Calculus
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http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/Cal-Book1/Ch2/
Chapter 2. Limits and Continuity
2.1 Limits of functions
[Solutions-Presentation] http://youtu.be/LZSmRPAAXME
[Solutions-Presentation] http://youtu.be/hj8d-j_DGf4
2.2 Continuity http://youtu.be/zGxx3PUCTnM
[Solutions-Presentation] http://youtu.be/azrkT1RP4-c
2.1 Limits of Functions
[lectures] http://youtu.be/VBCeAllP1M0
[Solution] http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/Cal-Book/part1/CS-Sec-2-1-Sol.html
In this section, we introduce the notion of the “limit.” Intuitively, this notion is easy to understand. But mathematically, we should prepare for situations that are not intuitive at all. As the chapter progresses we will introduce a more rigorous definition of the limit. Thus, for completeness, we will define the “limit” by ‘-
’ arguments at the end of this section. We also will study many limit laws and most of them can be proved rigorously with ‘
-
’ arguments.
First, consider one example
EXAMPLE 1 Investigate the behavior of the function ,
, near the point
.
Solution. Note that is not defined because the denominator is zero when
Compute some values of
when
is close to 2, and smaller than 2. (We say “from the left” of 2.)
|
1.9 |
1.99 |
1.999 |
1.9999 |
1.99999 |
1.999999 |
|
3.9 |
3.99 |
3.999 |
3.9999 |
3.99999 |
3.999999 |
From the above table, we observe that as is getting closer and closer to 2 from the left (
), the function value is getting closer and closer to 4.
On the other hand, compute some other values of when
is close to 2 and larger than 2 from the right.
|
2.1 |
2.01 |
2.001 |
2.0001 |
2.00001 |
2.000001 |
|
4.1 |
4.01 |
4.001 |
4.0001 |
4.00001 |
4.000001 |
From the above table, we observe that as is getting closer and closer to 2 from the right (
), the function value is also getting closer and closer to 4 but not equal to 4. So if
approaches 2, then we have only two cases, that is, (i)
and
approaches 2, or (ii)
and
approaches 2. From above arguments, we find that the function value approaches 4 in both cases. ■
The above example suggests the following definition of the limit.
DEFINITION 1
The expression “” is read as “the limit of
, as
approaches
, equals
.” This means that we can make the values of
to be arbitrarily close to
by taking
to be sufficiently close to
but not equal to
. In other words,
gets closer and closer to
as
gets closer and closer to
(but not equal to
).
Alternatively, we write ‘ as
.’
In finding the limit of as
approaches
, the phrase “but
” means that
is never considered. Thus we do not care about the value of
for finding the limit of
. It does not matter even if
is not defined at
. Our interest is in how
is defined near
. Figure 1 shows the graphs of three functions. Note that in part (b),
, in part (c),
is not defined. But in each case, regardless of what happens to
at
, it is true that
.
Figure 1 three cases
DEFINITION 2
The expression “” is read as “the left-hand limit of
, as
approaches
, equals
”. This means that we can make the values of
arbitrarily close to
by taking
to be sufficiently close to
and
is less than
. In other words,
gets closer and closer to
as
gets closer and closer to
with restriction
.
Similarly, if we restrict that to be greater than
, then we have “the right-hand limit of
as
approaches
, equals
.” For notation, we use
.
Thus, the symbol “” means that we consider only
(only values of
that are greater than
, that is, to the right of
are considered). Similarly “
” means that we consider only
(only values of
that are less than
, that is, to the left of
are considered).
In the Figure 1, the limit of exists if the limits of
‘from the right and left’ coincide. We will call the limit from the left and from the right, ‘left-hand limit’ and ‘right-hand limit’, respectively.
We have the following theorem.
THEOREM 3
The limit of as
approaches
exists if and only if both left and right limits as
approaches
exist and coincide. That is,
if and only if
In some cases, both the left-hand and the right-hand limits exist, but they are not equal, so the limit does not exist. Consider the Heaviside function : (The Heaviside function is very important in ordinary differential equations and electromagnetism because this function represents turning on a switch at time 0).
For the Heaviside function, we have and
Hence
does not exist.
EXAMPLE 2
Determine whether the limit exists or not.
Figure 2
Solution.
