Calculus 1

Limits and
Continuity
MPS Department | FEU Institute of Technology
 Calculus 1

Limits
MPS Department | FEU Institute of Technology
 OBJECTIVES

After the completion of the topics the student can:

• Define limit and one – sided limit
• Demonstrate graphically the theory of limits
• Evaluate limits and interpret the results
Introduction
Tangent Lines

A tangent line to the function f(x) at the point x = a

is a line that just touches the graph of the function
at the point (a,f(a)).

Except for cases involving a vertical tangent line,

the problem of finding the tangent line at a point
(a,f(a)) is equivalent to finding the slope of the
tangent line at (a,f(a)). We can approximate the
slope by using a line through the point of tangency
and a second point on the curve, say at (b,f(b)).
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/Tangents_Rates.aspx
Such a line is called a secant line.
Note that b = a + ∆x, therefore
f(b) = f(a + ∆x)

The slope is

𝑓 𝑏 −𝑓(𝑎)
𝑚= 𝑏 −𝑎

𝑓 𝑥+∆𝑥 −𝑓(𝑎)
𝑚= ∆𝑥

As (b,f(b)) approaches the point (a,f(a)),the slope of the secant line approaches the slope of the
tangent line. When such a “limiting position” exists, the slope of the tangent line is said to be the limit
of the slopes of the secant line.
Finding the Limits Graphically and Numerically
𝑥 2 −1
Graph: 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥−1

Table of Values:

x approaches 1 from the left x approaches 1 from the right

x 0.5 0.9 0.99 0.999 1 1.001 1.01 1.1 1.5

f(x) 1.5 1.9 1.99 1.999 ? 2.001 2.01 2.1 2.5

f(x) approaches 2 f(x) approaches 2

The graph of f is a line with a gap at (1,2). Although x cannot be equal to 1, you can move arbitrarily
close to 1, as a result f(x) moves arbitrarily close to 2.
Informal Definition
If f(x) becomes arbitrarily close to a single number L as x approaches a from either side, the limit of
f(x), as x approaches a, is L.

lim 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝐿
𝑥→𝑎

In our example,
𝑥2 − 1
lim =2
𝑥→1 𝑥 − 1

Try. Evaluate by table of values.

𝑥 1, 𝑥 ≠ 2
a lim (c) f(x) = . Find the limit of f(x) as x
𝑥→0 𝑥+1−1 0, 𝑥 = 2
approaches 2.
1
(b) lim
𝑥→0 𝑥 2
One – Sided Limit
Right – handed limit

We say
lim f x = L
x→a+

provided we can make f(x) as close to L as we want for all x sufficiently close to a with x > a without
actually letting x be a.

Left – handed limit

We say
lim f x = L
x→a−

provided we can make f(x) as close to L as we want for all x sufficiently close to a with x < a without
actually letting x be a.
Example
1, x < 2
1. Given: f(x) = .
0, x > 2
Then lim+ f x = 0 and lim− f x = 1
x→2 x→2

x2 −4
2. Given: f(x) = , x ≠ 2.
x−2
6, x=2
Then lim+ f x = 4 and lim− f x = 4
x→2 x→2

x2 −4
3. Given: f(x) = , x ≠ 2.
x−2
4, x=2
Then lim+ f x = 4 and lim− f x = 4
x→2 x→2
Fact
Given a function f(x) if,

lim+ f x = lim− f x = L
x→a x→a

Then
lim f x = L
x→a
Example
Evaluate:

1. f −4 = DNE
2. lim + f x = 2
x→−4
3. lim − f x = 2
x→−4
4. lim f x = 2
x→−4
5. f(6) = 2
6. lim+ f x = 5
x→6
7. lim− f x = 5
x→6
8. lim f x = 5
x→6
9. f(1) = 4
10. lim+ f x = −2 http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/OneSidedLimits.aspx
x→1
11. lim− f x = 4
x→1
12. lim f x = DNE
x→1
Properties
Assume lim f x and lim g x exist and that c is any constant. Then
x→a x→a

1. lim [c f x ] = c lim f x
x→a x→a

2. lim [ f x ± g(x)] = lim f x ± lim g(x)

x→a x→a x→a

3. lim [ f x g(x)] = lim f x lim g(x)

x→a x→a x→a

f(x) lim f x
4. lim [ g(x)] = x→a
, provided lim g(x) ≠ 0
x→a lim g(x) x→a
x→a

n
5 . lim[f x ] = lim f x
n
, where n is any real number
x→a x→a
Properties
Assume lim f x and lim g x exist and that c is any constant. Then
x→a x→a

6. lim [ n f(x)] = n lim f x

x→a x→a

7. lim c = c
x→a

8. lim x = a
x→a

9. lim[x]n = an
x→a

10. If p(x) is a polynomial then,lim p x = p(a)

x→a
Evaluating Limits
I. Plug – In / Substitution

Example:

1. lim 𝑥 3 − 3𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 − 4
𝑥→2
= (2) −3 2
3 2
+ 4(2) − 4
=0

2. lim (𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 + 5)2
𝑥→−2
= [ −2 2 − 4 −2 + 5]2
= (4 + 8 + 5)2
= 289

3. lim 𝑥 4 − 4𝑥 + 1
𝑥→−2
= (−2)4 −4 −2 + 1
=5
 0
II. Factoring. It is used when plug – in methods results to 0 .

