Limits of functions

mc-TY-limits-2009-1
In this unit, we explain what it means for a function to tend to infinity, to minus infinity, or to a
real limit, as x tends to infinity or to minus infinity. We also explain what it means for a function
to tend to a real limit as x tends to a given real number. In each case, we give an example of a
function that does not tend to a limit at all.
In order to master the techniques explained here it is vital that you undertake plenty of practice
exercises so that they become second nature.
After reading this text, and/or viewing the video tutorial on this topic, you should be able to:
decide whether a function tends to plus or minus infinity, or to a real limit, as x tends to
infinity;
decide whether a function tends to plus or minus infinity, or to a real limit, as x tends to
minus infinity;
decide whether a function tends to a real limit as x tends to a given real number.

Contents
1. The limit of a function as x tends to infinity

2. The limit of a function as x tends to minus infinity

3. The limit of a function as x tends to a real number

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

1. The limit of a function as x tends to infinity

If we have a sequence (yn )
n=1 , we can say what it means for the sequence to have a limit
as n tends to infinity. We write
yn l as n
if, however small a distance we choose, yn eventually gets closer to l than that distance, and
stays closer. We can also write
lim f (x) = l .
x

For example, consider the sequence where yn = 1/n. The numbers in this sequence get closer
and closer to zero. Whatever positive number we choose, yn will eventually become smaller than
that number, and stay smaller. So yn eventually gets closer to zero than any distance we choose,
and stays closer. We say that the sequence has limit zero as n tends to infinity.

10

()

the sequence 1
n

n=1

We define the limit of a function in a similar way. For example, the points of the sequence
(1/n)
n=1 are also points on the graph of the function f (x) = 1/x for x > 0. As x gets larger,
f (x) gets closer and closer to zero. In fact, f (x) will get closer to zero than any distance we
choose, and will stay closer. We say that f (x) has limit zero as x tends to infinity, and we write
f (x) 0 as x ,

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

or

lim f (x) = 0 .

10
the function f(
f x) = 1
x
2

c mathcentre 2009

Another example of a function that has a limit as x tends to infinity is the function f (x) = 31/x2
for x > 0. As x gets larger, f (x) gets closer and closer to 3. For any small distance, f (x)
eventually gets closer to 3 than that distance, and stays closer. So we say that f (x) has limit 3
as x tends to infinity, and we write
f (x) 3 as x ,

or

lim f (x) = 3 .

1
the function f(x) = 3 2
x
In general, we say that f (x) tends to a real limit l as x tends to infinity if, however small a
distance we choose, f (x) gets closer than that distance to l and stays closer as x increases.
Of course, not all functions have real limits as x tends to infinity. Let us look at some other
types of behaviour. If we take the function f (x) = x2 , we see that f (x) does not get closer to
any particular number as x increases. Instead, f (x) just gets larger and larger. At some point,
f (x) will get larger than any number we choose, and will stay larger. In this case, we say that
f (x) tends to infinity as x tends to infinity, and we write
f (x) as x ,

or

lim f (x) = .

any number
we choose

3 x
the function f(x) = x 2

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

The function f (x) = x does not have a real limit as x tends to infinity. As x gets larger, this
function eventually gets more negative than any number we can choose, and it will stay more
negative. In this case, we say that f (x) tends to minus infinity as x tends to infinity, and we
write
f (x) as x ,

or

lim f (x) = .

3 x
any number
we choose
the function f(
f x) = x

Some functions do not have any kind of limit as x tends to infinity. For example, consider the
function f (x) = x sin x. This function does not get close to any particular real number as x
gets large, because we can always choose a value of x to make f (x) larger than any number we
choose. However f (x) does not tend to infinity, because it does not stay larger than the number
we have chosen, but instead returns to zero. For a similar reason, f (x) does not tend to minus
infinity. So we cannot talk about the limit of this function as x tends to infinity.

the function f(x) = x sinx

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

Key Point
The function f (x) has a real limit l as x tends to infinity if, however small a distance we choose,
f (x) gets closer than this distance to l and stays closer, no matter how large x becomes.
The function f (x) tends to infinity as x tends to infinity if, however large a number we choose,
f (x) gets larger than this number and stays larger, no matter how large x becomes.
The function f (x) tends to minus infinity as x tends to infinity if, however large and negative
a number we choose, f (x) gets more negative than this number and stays more negative, no
matter how large x becomes.

Exercise 1
For each of the following functions f (x), find the real limit as x if it exists. If it does not
exist, state whether the function tends to infinity, tends to minus infinity, or has no limit at all.
x+1
(d) f (x) = ex sin x
(a) f (x) = 2x2 3x3 (b) f (x) = tan x
(c) f (x) =
x1
(e) f (x) = ex cos2 x
(f) f (x) = tan1 x

2. The limit of a function as x tends to minus infinity

As well as defining the limit of a function as x tends to infinity, we can also define the limit as x
tends to minus infinity. Consider the function f (x) = ex . As x becomes more and more negative,
f (x) gets closer and closer to zero. However small a distance we choose, f (x) gets closer than
that distance to zero, and it stays closer as x becomes more negative. We say that f (x) has
limit zero as x tends to minus infinity, and we write
f (x) 0 as x ,

or

lim f (x) = 0 .

