Exercise 01 Solutions: Limits

By: Andrew Kerr Available at www.engineeringcorps.org

Answers 1. limx0 x2 sin(x) = 0 2. limx

1 x

=0

1 3. limx0 x2 cos x = 0

4. limx2 x2 + 2x + 4 = 12 5. limx0
ex +1 2

=1 =2

6. limx2

x2 +6x+8 x+2

7. limx 6x4 3x2 15x = 8. limx 9. limx3

8x3 +9x2 +2 9x3 +6

=
9 11

8 9

x2 +3x18 x2 +5x24

10. limx

5x2 +8 15x3 +9x2 +6x

=0

Solutions 1. lim x2 sin(x) = 0

x0

To evaluate this limit, we need to use Squeeze Theorem. Using our knowledge of trigonometry, we know that the bounds of sin(x) are -1 and 1. Setting up our inequality we get: 1 sin(x) 1

Now, we multiply through by x2 and get:

x2 x2 sin(x) x2

Plugging in 0 for x we get:

0 x2 sin(x) 0

So, our graph of x2 sin(x) approaches 0 as x approaches 0. Therefore, limx0 x2 sin(x) is equal to 0.

2. lim

1 =0 x x
1 x

For this problem, we plug straight into 1

and we get:

Whenever a constant is divided by a really large number (i.e. ), the answer is 0. Therefore, limx
1 x

is equal to 0.

3. lim x2 cos
x0

1 =0 x

To evaluate this limit, we need to use Squeeze Theorem. Using our knowledge of trigonometry, we know that the bounds of cos(x) are -1 and 1. Setting up our inequality we get: 1 1 cos( ) 1 x NOTE: Since
1 x

is inside cos(x), cos(x) is still going to be between -1 and 1.

Now, we multiply through by x2 and get: 1 x2 x2 cos( ) x2 x Plugging in 0 for x we get: 1 0 x2 cos( ) 0 x
1 1 So, our graph of x2 cos( x ) approaches 0 as x approaches 0. Therefore, limx0 x2 cos x

is equal to 0.

4. lim x2 + 2x + 4 = 12
x2

To evaluate this limit, we can just plug 2 directly into the equation and get our answer: 12.

5. lim

ex + 1 =1 x0 2

Our rst step to evaluate this limit is to plug in zero: e0 + 1 2 Since e0 is equal to 1, we are left with
1+1 2

which is just 1.

6. lim

x2 + 6x + 8 =2 x2 x+2

To solve this limit, let us plug in -2 into the problem: (2)2 + 6(2) + 8 2 + 2 Plugging in -2 for x makes the bottom 0 which is unsolvable! But, lets factor and see if anything can cancel: (x + 4)(x + 2) x+2 The x + 2 on the top and bottom can cancel just leaving us with limx2 x + 4. Plugging in -2 for x, we get 2. ***

Extra: What type of discontinuity does

x2 +6x+8 x+2

have and where?

There is a removable discontinuity at x = 2, which is called a hole.

7. x 6x4 3x2 15x = lim

Before solving this problem, lets factor out an x4 : 3 15 3) 2 x x

lim x4 (6

Now we can easily evaluate the limit by looking at each individual term. limx x4 = , limx
3 x2

= 0, and limx

15 x3

= 0. Now, lets plug in each 0 limit into

the equation: lim x x4 (6 0 0) which gives us:

lim 6x4

Which is just . 4

8. lim

8x3 + 9x2 + 2 8 = 3+6 x 9x 9

For this problem, lets look at the degree on both the top and the bottom. On top, we have a degree of 3 and, on the bottom, we have the same. This means that we can just take the leading coecients: 8 and -9. But, there is a twist. Since the degree is odd and we are going to , we need to multiply both coecients by -1. Therefore, we get
8 9

as our answer.

9. lim

x2 + 3x 18 9 = 2 + 5x 24 x3 x 11

When we plug in 3, we get 0 in the denominator, which is not allowed. To solve this limit, lets factor out both the numerator and the denominator and see if anything cancels:
x3

lim

(x 3)(x + 6) (x 3)(x + 8)

Since x 3 is in both the numerator and the denominator, we can cancel it out. After cancelling, we get: x+6 x3 x + 8 lim Plugging in 3 for x, we get
9 11 ,

which is our answer. ***

Extra: What types of discontinuities does where?

There is a hole at x = 3 and an asymptote at x = 8.

x2 +3x18 x2 +5x24

have and

10. lim

5x2 + 8 =0 x 15x3 + 9x2 + 6x

To solve this limit, we look at the degrees on both the top and the bottom. Since the degree on the top is less than the degree on the bottom, the limit is just 0.