Here we use the Theorem 3 above. That is, we consider the left -hand and the right-hand limits. If we consider the left-hand limit, then we have , because
. Thus we have the left-hand limit
On the other hand, if we consider the right-hand limit, then we have
, because
. Hence we have the right-hand limit
. Because these two limits do not coincide,
does not exist by Theorem 3. ■
Here we describe what it means for the values of a function to increase (or decrease) without bound or to approach infinity and what it means for
to have a limit as
approaches infinity
. The symbol
does not represent any real number. Also we cannot use
in arithmetic in the usual way.
Infinite Limits
The following definition of infinite limits is informal, but it is adequate for most functions encountered in this book.
DEFINITION 4
Suppose is defined for all
near
. If
grows arbitrarily large for all
sufficiently close(but not equal) to
, we write
.
We say the limit of as
approaches
is infinity.
If is negative and grows arbitrarily large in magnitude for all
sufficiently close(but not equal) to
, we write
.
In this case, we say the limit of as
approaches
is negative infinity. In both cases, the limit does not exist.
For example consider the function which is defined for all real numbers except at
.
Let us consider the limit of , and observe that:
(ⅰ) approaches 0 as
tends to
.
(ⅱ) tends to
as
approaches 0 from the right.
(ⅲ) tends to
as
approaches 0 from the left.
(ⅳ) approaches 0 as
tends to
.
Let a function be defined on both sides of
, except possibly at
itself. Then
means that the values of
can be made arbitrarily large (as large as we want) (or “increase without bound”) by taking
sufficiently close to
, but of course not equal to
. In this case we say that the limit does not exist.
Figure 3
Similarly, means that the values of
can be made arbitrarily large and negative by taking
sufficiently close to
, but not equal to
.
Similar definitions can be given for the following one-sided limits
,
,
,
.
Consider the natural logarithm function . (See Figure 3.) As
,
tends to
and the distance between curve
and
-axis approaches 0.
We will call the straight line the vertical asymptote of
.
THEOREM 5
A straight line is said to be an asymptote to a curve
if the distance between the curve
and the line
decreases to zero as we traverse along the curve
. Asymptotes may be horizontal, or vertical.
If (a finite number) as
or
, then
is a horizontal asymptote.
Figure 4
Similarly if (or
) as
(finite number), then
is a vertical asymptote. The calculation of slant asymptotes is more involved. In general, a knowledge of asymptotes is very useful when sketching graphs.
EXAMPLE 3
Find vertical and horizontal asymptotes of .
Solution. Now . So
are two vertical asymptotes. Similarly
are two horizontal asymptotes. ■
For calculations of limits, the following limit laws are very useful. Proofs of the limit laws can be constructed using -
arguments.
Properties of Limit
Suppose that the limits and
exist and
is a constant. Then
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. if
6. , where
is a positive integer.
7. , where
is a positive integer.
(If is even, we require
.)
http://www.milefoot.com/math/calculus/limits/GenericLimitLawProofs04.htm
Note: The Limit Laws also hold for one-sided limits.
Next, we state the Squeeze Theorem (or Sandwich Theorem), which is useful in finding many important limits.
THEOREM 6 The Squeeze Theorem (or Sandwich Theorem)
If when
is near
(except possibly at
) and
then
This says that if is squeezed between
and
near
, and if
and
have the same limit
at
, then
is forced to have the same limit
at
. (See Figure 5 and also imagine a sandwich.)
Figure 5 Squeeze Theorem
EXAMPLE 4
Find .
Figure 6
Solution. Since does not exist (the functions oscillates between
and
), the fourth property of limit cannot be applied here.
However, since , we have
. (See Figure 6.)
But we know that . Take
,
,
, then by the Squeeze Theorem, we have
. ■
CAS EXAMPLE 5
Find numerically by filling out the following form using the given Sage code.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-Exm5.html
Solution.
var('x')
f(x)=(x^3-8)/(x-2)
a=[1.9, 1.99, 1.999, 1.9999, 1.99999, 1.999999, 1.9999999]
b=[2.1, 2.01, 2.001, 2.0001, 2.00001, 2.000001, 2.0000001]
print [f(k) for k in a]
print [f(k) for k in b]
|
1.9 |
1.99 |
1.999 |
1.9999 |
1.99999 |
1.999999 |
1.9999999 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.1 |
2.01 |
2.001 |
2.0001 |
2.00001 |
2.000001 |
2.0000001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[11.4100000000000, 11.9401000000000, 11.9940010000001,
11.9994000099957, 11.9999400000839, 11.9999940003548, 11.9999993960387]
[12.6100000000000, 12.0601000000000, 12.0060009999991,
12.0006000099972, 12.0000600001826, 12.0000060005334, 12.0000006039613]
Answer : It converges to 12. ■
[Practice Math & Code in http://sage.skku.edu/ or https://sagecell.sagemath.org/ or https://cocalc.com/]
Until now, we have used an intuitive definition of the limit. But if we want to prove the previous theorems and limit laws with mathematically rigorous deduction, we need the following “-
” definition for the limit.
