All Precalculus Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Find The Limit Of A Function
Evaluate the following limit.
The function has a removable discontinuity at . Once a factor of is "divided out" the resultant function is , which evaluates to as approaches 0.
Example Question #1 : Limits
Let .
Find .
The limit does not exist.
This is a graph of . We know that is undefined; therefore, there is no value for . But as we take a look at the graph, we can see that as approaches 0 from the left, approaches negative infinity.
This can be illustrated by thinking of small negative numbers.
NOTE: Pay attention to one-sided limit specifications, as it is easy to pick the wrong answer choice if you're not careful.
is actually infinity, not negative infinity.
Example Question #5 : Limits
Calculate .
The limit does not exist.
This can be rewritten as follows:
We can substitute , noting that as , :
, which is the correct choice.
Example Question #2 : Find The Limit Of A Function
Find the limit as x approaches infinity
As x approaches infinity we only need to look at the highest order of polynomial in both the numerator and denominator. Then we compare the highest order polynomial in both the numerator and denominator. If the denominator is higher order our limit goes to zero, if the numerator is higher our order our limit goes to positive or negative infinity (depending on the sign of the highest order x term). If our numerator and denominator have the same order the limit goes to a/b where a is the coefficient for the highest order x in the numerator and b is the coefficient for the highest order x in the denominator.
Our numerator has higher order and the coefficient for the x to the fourth term is negative so our limit goes to negative infinity.
Example Question #1 : Find The Limit Of A Function
Solve the limit as approaches infinity.
As x approaches infinity we only need to look at the highest order of polynomial in both the numerator and denominator. Then we compare the highest order polynomial in both the numerator and denominator. If the denominator is higher order our limit goes to zero, if the numerator is higher our order our limit goes to positive or negative infinity (depending on the sign of the highest order x term). If our numerator and denominator have the same order the limit goes to a/b where a is the coefficient for the highest order x in the numerator and b is the coefficient for the highest order x in the denominator.
For our equation the orders are the same in x for the numerator and denominator (both 4). So we divide the coefficients of the highest order x terms to get our limit and we get
Example Question #12 : Limits
The speed of a car traveling on the highway is given by the following function of time:
What can you say about the car's speed after a long time (that is, as approaches infinity)?
The speed of the car depends on the starting speed.
Nothing can be concluded from the given function.
The speed of the car approaches zero.
The speed of the car approaches infinity.
The speed of the car approaches a constant number.
The speed of the car approaches infinity.
The function given is a polynomial with a term , such that is greater than 1.
Whenever this is the case, we can say that the whole function diverges (approaches infinity) in the limit as approaches infinity.
This tells us that the given function is not a very realistic description of a car's speed for large !
Example Question #654 : Pre Calculus
Finding limits of rational functions.
Let
.
Find
.
Undefined
First factor the numerator to simplify the function.
,
so
.
Now
.
There is no denominator now, and hence no discontinuity. The limit can be found by simply plugging in for .
.
Example Question #16 : Limits
The Michaelis-Menten equation is important in chemical kinetics. Suppose we are given the following equation relating K (reaction rate) and C (concentration):
Determine:
Limit Does Not Exist
There are a number of ways to solve this. Either we can solve by finding what K(C) evaluates to for larger values of C and see where they converge, i.e. :
K(10000) = 952.38
K(1000000) = 999.5
etc...
And we see that K(C) approaches 1000 for larger concentrations, C.
Or we can notice that the dominant term in the numerator is 1000C; dominant term in the denominator is C.
1000C / C = 1000, which will ultimately be our limit.
Example Question #17 : Limits
Let .
Find .
Undefined
To find here, you need only plug in for :
Example Question #11 : Find The Limit Of A Function
Evaluate
.
Find a common denominator for both the upper and lower expressions and then simplify:
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