Intro to Limits

2.1
  Up to now you have used algebra and
geometry to solve problems where
things are basically staying the same
or changing at the same rate.
 Calculus is a branch of mathematics
that deals with things that are
changing.

The rate of change at Acceleration of rocket

Volume of an ship that is changing
any point on a curve
expanding balloon every part of a second
 One of the most basic and
fundamental ideas of calculus is limits.
 Limits allow us to look at what
happens in a very, very small region
around a point.
 Two of the major formal definitions of
calculus depend on limits
 Definition of Limit of a Function
Suppose that the function f(x) is defined for all values
of x near a, but not necessarily at a. If as x
approaches a (without actually attaining the value a),
f(x) approaches the number L, then we say that L is
the limit of f(x) as x approaches a, and write
lim f ( x)  L
xa

y = f(x)
f(x) (x,f(x))
L
No matter how x approaches a,
f(x) (x,f(x))
f(x) approaches L.
x a x x
 Left & Right Hand Limits

lim f ( x) lim f ( x)
xa xa
2

-5 5

lim x 3  0 -2 lim x 3  0
x 0 x 0
 Theorem

10 50

40
5

30
The limit does
-10 -5 0 5 10
x 20 not exist for
-5 The limit exists 10 this function.
for this function.
-10
0 5 10 15 20
x
 lim f ( x)  2 lim f ( x)  2 lim f ( x)  2
x 1 x 1 x 1

The limit can exist even

The limit is
when the function is not
a number
defined at a point or has a
value different from the limit.
 If f(x)  x , what is lim f(x)?
2

x2

lim x  4
2
x2

lim x 2  4
x2 2

 lim x 2  4 -5
x2
 lim f ( x)  DNE
x4

lim f ( x)  DNE
x 1 lim f ( x)  2
x 3

lim f ( x)  1
x2
lim f ( x)  DNE lim f ( x)  5 lim f ( x)  3
x  2 x4
x 8

lim f ( x)  2 lim f ( x)  DNE lim f ( x)  5

x 0 x 5
x 10

lim f ( x)  DNE lim f ( x)  DNE lim f ( x)  DNE

x2 x 6 x 11