Lesson 1.

Evaluating Limits
through Table of Values

Precalculus
Basic Calculus
/ Basic Calculus
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
When you ride a
car, do you
notice its speed?

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Usually, we get the
average speed of the
car for a certain
duration, like one
hour or one minute.

But is it possible to
estimate the speed of
the car at a particular
instant? 3
To answer this question, we need the concept
of limits.

In particular, we will talk about limits of

functions.

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 Learning Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

Illustrate the limit of a function using a table of

values (STEM_BC11LC-IIIa-1).

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 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Define the limit of a function.

● Define one-sided limits.

● Define infinite limits.

● Estimate the limit of a function using tables of

values.
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Is it correct to say that we can
only get an estimate of a limit?
Why do you say so?

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 Limit of a Function

Investigate what happens to the values of the linear

function as approaches 2.

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 Limit of a Function

from the left of 2: 𝟐

from the right of 2: 𝟐

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 Limit of a Function

from the left of 2: 𝟐

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 Limit of a Function

from the right of 2: 𝟐

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 Limit of a Function

from the left of 2: 𝟐

from the right of 2: 𝟐

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 Limit of a Function

We say that “the limit of as approaches 2 is 6.”

In symbols,

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 Intuitive Definition of a Limit

Suppose the function is defined when is near . If gets

closer to from both sides as gets closer to , then we say
that “the limit of as approaches is equal to .”

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate the limit of the quadratic function

as approaches using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate the limit of the quadratic function

as approaches using tables of values.

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Try It!

Estimate the limit of the function

as approaches using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using table of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using table of values.

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Try It!

Estimate using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using table of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using table of values.

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Try It!

Estimate using tables of values.

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Remember

In finding the limit, we are only concerned

about the value being approached by the
function as approaches a number . The
function need not be defined at
.

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Does the limit of a function
always exist?

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 One-Sided Limits

Left-hand Limit:

Suppose the function is defined when is near from the

left. Then, the limit of as approaches from the left is
equal to a number . This can be written as

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 One-Sided Limits

Right-hand Limit:

Suppose the function is defined when is near from the

right. Then, the limit of as approaches from the right is
equal to a number . This can be written as

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 One-Sided Limits

If the left- and right-hand limits of a function as

approaches are both equal to a certain real number, then
the limit of the function as approaches exists.

Otherwise, it does not exist.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate the limit of the signum function as

approaches zero from the left.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate the limit of the signum function as

approaches zero from the left.

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Try It!

Given the piecewise function below,

estimate using a table of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Given the function below, estimate .

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 Let’s Practice!

Given the function below, estimate .

1
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Try It!

Estimate the limit of the signum

function as approaches zero from the
right.

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 Let’s Practice!

Given the function below, estimate , , and .

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 Let’s Practice!

Given the function below, estimate , , and .

does not exist.

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Try It!

Given the function below, estimate , ,

and .

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 Infinite Limits

A function may not have a limit as approaches a certain

value because it increases or decreases indefinitely.

In this case, we will use the concept of infinity.

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 Infinite Limits

Suppose the function is defined when is as near as

possible to on both sides.

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 Infinite Limits

Suppose the function is defined when is as near as

possible to on both sides.

If increases without bound as approaches , then we

write

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 Infinite Limits

If decreases without bound as approaches , then we

write

In both cases, the limit does not exist.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using tables of values.

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Try It!

Estimate using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate using tables of values.

does not exist

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Try It!

Estimate using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate , and using tables of values.

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 Let’s Practice!

Estimate , and using tables of values.

does not exist.

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Try It!

Estimate , , and using tables of values.

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 Check Your Understanding

Estimate , , and given the table of values below.

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 Check Your Understanding

For each item, use tables of values to estimate ,, and.

Then, determine .

1. ;
2. ;
3. ;

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

Suppose that the function is defined when is near . If gets

closer to from both sides as gets closer to , then we say
that “the limit of as approaches is equal to .”

This is written as

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

Suppose that the function is defined when is near from

the left. Then, the left-hand limit of as approaches from
the left is equal to a number .

This can be written as

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

Suppose that the function is defined when is near from

the right. Then, the right-hand limit of as approaches
from the right is equal to a number .

This can be written as

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

If the left- and right-hand limits of as approaches a

number are equal, then we say that the limit of as
approaches exists.

If this is NOT the case, then the limit does not exist.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

Suppose the function is defined when is as near as

possible to on both sides. If increases without bound as
approaches , then we say that “the limit of as approaches
is infinity.”

This is written as

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

If decreases without bound as approaches , then we say

that “the limit of as approaches is negative infinity.”

This is written as

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

To estimate the limit of a function as approaches , follow

the steps below:

Step 1: Construct tables with arbitrary values that are very

close to from the left and right sides.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

To estimate the limit of a function as approaches , follow

the steps below:

Step 2: Complete the table by solving the value of for each

value.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

To estimate the limit of a function as approaches , follow

the steps below:

Step 3: Estimate the values that are being approached by

from the left and right sides of .

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Challenge Yourself

Explain what the equation

means. Is it possible for the equation
to be true and yet ?

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 Photo Credits
● Slides 2 and 3: Eriks airconditioned road trip car by
Stig Nygaard is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
Bibliography
Edwards, C.H., and David E. Penney. Calculus: Early
Transcendentals. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008.
Larson, Ron H., and Bruce H. Edwards. Essential Calculus: Early
Transcendental Functions. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Leithold, Louis. The Calculus 7. New York: HarperCollins
College Publ., 1997.
Smith, Robert T., and Roland B. Milton. Calculus. New York:
McGraw Hill, 2012.
Tan, Soo T. Applied Calculus for the Managerial, Life, and Social
Sciences: A Brief Approach. Australia: Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning, 2012.
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