DEFINITION 7 Epsilon-Delta Definition
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Epsilon-DeltaDefinition.html
An epsilon-delta definition is a mathematical definition in which a statement on a real function of one variable having, for example, the form "for all neighborhoods
of
there is a neighborhood
of
such that, whenever
, then
" is rephrased as "for all
there is
such that, whenever
, then
." These two statements are equivalent formulations of the definition of the limit
. In the second one, the neighborhood
is replaced by the open interval
, and the neighborhood
by the open interval
.
For a function of several variables, the absolute value would be replaced by the norm of
. These statements express the fact that for all
which lie close enough to
,
lies as close to
as desired. This facilitates the task of proving limits since the fundamental formula are actually shown by constructing a
with the required property for any given
.
Let us prove the sum law using the above definition.
Limit Law (Sum Law)
If and
both exist, then
.
Proof
The Sum Law Let be given. We must find
such that
whenever
.
Using the Triangle Inequality we have
.
We make less than
by making each of the terms
and
less than
, respectively.
Since and
there exists a number
such that
whenever
.
Similarly, since there exists a number
such that
whenever
. Let
. Notice that if
then
and
, and so
and
.
Therefore,
.
To summarize, whenever
.Thus, by the definition of a limit,
■
Figure 7 “-
” definition
Consider the function if
and
(see Figure 7).
When is close to 4 but
, it is clear from the definition that
is close to 13, and so
.
If should differ from 13 by less than 0.l, determine how much
should differ from 4. Since the distance from
to 4 is
and the distance from
from 13 is
, the problem is to find a number
such that if
but
, then
.
By the side calculation, gives as a possible candidate of
.
Notice that if then
. Thus,
. In other words, if
is within a distance of
from 4, then
will be within a distance of 0.1 from 13. Similarly for
, we get
, for
, we get
and so on. The numbers
, 0.01, and 0.001 are known as the error tolerances. Thus for any arbitrary positive number
, there exists a positive number
, namely
, such that
[1] , if
.
Note that [1] can be rewritten as whenever
, (
) (see Figure 7). By taking the values of
to lie in the interval
, we can make the values of
lie in the interval
.
A precise definition of a limit can be given using [1] as a model. Let be a function defined on some open interval that contains the number
, except possibly at
itself. Then we say that the limit of
is
as
approaches
, and we write
.
If, for every number , there is a number
such that
whenever
or if
, then
.
In other words, means that the distance between
and
can be made arbitrarily small by taking the distance from
to
sufficiently small (but not 0).
Alternatively, means that the values of
can be made as close as to
by taking
close enough to
(but not equal to
).
Therefore, in terms of intervals, it can be stated as follows:
means that for every
(no matter how small
is) we can find
such that if
lies in the open interval
and
then
lies in the open interval
.
Let the function map a subset of ℝ onto another subset of ℝ (see the arrow diagram in Figure 8).
Figure 8
The definition of limit says that if any small interval is given around
, then we can find an interval
around a such that
maps all the points in
(except possibly
) into the interval
. (See Figure 9.)
Figure 9
Figure 10
Another geometric interpretation of limits can be given in terms of the graph of a function. If is given, then we draw the horizontal lines
and
and the graph of
(see Figure 10). If
, then we can find a number
such that if we restrict to lie in the interval
but not equal to a, then the curve
lies between the lines
and
. (See Figure 11.)
If a smaller is chosen, then a smaller
may be required. (See Figure 12.)
Figure 11 Figure 12
EXAMPLE 6
Use the above definition to prove that .
Solution. Let be a given positive number. Find a number
such that
whenever
. Since the choice of
depends on
, we can establish a connection between the absolute values
and
.
Consider . So for a given
, choose
. For this choice, if
, then
.
Therefore, by the definition of a limit we have . ■
For a one-sided limit, we have a similar -
definition.
EXAMPLE 7
Prove that .
