
x a x a

7.1 Particular Cases

n n  n –1 2 n  n –1 n – 2 3
1. 1+ x  =1+nx + x + x +....
1/ x
2! 3! 1. lim 1 x  e
x 0
(|x| < 1) x
 1
2. lim 1   e
x   x
x 2 x3
2. e x = 1+ x + + +...
2! 3! lim 1 x 
1/ x
 e
3.
x 0

x2 x
3. a x  1  x  log e a    loge a 2  .... ( a > 0) 4.
 
lim  1   e
2! x   x

x2 x3 x4 8. L-HOSPITAL’S RULE
4. log 1  x   x     ... (– 1 < x  1)
2 3 4
If f (x) and g(x) be two functions of x such that

x 3 x5 1. lim f  x   lim g  x   0
5. sin x  x  +  .... x a x a
3! 5!
2. both are continuous at x = a,
2 4
x x 3. both are differentiable at x = a,
6. cos x = 1– + –....
2! 4!
4. f (x) and g(x) are continuous at the point x = a, then

f x f ' x

x3 2 5 lim  lim , provided that g (a)  0.
7. tan x  x   x  .... x a g  x  x a g'  x 
3 15

The above rule is also applicable if lim f  x   and

1 x3 1 3 x 5 1 3 5 x 7 x a
8. sin –1x = x+ . + . . + . . +...
2 3 2 4 5 2 4 6 7
lim g  x    .
xa

1 1
9. tan –1x = x – x 3 + x 5 –...
3 5 f ' x
Generalisation : If lim assumes the indeterminate
x a g'  x 
7. 1 FORM
form (0/0) or ()and f (x), g(x) satisfy all the conditions
To evaluate the exponential limits of the form 1 we use the  embodied in L-Hospitals rule, we can repeat the application
following results.
f ' x
of this rule on to get
1. If lim f  x  0 and lim g  x , then g'  x 
xa xa

g x lim f  x  g  x 
lim 1  f  x    e xa , f x f  x  f   x 
xa lim  lim  lim  ... .
x a g  x  x a g   x  x a g   x 
2. If lim f (x) = 1 and lim g(x)  , then
x a x a

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Sometimes it may be necessary to repeat this process a In words : If a function can be squeezed/sandwiched between
number of times till our goal of evaluating the limit is two functions whose limits at a particular point c have the
achieved. same value L, then that function must also have limit
0 0 L at x = c.
9. 0 ×  0 AND  FORMS
9.1 0 ×  form DERIVATIVES
If lim f  x   0 and lim g  x    , then
x a x a
11. DEFINITION
0 
lim  f  x   g  x   can be converted to or form by
x a 0  The rate of change of one quantity with respect to some
writing limit as another quantity has a great importance. For example, the
rate of change of displacement of a particle with respect to
f  x g  x time is called its velocity and the rate of change of velocity
lim or lim
x a 1 x  a 1 is called its acceleration.
g  x f  x
The rate of change of a quantity ‘y’ with respect to another
It can now be solved using L-Hopital’s rule. quantity ‘x’ is called the derivative or differential coefficient
9.2 0° and ° form of y with respect to x.

0  Derivative at a Point
we convert these to or form using log.
0 
The derivative of a function at a point x = a is defined by
If lim f ( x)  0 or  and lim g ( x )  0, then
x a xa f a  h  f a 
f '  a   lim (provided the limit exists and
g x
h0 h
l  lim  f  x    log l  lim g  x  .log f  x 
xa xa is finite)

g x The above definition of derivative is also called derivative

 log l  lim by first principle.
x a 1
log f  x 
(1) Geometrical meaning of derivatives at a point : Consider
g x
the curve y = f(x). Let f(x) be differentiable at x = c. Let
lim
xa 1
log f  x 
P(c,f(c)) be a point on the curve and Q(x, f(x)) be a
le neighbouring point on the curve. Then,

10. SQUEEZE RULE/SANDWICH RULE f  x  f c

Slope of the chord PQ  . Taking limit as
xc
If g (x) < f (x) < h (x) on an open interval containing ‘c’, and
Q  P , i.e., we get
if :
f  x  f c
lim g  x   lim h  x   L , then lim f  x   L lim  Slope of the chord PQ   lim ..(i)
x c x c x c QP x c xc