Example:

2x2 +x−3 0 𝑥 3 −27 0 𝑥 4 −1 0

1. lim x−1 = 0 3. lim 𝑥−3 = 0 4. lim =
x→1 𝑥→3 𝑥→1 𝑥−1 0
(2x+3)(x−1) (𝑥−3)(𝑥 2 +3𝑥+9)
lim = lim 𝑥 4 −1
x→1 x−1
𝑥→3 (𝑥−3) =lim 𝑥−1
lim(2x + 3) = 5 =lim (𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 + 9)
𝑥→1
x→1 𝑥→3 (𝑥 2 −1)(𝑥 2 +1)
=9+9+9 =lim
x+2 0 𝑥→1 𝑥−1
2. lim 4−x2 = 0 = 27 (𝑥−1)(𝑥+1)(𝑥 2 +1)
x→−2
x+2 =lim
lim (2+x)(2−x) 𝑥→1 𝑥−1
x→−2
1 1 =lim (𝑥 + 1)(𝑥 2 + 1)
lim (2−x) = 4 𝑥→1
x→−2 =2
III. Get a common denominator

Example:
1 1
− 0
1. lim x−2 = 0
2 x
x→2
1 x−2
= lim
x→2 x−2 2x
1
= lim 2x
x→2
1
= 4

1
2. lim x 1 − x
x→0
x−1
= lim x
x→0 x
= lim(x − 1)
x→0
=-1
IV. Multiply by the conjugate (rationalize)

Example:

x+2−2 0
1. lim =0
x→2 x−2
x+2−2 x+2+2
= lim x
x→2 x−2 x+2+2
x+2−4 x−2
= lim (x−2)( x+2+2) = lim (x−2)( x+2+2)
x→2 x→2
1
=4

x+1−3 0
2. lim =0
x→8 x−8
x+1−3 x+1+3
= lim x−8 x x+1+3
x→8
x+1−9 x−8
= lim (x−8)( x+1+3) = lim (x−8)( x+1+3)
x→8 x→8
1
=6
V. Trigonometric Forms
sinθ θ 1−cosθ
lim θ = 1 lim sinθ = 1 lim θ
=1
θ→0 θ→0 θ→0

Examples:
sin2x 0
1. lim x = 0
x→0
sin2x 2
= lim x2
x→0 x
2sin2x sin2x
= lim 2x = 2 lim
x→0 x→2 2x
=2

sin2x 0
2. lim =
x→0 8x 0
sin2x 2
= lim 8x x 2
x→0
2sin2x 1 sin2x
= lim 8(2x) = 4 lim 2x
x→0 x→2
1
=4
Infinite Limits
Definition

We say
lim f x = ∞
x→a

provided we can make f(x) arbitrarily large for all x sufficiently close to x = a, from both sides, without
actually letting x be a.

We say
lim f x = − ∞
x→a

provided we can make f(x) arbitrarily large and negative for all x sufficiently close to x = a, from both
sides, without actually letting x be a.
Example:

1 1 1
lim+ 𝑥 lim− 𝑥 lim 𝑥
𝑥→0 𝑥→0 𝑥→0

x 𝟏 x 𝟏
𝒙 𝒙
- 0.1 -10 0.1 10
- 0.01 -100 0.01 100
- 0.001 -1000 0.001 1000
- 0.0001 - 10000 0.0001 10000

From the table:

1 1
lim+ 𝑥 = ∞ lim− 𝑥 = −∞
𝑥→0 𝑥→0

And since the two are not equal, then

1
lim 𝑥 = Does not exist
𝑥→0
Example:

1 1 1
lim+ 𝑥2 lim− 𝑥2 lim 𝑥2
𝑥→0 𝑥→0 𝑥→0

x 𝟏 x 𝟏
𝒙𝟐 𝒙𝟐

- 0.1 10 0.1 10
- 0.01 100 0.01 100
- 0.001 1000 0.001 1000
- 0.0001 10000 0.0001 10000
From the table:
1 1
lim+ 𝑥2 = ∞ lim− 𝑥2 = ∞
𝑥→0 𝑥→0

And since the two are equal, then

1
lim 𝑥2 = ∞
𝑥→0
Limits at Infinity
By limits at infinity we mean one of the following two limits:

lim f x lim f x
x→∞ x→−∞

Fact:

1. If p is a positive rational number and c is any real number then,

c
lim =0
x→∞ x p

2. If p is a positive rational number, c is any real number and x p is defined for x < 0, then,

c
lim =0
x→−∞ x p
Limits at Infinity

Example:

Evaluate

1. lim x 4 − 3x 2 + 5x
x→∞
3 5 3 5
= lim x 4 ( 1 − x2 + x3 ) = lim x 4 lim (1 − x2 + x3 ) = ∞ 1 − 0 − 0 = ∞
x→∞ x→∞ x→∞