Solution. Let be a given positive number. Here
and
. To find a number
such that
whenever
. Squaring both sides of the inequality
, we get
whenever
. This suggests us to choose
. ■
(Movie on ‘-
’ : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ejyeII0i5c)
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/SKKU-Cell-Epsilon-Delta.html
Precise Definition of Infinite Limits
Let be a function defined on some open interval that contains the number
, except possibly at
itself. Then
means that for every positive number
there is a positive number
such that
whenever
.
So the values of can be made arbitrarily large (larger than any given number
) by taking
close enough to
(within a distance where
depends on
, but with
). (See Figure 13.)
Given any horizontal line , we can find a number
such that when
is restricted to lie in the interval
but
, then the curve
lies above the line
. If another
, lager value, is chosen, a smaller
may be required.
Figure 13
EXAMPLE 8
Show that .
Solution. Given any (large) number , find
such that
whenever
. Since both
and
are positive,
whenever
. Taking the square root of both sides and recalling that
, we get
whenever
.
So for any , choose
. Now if
, then
, that is,
. Thus
whenever
.
Therefore, . ■
CAS EXAMPLE 9
Find the following limit or explain why the limit does not exist. Solution.
var('x')
plot(cos(1/abs(x)), x, -1,1)
limit(cos(1/abs(x)), x=0)
Answer: Diverge, its limit does not exist.
Figure 14 ■
EXAMPLE 10
Plot the graph of the function near
and check if the left-hand limit, right-hand limit and limit at
exists.
Solution.
f(x) = sin(x)/(2*abs(sin(x)))
f.plot(exclude=[0])
f.limit(x=0, dir=‘+’)
f.limit(x=0, dir=‘-’)
f.limit(x=0) # x |--> undifined
Answer : Diverge, its limit does not exist.
Figure 15
Figure 15
2.1 EXERCISES (Limits of Functions)
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/Cal-Book/part1/CS-Sec-2-1-Sol.html
1-4. Find the following limits or explain why the limit does not exist.
1.
Solution.
2.
Solution.
Since , and
, so
.
Then does not exist.
CAS 3.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-3.html
Solution. We draw with the following Sage command.
We see it diverge () as
.
var('x')
p1=plot(sin(x)/abs(cos(x)), x, -pi,pi/2, color='blue');
p2=plot(sin(x)/abs(cos(x)), x, pi/2,pi, color='red');
show(p1+p2, ymax=50, ymin=-10)
We can find with the following Sage command.
limit(sin(x)/abs(cos(x)), x=pi/2, dir='plus')
Answer : +Infinity
4.
Solution. Since when
,
.
5. http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-5.html
Solution.
6. http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-6.html
Solution.
P1=plot(1/abs(x)-1/x, x, -5,-0.1, fontsize=20, color='blue')
P2=plot(1/abs(x)-1/x, x, 0.1,2.5, fontsize=20, color='red')
CAS 7. http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-7.html
Solution. We draw with the following Sage command.
We see the function converge to as
.
p1=plot(x*sin(3/x), x, -0.5, 0, color='blue')
p2=plot(x*sin(3/x), x, 0, 0.5, color='red');
show(p1+p2, ymax=0.3, ymin=-0.3, aspect_ratio=1)
We can find with the following Sage command.
limit(x*sin(3/x), x=0) # 0
8. The sign function, denoted by , is defined by the following piecewise function.
Find the following limits or explain why the limit does not exist.
Solution. (a) (b)
does not exist.
(
)
(c) (d)
9. Consider the function .
(a) Find and
.
(b) Find the asymptotes of ; vertical and horizontal.
(c) Sketch the graph.
Solution. (a)
(b) : vertical asymptote (c)
: horizontal asymptote
var('x, y')
p1=plot((x^2+2*x)/(x^2+x-2), x, -10, 10, color='blue');
show(p1, aspect_ratio=1, ymax=10, ymin=-10)
10. Draw the graph of a function with all of the following properties: (a) its domain is
(b) there is a vertical asymptote at
(c)
(d)
(e) does not exist.
(f) does not exist.
(g)
var('x')
f(x)=(-x^2 + 21)/(x + 3)^2 + 2
p=plot(f(x), (x, -10, 0), ymax=100)
pl=plot(f(x), (x, -10, 0), ymax=100, color="blue")
p2=plot(x^2 -6 , (x, 0, 3), ymax=100, color="blue")
p3=plot((-x-3)/(x-5), (x, 3, 5), ymax=100, color="blue")
g=p+pl+p2+p3
g.show()
11. Let .
(a) Find or explain why the limit does not exist.
(b) Find and
such that
for all
.