As Q  P , chord PQ becomes tangent at P..

g(x)
f(x) Therefore from (i), we have
L
h(x) f  x  f c  df  x  
slope of the tangent at P  lim xc
 
x c
 dx  x  c
x=c

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NOTES :
d 1
(iv)
dx
 ln x  
x
Thus, the derivatives of a function at point x = c is the slope of
the tangetn to curve , y = f(x) at point (c, f(c)).
d
(v)
dx
 loga x   1x loga e
(2) Physical interpretation at a point : Let a particle moves
in a straight line OX starting from O towards X. Clearly, the
position of the particle at any instant would depend upon d
(vi)  sin x   cos x
the time elapsed. In other words, the distance of the particle dx
from O will be some function f of time t.
d
Let at any time t = t0, the particle be at P and after a further (vii)  cos x    sin x
dx
time h, it is at Q so that OP  f  t0  and OQ  f  t0  h  .
d
hence, the average speed of the particle during the journey (viii) (tan x)  sec2 x
dx
PQ f  t0  h   f  t0 
from P to Q is , i.e., . Taking its limit d
h h (ix)  sec x   sec x . tan x
dx
as h  0 , we get its instantaneous speed to be
d
f  t0  h   f  t0  (x)  cosec x    cosec x . cot x
dx
lim , which is simply f ’(t0) . Thus, if f(t)
h0 h
d
gives the distance of a moving particle at time t, then the (xi)  cot x    cosec2 x
dx
derivative of f at t = t0 represents the instantaneous speed
of the particle at the point P, i.e., at time t = t0.
d
(xii)  constant   0
Important Tips dx

dy d
is  y  in which
d 13. THEOREMS ON DERIVATIVES
* is simply a symbol of operation
dx dx dx
If u and v are derivable functions of x, then,
and ‘d’ divided by dx.
d du dv
12. DERIVATIVE OF STANDARD FUNCTION (i) Term by term differentiation : u  v  
dx dx dx

d n d du
(i)  
x  n . x n 1 (ii) Multiplication by a constant  K u   K , where K is
dx dx dx
any constant
d x
(ii)
dx
 
e  ex d dv du
(iii) “Product Rule”  u.v   u  v
dx dx dx
d x
(iii)
dx
 
a  a x . ln a  a  0  In general,

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If u1, u2, u3, u4, ..., un are the functions of x, then

 du   dv 
v   u  
d d u  dx   dx  where v  0
(iv) “Quotient Rule”  
 u1 . u 2 . u3 . u 4 . ... . u n  dx  v  v2
dx

(b) Chain Rule : If y = f (u), u = g(w), w = h (x)

 du   du 
  1   u 2 u 3 u 4 ... u n    2   u1 u 3 u 4 ... u n 
 dx   dx  dy dy du dw
then  . .
dx du dw dx
 du   du 
  3   u1 u 2 u 4 ... u n    4   u1 u 2 u 3 u 5 ... u n 
 dx   dx  dy
or  f ' u  . g ' w  . h ' x 
dx
 du 
 ...   n   u1 u 2 u 3 ... u n 1 
 dx 

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EXERCISE - 1 : BASIC OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

Concept of LHL & RHL

6. lim
 
x  1  2x  3
is equal to
lim 2
1. x 1 {[x] + |x|}, where [.] denotes the greatest integer
x 1 2x  x  3
function,
1 1
(a) is 0 (b) is 1 (a) (b)
10 10
(c) does not exist (d) none of these
(c) 1 (d) None of these

