BASIC CALCULUS

THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
◉ Illustrate the limit of a function using a
table of values and the graph of the
function;
◉ Distinguish between and

2
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 5
3.5 4.5
3.9 4.1
3.99 4.01
3.999 4.001
3
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001 18.004
4
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001 18.004
5
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001 18.004
6
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001 18.004
7
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5
3.5 16 4.5
3.9 17.6 4.1
3.99 17.96 4.01
3.999 17.996 4.001
8
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5
3.9 17.6 4.1
3.99 17.96 4.01
3.999 17.996 4.001
9
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1
3.99 17.96 4.01
3.999 17.996 4.001
10
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01
3.999 17.996 4.001
11
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.

x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001
12
REPRESENTING THE LIMIT OF A
FUNCTION.
=18
x f(x) x f(x)
3 14 5 22
3.5 16 4.5 20
3.9 17.6 4.1 18.4
3.99 17.96 4.01 18.04
3.999 17.996 4.001 18.004
13
 THE LIMIT OF A FUNCTION
The limit of a function f(x) is the value it approaches as
the value of x approaches a certain value. “As x
approaches a, the limit of f(x) approaches L”. This is
written in symbols as follows:

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 Example 1: Find the
Table 1 – As x approaches 4 from the left
x 2 3 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.99 3.999
f(x)
Table 2 - As x approaches 4 from the right
x 6 5 4.5 4.3 4.1 4.01 4.001
f(x)
15
 Example 1: Find the
Table 1 – As x approaches 4 from the left
x 2 3 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.99 3.999
f(x) 4 5 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.99 5.999
Table 2 - As x approaches 4 from the right
x 6 5 4.5 4.3 4.1 4.01 4.001
f(x)
16
 Example 1: Find the =6
Table 1 – As x approaches 4 from the left
x 2 3 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.99 3.999
f(x) 4 5 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.99 5.999
Table 2 - As x approaches 4 from the right
x 6 5 4.5 4.3 4.1 4.01 4.001
f(x) 8 7 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.01 6.001
17
Example 1: Find the =6

18
Example 2: Find the =2
Example 3: = -3
Example 4:
DNE
Example 5:
Example 6:
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Assignment #1
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