2. lim 4x 5 − 13x 3 + 5
x→−∞
13 5 13 5
= lim x 5 ( 4 − x2 + x5 ) = lim x 5 lim (4 − x2 + x5 ) = −∞ 4 − 0 − 0 = −∞
x→∞ x→∞ x→∞

3. lim 7x 6 − 13x 3 + 5
x→−∞
13 5 13 5
= lim x 6 ( 7 − x3 + x6 ) = lim x 6 lim (7 − x3 + x6 ) = ∞ 7 − 0 − 0 = ∞
x→∞ x→∞ x→∞
 Calculus 1

Continuity
MPS Department | FEU Institute of Technology
 OBJECTIVES

After the completion of the topics the student can:

• Illustrate continuity of a function
• Determine if a function is continuous or not
Continuity
A function f(x) is said to be continuous at x = a if

lim f x = f(a)
x→a

A function is said to be continuous on the interval [a , b] if it is continuous at each point in the

interval.

If f(x) is continuous at x = a then,

lim f x = f(a) lim f x = f(a) lim f x = f(a)

x→a x→a− x→a+
Example:
Given the graph of f(x) on the right. Determine if f(x)
is continuous at x = − 2, x = 0 and x = 3.

Solution:

1) At x = − 2,

a) f(− 2) = 2

b) lim f(x) = DNE.

x→−2

Since limit does not exist, therefore f(x) is http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/

discontinuous at x = − 2. This is called jump

discontinuity.
Example:
Given the graph of f(x) on the right. Determine if f(x)
is continuous at x = − 2, x = 0 and x = 3.

Solution:

2) At x = 0,

a) f(0) = 1

b) lim f(x) = 1.
x→0

Since the function and the limit have the same

value, the function is continuous at x = 0.
Example:
Given the graph of f(x) on the right. Determine if f(x)
is continuous at x = − 2, x = 0 and x = 3.

Solution:

3) At x = 3,

a) f(3) = − 1

b) lim f(x) = 0.
x→0

Since the function and the limit does not have the
same value, the function is discontinuous at x = 0.
Such is called removable discontinuity.
Example:
Is g(x) continuous at all values of x?

x2 + 1
g x = 2
x − x − 12

Rational functions are continuous everywhere except when the denominator is zero.

Therefore, g(x) will not be continuous at x = 4 and x = − 3.

Example:
Given:

x2 − 1 −1 < x < 1
f x = 1−x 1≤x<3
3x − 10 3≤x<5

Is f(x) continuous at x = 1 and x = 3?

Solution:

a) At x = 1
i. f(1) = 0
ii. lim− f x = 0 lim f(x) = 0
x→1 x→1+
Therefore, lim f(x) = 0
x→1
iii. Since f(1) = lim f(x) = 0, therefore, f(x) is continuous at x = 1.
x→1
Example:
Given:

x2 − 1 −1 < x < 1
f x = 1−x 1≤x<3
3x − 10 3≤x<5

Is f(x) continuous at x = 1 and x = 3?

Solution:

b) At x = 3
i. f(3) = - 1
ii. lim− f x = −2 lim f x = − 1
x→3 x→3+
Therefore, limit does not exists.

Hence, f(x) is discontinuous at x = 3.

Example:
Given:

x 2 − k −1 < x < 1
f x = k − 3x 1≤x<3
3x − m 3 ≤ x < 5

If f(x) is continuous at (- 1,5), find the values of k and m?

Solution:
In able that f(x) is continuous on the given interval, f(x) should be continuous at x = 1 and x = 3.
At x = 1,
i. f(1) = k – 3x, here we assumed first that k exists
ii. lim f x should exists. lim+ f x = lim− f x = x 2 − k = k − 3x, where x = 1
x→1 x→1 x→1
Plug in x = 1, we have 1 − k = k − 3 1 → 2k = 4, so k = 2
2

To solve for m, use x = 3. Equating the left and right side limits, we have
k – 3x = 3x – m → 2 – 3(3) = 3(3) – m, so m = 9 + 9 – 2 = 16
References:
Printed References

Stewart, James (2018). Calculus: International Metric Version. Australia: Cengage Learning.
Larson, Ron and Bruce H. Edwards (2019). Calculus. Ninth Edition. Australia: Cengage Learning.
Danao, Rolando A. (2017). Core Concepts of Calculus with Applications. Quezon City: The University
of the Philippines Press.
Prieto – Valdez, Juan J. (2017). Calculus Notebook: Calculus and Analytic Geometry.
Stein, Sherman K. (2016). Calculus in the first three dimensions. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
Bittinger, M., Ellenbogen, D. and Surgent, S. (2016). Calculus and its Applications. Singapore: Pearson
Education South Asia Pte Ltd.
References:
Online References

http://www.sosmath.com/calculus/calculus.html
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/CalculusandAnalysis.html
http://www.calculus.org/
http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/
http://www.math.hmc.edu/calculus/tutorials/
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/Calc/
https://openstax.org/books/calculus-volume-1
https://www.math24.net/topics-calculus/
http://spot.pcc.edu/math/APEXCalculus/