1 2 x 3
e x 1 7. The value of lim is
2. lim  x 7 x 2  49
x 0 1
ex 1 (a) 2/9 (b) -2/49
(c) 1/56 (d) -1/56
(a) 0 (b) 1
(c) -1 (d) Does not exist
x a  ba
8. lim
x b x 2  b2
 sin  x 
 , x  0
3. If f  x     x  , where [.] denotes the greatest
 0 , x 0 1 1
   (a) (b)
4b b  a
4b a  b

integer function, then xlim f  x  is equal to

0
1 1
(c) (d)
(a) 1 (b) 0 4a a  b b ba
(c) -1 (d) Does not exist

Evaluating algebraic limits 1 2  x  3

9. lim
x2 x2

x2 1  x 1
4. lim 1 1
x 1 x2 1 (a) (b)
8 3 3
1
(a) (b) 2 1 (c) 8 3 (d) 3
2

1 (2  x) 40 (4  x)5
(c) 1 (d) 1  10. lim
2 x  (2  x) 45

x2  3 (a) –1 (b) 1
5. lim
x 3 x 2  3 3x  12 (c) 16 (d) 32

1 2
Limit
 n + 2 !   n +1! ,
(a) (b) 11. nN=
5 5 n   n  3 !

3 3 (a) 0 (b) 1
(c) (d)
5 5 (c) 2 (d) –1
LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES 11

5n 1  3n  22n 
12. Limit     
n  5n  2n  32n 3 2  3 sin   h   cos   h  
6  6 
19. lim 
(a) 5 (b) 3 h 0

3h 3 cosh  sinh 
(c) 1 (d) zero
(a) -2/3 (b) -3/4
x  sin x
13. lim (c) -2 3 (d) 4/3
x  x  cos 2 x

(a) 0 (b)  4   tan   sin  

20. lim is
(c) 1 (d) none of these  0
1  cos 2 2
1 1 1
log 5 (    ...to n terms)
14. lim (0.2) 4 8 16
is equal to 1
n  (a) (b) 1/2
2
(a) 2 (b) 4
(c) 1 (d) 2
(c) 8 (d) 0
cos ecx  cot x
15. lim 3x  9x 2  x 21. lim is equal to
x  x 0 x

1 1 1
(a) (b) (a) (b) 1
3 6 2

1 1 1
(c)  (d)  (c) (d) 1
6 3 2

16. lim   x  3  3  x   x  , where [.] denotes the greatest 1  cos x

x 3 22. lim is equal to
x 0 x (2 x  1)
integer function, is equal to
(a) 4 (b) –4
1 1
(c) 0 (d) Does not exist (a) log 2 e (b) log e 2
2 2

17. Limit 1 x   x 1  1 x   = where [x] denotes greatest (c) 1 (d) none of these
x 1

integer function x x x  x 

23. The value of nlim cos   cos   cos   ...cos  n  is
(a) 0 (b) 1  2 4 8 2 
(c) – 1 (d) does not exist
sinx
Trigonometric limits (a) 1 (b)
x

 x  x
18. lim (1  x) tan   (c) (d) None of these
x 1  2  sin x

 cos  sin x   cosx

(a) (b)  + 2 24. The value of Limit is equal to
2 x 0 x4

2 (a) 1/5 (b) 1/6

(c) (d) none of these
 (c) 1/4 (d) 1/2
LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES 12

25. lim (sec   tan ) 


2x  1
 lim 1
2 32. x 0 =
1  x  2  1
(a) 0 (b) 1
(a) log2 (b) log4
(c) –1 (d) 2
(c) log 2 (d) None of these
     
26. lim x.cos   sin  
x   4x   4x   x 3 
33. The value of l im  l og a  is
x 3  x  6  3 

 
(a) (b) (a) loga6 (b) loga3
4 3
(c) loga2 (d) None of these
(c)  (d) 0

2
Limit

sin e x  2  1 
27. lim (1  cos x) cot x 34.
x 1 x 2 l n  x 1

1 (a) 0 (b) – 1
(a) –1 (b)
2 (c) 2 (d) 1

(c) 1 (d) none of these One power infinity

Logarithmic and exponential limits 1/ x

  
35. lim  tan   x   is equal to
x 0
 4 
x
3 1
28. lim is equal to (a) 1 (b) e
x 0 x 1 1
(c) e2 (d) e–2
(a) loge 9 (b) loge 3
1/ x 2
(c) 0 (d) 1  1  5x 2 
36. lim   is equal to
x  0 1  3x 2
 
41/ n  1
29. lim is equal to
n  31/ n  1 (a) e (b) e1/2
(c) e–2 (d) none of these
(a) log4 3 (b) 1
x2
(c) log3 4 (d) none of these  x 1 
37. lim   is equal to
x  x  1
 