3 x
the function f(x) = e x
www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

In general we write
f (x) l as x

or

lim f (x) = l

if, however small a distance we choose, f (x) eventually gets closer to l than that distance, and
stays closer, as x becomes large and negative.
If, as x gets more negative, a function gets larger and stays larger than any number we can
choose, we write
f (x) as x , or
lim f (x) = .
x

For example, take the function f (x) = x again. We have already seen that it tends to infinity
as x tends to infinity. But it also tends to infinity as x tends to minus infinity. As x gets large
and negative, the function gets larger than any number we can choose, and stays larger.

any number
we choose

3 x
the function f(x) = x 2
If, instead, as x gets more negative, a function gets more negative and stays more negative than
any number we can choose, we write
f (x) as x ,

or

lim f (x) = .

As an example, consider the function f (x) = x3 . You can see that, as x gets more and more
negative, x3 becomes more negative than any number we can choose, and stays more negative.
So f (x) tends to minus infinity as x tends to minus infinity.

3 x
any number
we choose
the function f(x) = x 3
www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

Some functions do not have any kind of limit as x tends to minus infinity. For example, consider
the function f (x) = x sin x that we saw earlier. This function does not get close to any particular
real number as x gets large and negative, because we can always choose a value of x to make
f (x) larger than any number we choose. However f (x) does not tend to infinity, because it does
not stay larger than the number we have chosen as we decrease x, but instead returns to zero.
For a similar reason, f (x) does not tend to minus infinity. So we cannot talk about the limit of
this function as x tends to minus infinity.

the function f(x) = x sinx

Key Point
The function f (x) has a real limit l as x tends to minus infinity if, however small a distance
we choose, f (x) gets closer than this distance to l and stays closer, no matter how large and
negative x becomes.
The function f (x) tends to infinity as x tends to minus infinity if, however large a number we
choose, f (x) gets larger than this number and stays larger, no matter how large and negative x
becomes.
The function f (x) tends to minus infinity as x tends to minus infinity if, however large and negative a number we choose, f (x) gets more negative than this number and stays more negative,
no matter how large and negative x becomes.

Exercise 2
For each of the functions f (x) from Exercise 1, find the real limit as x if it exists. If
it does not exist, state whether the function tends to infinity, tends to minus infinity, or has no
limit at all.

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

3. The limit of a function as x tends to a real number

There is one more type of limit that we can define for functions. Let us consider the function
f (x) = x + 3. If we choose a number, such as 1, then as x gets closer and closer to that number,
f (x) also gets closer and closer to a number, in this case 4. We write
f (x) 4 as x 1 ,

or

lim f (x) = 4 .

x1

Similarly, f (x) gets closer and closer to 8 as x gets closer and closer to 5. So we write
f (x) 8 as x 5 ,

or

lim f (x) = 8 .

x5

the function f(x) = x + 3

Now this definition of a limit might not look very useful. We know that when x = 1 then the
value of f (x) is 4. And again, when x = 5 then the value of (x) is 8. Why would we want to
bother looking at what happens when x gets closer and closer to these numbers?
The reason is that we might sometimes have a function that is not defined at a point. For
example, consider the graph of the function x sin(1/x). This function is defined for every value
apart from zero, because at x = 0 we have a fraction with a zero denominator inside the sine
function. Bt if we look at the rest of the graph, we can see that f (x) gets closer and closer to
zero as x gets closer and closer to zero. So we write
f (x) 0 as x 0 ,

or

lim f (x) = 0 .

x0

We might say that f (0) ought to equal 0, even though there is no properly defined value for
f (x) at zero.
www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

the function f(x) = x sin 1

x

So the limit of a f (x) at a point where the function is undefined can be thought of as the value
the function should be taking at that point.
2

A similar thing happens with the function f (x) = e1/x . This function gets closer and closer
to zero as x gets closer and closer to zero. But again the value of the function at x = 0 is not
defined, because there is a fraction with a zero denominator in the function. Nevertheless, we
can see that the limit of the function is 0 as x tends to zero, so we write
f (x) 0 as x 0 ,

or

lim f (x) = 0 .

x0

the function f(x) =

1
x
e 2

Some functions do not have limits at certain points. If we take the function f (x) = |x|/x then,
for x > 0, f (x) = x/x = 1. But for x < 0, f (x) = x/x = 1. At x = 0 the function is
undefined, because there is a zero denominator. If x is positive then going closer and closer to
zero keeps f (x) at 1. But if x is negative, going closer and closer to zero keeps f (x) at 1. So
this function does not have a limit at x = 0.
www.mathcentre.ac.uk

c mathcentre 2009

the function f(x) =

| x|
x

Key Point
The limit of f (x) as x tends to a real number, is the value f (x) approaches as x gets closer to
that real number.

Exercise 3
Find each of the following real limits, if they exist. If the real limit does not exist, state whether
the function tends to infinity, tends to minus infinity, or has no limit at all.
1
1
1
(a) lim sin x
(b) lim sin
(c) lim
(d) lim
x0
x0
x2 x 2
x2 (x 2)2
x
2
x 3x + 2
(e) lim
(f)
lim tan x
x1
x/2
1x
Answers
1.
(a) minus infinity

(b) no limit

(c)

(d) 0

(e) no limit

(f) /2

2.
(a) infinity

(b) no limit

(c)

1 (d)

no limit

(e) 0

(f)

/2

(d) infinity

(e) 1

(f)

no limit

3.
(a) 0

(b) no limit

www.mathcentre.ac.uk

(c)

no limit

10

c mathcentre 2009