(c) Use the Squeeze Theorem to find .
Solution. (a) .
(b) Since , we have
. Take,
and
.
(c) We know that and
, so by the Squeeze Theorem,
.
CAS 12.Use the Squeeze Theorem to find .
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-12.html
Solution.
P1=plot(sqrt(5*x)*(4-cos(3/sqrt(x))), 0.01, 2)
P2=plot(sqrt(5*x)*(5), 0.01, 2, color='red')
P3=plot(sqrt(5*x)*(3), 0.01, 2, color='red')
show(P1+P2+P3)
CAS 13. Use the Squeeze Theorem to find .
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-13.html
Solution.
P1=plot(sin(x)/x, -4, 4, color='red')
P2=plot(cos(x), -4, 4, color='green')
P3=plot(1, -4, 4, color='blue')
show(P1+P2+P3)
(※ is not always smaller than
, but it is when near 0. So the Squeeze Theorem can be used.)
14. Let . Find all positive integer
such that
.
Solution.
(ⅰ) ;
(ⅱ) ,
(
is positive integer) ;
(ⅲ) ,
(
is positive integer) ;
(ⅳ) ;
Therefore
var('x, y')
p1=plot((5*x^6-3*x^3+11)/(3*x^n-7*x+14), x, -5, 5, color='blue');
show(p1, aspect_ratio=1, ymax=10, ymin=-1
When .
15. Find all the asymptotes (vertical and horizontal) of the function .
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-15.html
Solution.
var('x');
show(plot(x^3/(x^2-x-2), x, -5, 5, color='blue'), ymax=5, ymin=-5)
, so
,
,
and
. Thus,
and
are vertical asymptotes.
.
16. Find the limit .
Solution.
17. Consider .
(a) Find all the vertical asymptotes for .
(b) If we restrict the domain to , then show that there exists an inverse function defined on
.
(c) If the above inverse function is , then find all the vertical asymptotes.
Solution. (a) , so
.
.
Thus, are vertical asymptotes.
18. Find such that
whenever
.
Solution.
19. Use an -
argument to prove that
.
Solution. Let be a given positive number. Here
and
. We must find a number
such that
whenever
. With easy computation, we may choose
to get the desired result.
20.Use the -
argument to prove that
if
.
Solution. Let be a given positive number. We must find a number
such that
whenever
. With an easy computation, we may choose
to get the desired result.
21-26. Prove the statements using an -
argument.
21.
Solution. Find
. Let
. If
, then
.
.
22.
Solution. Let be a given positive number. Here
and
. We must find a number
such that
whenever
. With an easy computation, we may choose
to get the desired result.
23.
Solution. Find
. Let
. If
, then
.
.
24.
Solution. Find
. Let
. If
, then
.
25.
Solution. Find
. Let
{
}.
If
, then
=
.
.
.
26.
Solution. Find
. Let
.
If , then
.
Take .
If , then
.
.
27.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-27.html
Solution. Find
. Let
. If
, then
.
and
.
.
28.
Solution. Given any (large) number we must find
such that
whenever
. Since both
and
are positive,
whenever
. Taking the square root of both sides and recalling that
, we get
whenever
.
So for any , choose
.
Now if , then
, that is,
.
Thus whenever
.
Therefore, .
29.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-1-28.html
Solution. , Find
. Let
(
).
If , then
.
Since ,
.
.
30.
Solution. Let be a given positive number. Here
and
. We must find a number
such that
whenever
. With an easy computation, we may choose
to get the desired result.
31. Use an -
argument to prove that
Solution. Given any (large) number we must find
such that
whenever
. Since both
and
are positive,
whenever
.
So for any , choose
. Now if
, then
.
Thus,
32. If and
, where
is a real number. Show that
(a)
(b) if
Solution. (a)
(b)
2.2 Continuity
[Lecture] http://youtu.be/zGxx3PUCTnM
A function is continuous at
if
. So if a function
is continuous at
, then
will satisfy the following three conditions :
1. is defined (that is,
is in the domain of
)
2. exists
3.
Figure 11
In other words, is continuous at
if
approaches
as
approaches
(see Figure 1). Thus, a continuous function
has the property that a small change in
produces a small change in the corresponding value
. Intuitively the graph of a continuous function
has no break. So the graph can be drawn without raising the pen off the paper.
A function is said to be discontinuous at
, or
has a discontinuity at
, if
is not continuous
. This can happen in three possible ways shown in Figure 2.