3x  2 x
30. lim is equal to (a) e (b) e–1
x  0 4 x  3x
(c) e–2 (d) none of these
(a) 1 (b) –1
5/ x

(c) 0 (d) none of these 38.

x 0 

Limit 1 tan 2 x  

5 2
x 2  ax  b
(a) e (b) e
e 1
31. If , are the roots of x2 – ax + b = 0, then lim (c) e (d) none
x  x 
cot x
is 39. The xlim
0
 cos x  is
(a) –  (b) – 
(a) - 1 (b) 0
(c) 2 (d) 2 (c) 1 (d) None of these
LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES 13

2x
 a b  3 f x
40. If xlim 1   2   e 2 , then the values of a and b are 46. If f (9) = 9 and f ' (9) = 1, then lim is equal to

 x x  x 9 3 x

(a) 0 (b) 1
(a) a R, b R (b) a = 1, b R
(c) –1 (d) None of these
(c) a R, b = 2 (d) a = 1, b = 2
sin x
L-Hopital rule 47. Limit x =
x 0

xf (2)  2f (x) (a) 0 (b) 1

41. Let f (2) = 4 and f’ (2) = 4. Then, lim is given
x 2 x2 (c) –1 (d) none

by Numerical Value Type Questions

(a) 2 (b) –2

(c) –4 (d) 3 x3  8
48. lim is equal to
x 2 x2  4
log (3  x)  log (3  x)
42. If lim  k, the value of k is
x 0 x
1  x 2/3
49. lim is equal to
(a) 0 (b) –1/3 x 1 1  x 1/3

(c) 2/3 (d) –2/3

2 x2 1 1
e x  log 1  x   1  x  50. lim is equal to
43. The value of lim 2
is equal to x 0
x2  9  3
x 0 x

(a) 0 (b) -3
 x  1 3x  4 
(c) -1 (d) infinity 51. The value of xlim
 x 2  x  8 is equal to

 x3 
 sin x  x    1 2 n 
lim  6  52. l im  2
 2
 ...   is equal to
44. 5  n   1 n
 1 n 1 n 2 
x 0
 x 
 

1  2  3  ...  n
53. The value of lim is equal
(a) 1/120 (b) -1/120 n  n 2  100
(c) 1/20 (d) None of these
1 1 1 1
54. lim  2  3  ...  n equals
x cos x  log 1  x  n  2 2 2 2
45. The value of lim is
x 0 x2

(a) 1/2 (b) 0 e tan x  e x

55. Limit is equal to
x 0 tan x  x
(c) 1 (d) None of these
LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES 14
1/sin x
59. The limiting value of (cos x) as x  0 is
2sin 2 3x
56. lim 
x 0 x2 d  sec x  tan x  n cos x
60. If   , then value of n is
dx  sec x  tan x  1  sin x 2

1
x 2 sin  
lim x
57. is equal to ____
x 0 sin x

lim
58.  (tan x) log sin x =
x
2
 Answer Key
CHAPTER -10 LIMITS AND DERIVATIVES
EXERCISE - 1 :
BASIC OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

DIRECTION TO USE -
Scan the QR code and check detailed solutions.

1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (d) 5. (b)

6. (b) 7. (d) 8. (b) 9. (a) 10. (a)

11. (a) 12. (d) 13. (c) 14. (b) 15. (b)

16. (b) 17. (c) 18. (c) 19. (d) 20. (b)

21. (c) 22. (a) 23. (b) 24. (b) 25. (a)

26. (a) 27. (b) 28. (a) 29. (c) 30. (d)

31. (b) 32. (b) 33. (a) 34. (d) 35. (d)

36. (d) 37. (c) 38. (a) 39. (c) 40. (b)

41. (c) 42. (c) 43. (b) 44. (a) 45. (a)

46. (b) 47. (b) 48. (3) 49. (2) 50. (3)

51. (0) 52. (–0.5) 53. (0.5) 54. (1) 55. (1)

56. (18) 57. (0) 58. (0) 59. (1) 60. (2)