Calculus 2 : Finding Limits and One-Sided Limits

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 2

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Example Questions

Example Question #171 : Calculus Ii

Screen shot 2015 07 29 at 1.21.58 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Does Not Exist

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we can observe that  does not exist, as   is not continuous at . We can see this by checking the three conditions for which a function is continuous at a point :

 

  1. A value exists in the domain of

  2. The limit of exists as approaches

  3. The limit of at is equal to

 

Given , we can see that condition #1 is not satisfied because the graph has a vertical asymptote instead of only one value for  and is therefore an infinite discontinuity at .

We can also see that condition #2 is not satisfied because  approaches two different limits:   from the left and  from the right.

Based on the above, condition #3 is also not satisfied because  is not equal to the multiple values of .

Thus,  does not exist.

Example Question #131 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 27 at 11.18.59 am

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Examining the graph above, we need to look at three things:

1) What is the limit of the function as  approaches zero from the left?

2) What is the limit of the function as  approaches zero from the right?

3) What is the function value as  and is it the same as the result from statement one and two?

Thus, we can observe that   as  approaches  from the left and from the right.

Example Question #132 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 27 at 12.25.23 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First we need to determine if this is a left or right sided limit. Since there is a plus sign in the exponent on the zero that means it is a right sided limit. This means we want to look at the function values for x values that are slightly larger than zero.

Therefore examining the graph, we can observe that   as  approaches  from the right.

Example Question #133 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 28 at 6.08.19 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we want to find where the graph tends to as it approaches zero from the left hand side. We can see that there appears to be a vertical asymptote at zero. As the x values approach zero from the left, the function values of the graph tend towards positive infinity.

Therefore, we can observe that  as  approaches  from the left.

Example Question #134 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 28 at 6.16.14 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First we need to determine what the question is asking. Since there is a plus sign in the exponent on the zero this indicates that we are looking for a right sided limit. This means we want to look at the function values for values slightly larger than zero.

Examining the graph, we can observe that  as  approaches  from the right.

Example Question #135 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 29 at 1.10.20 pm

Given the above graph of , what is 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we want to find where the graph tends to as it approaches zero from the left hand side. We can see that there appears to be a vertical asymptote at zero. As the x values approach zero from the left, the function values of the graph tend towards positive infinity.

Therefore, we can observe that  as  approaches  from the left.

Example Question #136 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 29 at 1.16.48 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we want to find where the graph tends to as it approaches zero from the right hand side. We can see that there appears to be a vertical asymptote at zero. As the x values approach zero from the right, the function values of the graph tend towards positive infinity.

Thus, we can observe that  as  approaches  from the right.

Example Question #137 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Evaluating this limit will require use of L'Hopital's Rule, because when plugging in "-2" into the given function, it results in an indeterminate form of type 0/0.

We can now use L'Hopital's Rule, which requires us to take the derivative of the numerator and denominator of this function individually:

Example Question #182 : Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 29 at 6.05.55 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Does Not Exist

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we can observe that does not exist, as   is not continuous at . We can see this by checking the three conditions for which a function is continuous at a point :

 

  1. A value exists in the domain of

  2. The limit of exists as approaches

  3. The limit of at is equal to

 

Given , we can see that condition #1 is not satisfied because the graph has a vertical asymptote instead of only one value for and is therefore an infinite discontinuity at .

We can also see that condition #2 is not satisfied because approaches two different limits:   from the left and from the right.

Based on the above, condition #3 is also not satisfied because is not equal to the multiple values of .

Thus, does not exist.

 

 

Example Question #138 : Finding Limits And One Sided Limits

Screen shot 2015 07 29 at 6.12.57 pm

Given the above graph of , what is ?

Possible Answers:

Does Not Exist

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Examining the graph, we can observe that   as  approaches  from the left.

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