Thus, a function has a discontinuity at
if one of the following three possible scenarios occurs:
ⅰ) is not defined at
;
ⅱ) is defined at
but has no limit as
;
ⅲ) is defined at
and
exists, but is not equal
.
Discontinuities fall into two categories: removable and non-removable. A discontinuity at is called removable if
can be made continuous by defining (as in Figure 2(a)) or redefining
at
(as in Figure 2(c)). The discontinuity in Figure 2(b) and Figure 2(d) is non-remov
(a) (b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 2 Graphs of the functions in example 1
EXAMPLE 1
Classify the points of discontinuity of the following functions (see Figure 2).
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Solution. (a)It is easy to check that . Since
is not defined so
has a removable discontinuity at
.
(b)At
has a discontinuity because
does not exist, although
is defined.
(c) Here is defined and
exists. But
so
has a removable discontinuity at
.
(d)The greatest integer function has jump discon- tinuities (“jumps” from one value to another) at all of the integers because
does not exist if
is an integer. ■
A function is continuous from the right at
if
and
is continuous from the left at
if
.
For example, the function is continuous from the right but discontinuous from the left at each integer
because
but
.
A function is continuous on an interval if it is continuous at every number in the interval. (If
is continuous at the endpoint it means continuous from the right or continuous from the left of the endpoint.)
THEOREM 3
If and
are continuous at
and
is a constant, then the
following functions are also continuous at :
1. 2.
3.
4. 5.
if
Proof Each of the five parts of this theorem follows from the corresponding Limit Law. For instance, we give the proof of part 1. Since and
are continuous at
, we have
and
. Therefore,
. ■
This shows that is continuous at
.
THEOREM 2
(a) Any polynomial is continuous on .
(b) Any rational function is continuous on its domain.
Proof (a) Let the polynomial be a function of the form
where ,
,
,
are constants. We know that
and
(
). Thus the function
is a continuous function, and so is the function
. Therefore,
is continuous because
is a sum of continuous functions.
(b) A rational function is a function of the form where
and
are polynomials. The domain of
is
. It follows from (a) that
and
are continuous everywhere. It follows from Limit Law 5, that
is continuous at every number in
. ■
Note: The inverse function of any continuous function is also continuous. (The graph of is obtained by reflecting the graph of
about the line
. So if the graph of
has no break in it, neither does the graph of
).
EXAMPLE 2
Evaluate .
Solution. The function , is rational, so it is continuous on its domain, which is
. Therefore,
. ■
THEOREM 3
The polynomials, rational functions, root functions, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, exponential functions and logarithmic functions, are continuous on their domains.
EXAMPLE 3
Find where the function is continuous.
Solution. Since the function is continuous for
and
is continuous on ℝ, so
is continuous on
. The denominator,
, is a polynomial, so it is continuous on
. Therefore,
is continuous at all positive numbers
except where
. So
is continuous on the intervals
or
. ■
THEOREM 4 Limit of Continuous Functions
If is continuous at
and
, then
.
In other words, .
Thus if the function is continuous and the limit of its argument exists then a limit symbol can be “moved through the function symbol”.
Consider . Then
and
. Thus (Limit Law 7),
.
EXAMPLE 4
Find .
Solution. Since is a continuous function, using Theorem 3 we have
. ■
THEOREM 5 Composite of Continuous Functions
If is continuous at
and
is continuous at
, then the composite function
given by
is continuous at
.
In other words “the composition of continuous functions is also a continuous function.”
Proof Since is continuous at
, we have
. Since
is continuous at
, we to obtain
. This means that the function
is continuous at
. Thus,
is continuous at
. ■
EXAMPLE 5
Determine where the functions
(i)
(ii) are continuous.
Solution.
Figure 3
(i) With ,
and
we have
. Since
is a polynomial it is continuous on
, the exponential function
is continuous on
, and
is also continuous on
. Thus
is continuous on
.
(ii) We know that is continuous and
is continuous (because both
and
are continuous). Therefore,
is continuous Figure 3
wherever it is defined. Now
is defined when
. It is undefined when
, and this happens when
,
, .... Thus,
has discontinuities when
is an odd multiple of
and is continuous on the intervals between these values. (See Figure 3.)
THEOREM 6 The Intermediate Value Theorem
Suppose that is continuous on the closed interval
and let
be any number between
and
, where
. Then there exists a number
in
such that
.
Thus a continuous function on must take on every intermediate value between the function values
and
at least once. (See Figure 4.)
(a) (b)
Figure 4 Intermediate Value Theorem illustrated
Geometrically, the graph of a continuous function cannot skip over any horizontal line
given between
and
. It must intersect
.
Observations:
(ⅰ) The value can be taken on once [as in Figure 4 part (a)] or more than once [as in part (b)].
(ⅱ)The Intermediate Value Theorem is not true in general for discontinuous functions.
(ⅲ)The Intermediate Value Theorem is useful in locating roots of equations (see corollary below).
The following theorem is an immediate and useful application of the Intermediate Value Theorem.
THEOREM 7 The Intermediate Value Theorem
If is continuous on
and
and
have opposite signs
,
], then there exists at least one number
such that
. (Recall that
is known as a zero or root of
.) (See Figure 5.)
Figure 6
Observe that this corollary is simply the special case of the Intermediate Value Theorem where .
The Intermediate Value Theorem and the above corollary are classical examples of existence theorems which tell the existence of a number , but do not specify what
is.
EXAMPLE 6
Locate the zeros of .
Solution. Let us find the values of for several values of
as follows.
|
|
−10 |
−5 |
−3 |
−2 |
−1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
|
|
|
−99507 |
−2977 |
−177 |
5 |
15 |
3 |
−1 |
33 |
255 |
3183 |
100313 |
|
From the above data and using the above corollary we conclude that there is at least one root of in each of the intervals
,
and
since
changes sign in these intervals [i.e., for example
]. To locate a more accurate value of the root, we have to apply either the method of bisection, secant method or Newton’s method from numerical analysis. ■
CAS EXAMPLE 7
Prove that there is a root of the given equation in the specified interval by using the Intermediate Value Theorem.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-Exm7.html
Solution.
var('x')
f(x)= 2*x^3 - 5*x +10*cos(2*x)
plot(f, 0, 3)
bool ( f(1) < 0 ) # True
bool ( f(3) > 0 ) # True
Figure 6
Thus by the Intermediate Value Theorem, there exists at least one number such that
. ■
<Calculator 1>
2.2 EXERCISES (Continuity)
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/Cal-Book/part1/CS-Sec-2-2-Sol.html
http://youtu.be/azrkT1RP4-c http://youtu.be/hj8d-j_DGf4
CAS 1. Given continuous functions and
with
and
, find
.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-1.html
Solution. Since and
are continuous functions.
var('g')
solve(3^2-4*3*g==5, g )
Answer : g(4)=1/3
2. Given continuous functions and
with
and
, find
.
Solution. .
Since is continuous,
.
CAS 3.Show that the function
is discontinuous at
.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-3.html
Solution. We may draw with the following Sage command. It shows the function diverges (+infinity) at
. This shows
is discontinuous at
.
p1=plot(abs(ln((x-2)^2)), x, -3, 2, color='blue');
p2=plot(abs(ln((x-2)^2)), x, 2, 3, color='red');
show(p1+p2, ymax=5, ymin=-1)
If we use the following Sage command, we may get limit(abs(ln((x-2)^2))) at directly. It shows
is discontinuous at
.
limit(abs(ln((x-2)^2)), x=2)
Answer : +Infinity
4-7. Determine the points of discontinuity of . At which of these numbers is
continuous from the right, from the left or neither? Sketch the graph of
.
4.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-4.html
Solution. We may draw with the following Sage command. It shows the function is discontinuous at
but continuous from the left.
plot(piecewise([[(-2*pi, 0), sin(x)], [(0, pi), cos(x)], [(pi, 2*pi), -1]]))
5.
Solution. We see that exists for all
except
. Notice that the right and left limits are different
.
6.
Solution. We see that exists for all
except
and
. Notice that the right and left limits are different at
and
.
7.
Solution. We see that exists for all
except
and
. Notice that the right and left limits are different at
and
.
8-10. For what values of the constant is the function
continuous on
?
8.
Solution.
Thus, for to be continuous on
CAS 9.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-9.html
Solution.
var('c')
solve(16-c^2==4*c+20, c)
Answer : c=-2
10.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-10.html
Solution. Suppose that function is continuous on
. Find
such that
Find
such that
.
is continuous at
(But
is not continuos at
). The solution is
.
var('c')
solve(10/(c-2)==2*c+4, c)
Answer : c=-3, c=3
11-13. Show that the following functions that has a removable discontinuity at
. Also find a function
that agrees with
for
and is continuous on ℝ.
11.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-11.html
Solution.
var('x,y')
p1=plot((x^3-2*x-4)/(x-2), x, -10, 10, color='blue');
show(p1, aspect_ratio=1, ymax=10, ymin=-10)
does not exist. Hence
has removable discontinuity at
. Then we can change the expression
to remove the discontinuity. Let
. It agrees with
for
and is continuous on ℝ.
12.
Solution.
for
. The discontinuity is removable and
agrees with
for
and is continuous on ℝ.
13.
Solution.
for
.
The discontinuity is removable and
agrees with
for
and is continuous on ℝ.
14.Let . Is
removable discontinuity?
Solution. Since
,
is not a removable discontinuity.
15. If , show that there is a number
such that
.
Solution. is continuous on the interval
,
and
. Since
, there is a number
in
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem.
16. Prove using Intermediate Value Theorem that there is a positive number such that
.
Solution. Let . We know that
is continuous on the interval
,
and
. Since
, there is a number
in
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem.
17-22. Prove that there is a root of the given equation in the specified interval by using the Intermediate Value Theorem.
CAS 17.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-17.html
Solution. Let . Then
. Since
is a real-valued continuous function on the interval
, there is a root
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem.
var('x'); f(x)=x^4+x-3
plot(f, 1, 2)
f(1)
Answer : -1
f(2)
Answer : 15
18. ,
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-18.html
Solution. Let . Then
. Since
is a real-valued continuous function on the interval
, there is a root
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem.
var('x')
f(x)=sqrt(6*x-x^2)-1
P=plot(f, 0, 6)
show(P, aspect_ratio=1)
bool(f(0)<0)
Answer : True
bool(f(2)>0)
Answer : True
CAS 19.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-19.html
Solution. Let . Then
. Since
is a real-valued continuous function on the interval
, there is a root
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem.
var('x')
f(x)=x^(1/3)-1+x
plot(f, 0, 1)
f(0)
Answer : -1
f(1)
Answer : 1
CAS 20. ,
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-20.html
Solution.
var('x')
f(x)=exp(x^3)-x^6
plot(f, -1, 1)
bool(f(-1)<0)
Answer : True
bool(f(1)>0)
Answer : True
21.
Solution. is continuous on the interval
,
and
. Since
, there is a number
in
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem. Thus, there is root of the equation
in the interval
.
22.
Solution. is continuous on the interval
,
and
. Since
, there is a number
in
such that
by the Intermediate Value Theorem. Thus, there is root of the equation
in the interval
.
23-26. Show that each of the following equations has at least one real root.
23.
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-lab/cal-2-2-23.html
Solution. We may draw both and
in one graph to find intersections. It shows the function has two real roots in
and
.
p1=plot(exp(x), x, -2, 4, color='blue')
p2=plot(4*sin(x), x, -2, 4, color='red')
show(p1+p2, ymax=5, ymin=0)
The following Sage commands give the value of the intersection in each interval, or
.
find_root(exp(x)==4*sin(x), 0, 1)
Answer: 1.3649584337330951
24.
Solution. Let . Then
and
. By the Intermediate Value Theorem, there is a number
in
such that
. This implies that
.
25.
Solution. Let . Then
and
. By the Intermediate Value Theorem, there is a number
in
such that
. This implies that
.
26.
Solution. Let . Then
and
, and
is continuous in
. By the Intermediate Value Theorem, there is a number
in
such that
. This implies that
.
p1=plot(exp(x), x, -2, 4, color='blue')
p2=plot(4*sin(x), x, -2, 4, color='red')
show(p1+p2, ymax=5, ymin=0)
The following Sage commands give the value of the intersection in each interval, or
.
find_root(exp(x)==4*sin(x), 0, 1)
Answer : 0.37055809596982464
27-28.Find the values of for which
is continuous.
27.
Solution. Suppose is continuous at
in ℝ, then
.
If is rational, then
but
or
can be 1. If
is irrational, then
but
or
can be 0, this is a contradiction. Thus
is discontinuous over ℝ.
28.
Solution. is continuous only at
since
. But there is no nonzero
in ℝ, such that
.
<Calculator 2>
Calculus
About this book : http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/Cal-Book/
Copyright @ 2019 SKKU Matrix Lab. All rights reserved.
Made by Manager: Prof. Sang-Gu Lee and Dr. Jae Hwa Lee
http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/sglee/ and http://matrix.skku.ac.kr/cal-book/
*This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1D1A1B03035865).