Math1013-L1-L2 Calculus IB

Week 4-5 Basic Concepts and Examples

From Average Velocity to Instantaneous Velocity
Suppose an object is moving along a straight line (say s-axis) with position function s(t) = t2 (in meters)
at time t (in seconds).
It is easy to find the change in position (i.e., displacement) from t = 2 to t = 2 + t, where t > 0
denotes an increment in time, namely
s(2 + t) s(2) = (2 + t)2 22 = 4t + (t)2
However, the displacement above does not tell you how fast the object is moving. To measure the fastness
of the motion of the object, we need to have consider how position changes with respect to time. On such
measure is the average velocity over the time interval [2, 2 + t]:
s(2 + t) s(2)
4t + (t)2
change in position
=
=
= 4 + t
change in time
(2 + t) 2
t

(m/s)

Note that when the increment in time is getting shorter and shorter, closer and closer to 0, denoted by
t 0 (but not equal to 0), the trending behaviour of the average velocity is kind of clear:
4 + t 4 + 0 = 4(m/s)
In particular, we may consider 4 m/s as the instantaneous velocity of the object at the moment when
t = 2 s.
In terms of the so called limit of function values, and its notation, the consideration above can be
expressed in the form
s(2 + t) s(2)
instantaneous velocity
= lim
= lim (4 + t) = 4
at t = 2
t0
t0
t
The idea can be extended in a straightforward way to any time interval [t, t + t], and the instantaneous
velocity of the object can be found by considering the limit of its average velocity as t 0:
s(t + t) s(t)
(t + t)2 t2
t2 2t + (t)2 t2
= lim
= lim
= lim (2t + t) = 2t
t0
t0
t0
t0
t
t
t
lim

(m/s)

Hence the velocity function of the object is given by v(t) = 2t (m/s).

If you dont like Greek alphabets, just replace t by h and consider
s(t + h) s(t)
(t + h)2 t2
t2 + 2th + h2 t2
= lim
= lim
= lim (2t + h) = 2t
h0
h0
h0
h0
h
h
h
lim

or

s(T ) s(t)
T 2 t2
(T t)(T + t)
= lim
= lim
= lim (T + t) = 2t
T t T t
T t
T t
h0
T t
T t
lim

Exercise. Sketch the graph of s = s(t), and then interpret the average velocity as the slope of a secant
line joining two appropriate points on the graph.
Main Question: What if we extend the consideration above to other function relations y = f (x)
between two quantities represented by x and y?
In fact, our whole course is just about getting familiar with the concept and usage of the following limit
called derivative:
f (x + h) f (x) denoted
as
=
f (x)
lim
h0
h
which measures the (instantaneous) rate of change of the quantify y = f (x) with respect to the quantity x.

Derivatives are important tools in many modelling problems in science and engineering, useful for describing how one quantity changes with respect to another.
Question 1: What exactly is the meaning of lim f (x)?
xa

To consider the limit of a function f (x) as x is approaching a particular number a (usually expressed by:
f (x) L as x a) is to see how the function values f (x) behave when the variable x is running towards
a. If f (x) approaches a number L as x a, then we denote this by
lim f (x) = L.

xa

Roughly speaking, by writing lim f (x) = L we mean that the function values f (x) can get as close as
xa
you want to L when x is taken sufficiently close to a.
To make it more precise, let f be well-defined in an open interval containing a, with perhaps the exception
of a (i.e., f (a) may not be well-defined). Here is a formal mathematical definition of the limit of a function:
lim f (x) = L if for any open interval (L , L + ) around L, no matter how small > 0 is, you

xa

can find a small open interval (a , a + ) around a, where > 0, so that for every x not equal to a
in this -neighbourhood of a, the function value f (x) will lie inside the small open interval around L, i.e.,
|f (x) L| < whenever 0 < |x a| < .

f(x)

x
L

An trap near L will catch all function values of points near a.

We can also consider the trending behaviour of the function value f (x) when x is approaching a from
the left hand side (and right hand side respectively), i.e., when happens to f (x) when x a (and x a+
respectively), where the sign indicates that x is smaller than a (and the + sign indicates that x is larger
than a respectively).
We can then consider if the following one-sided limits exist.
Left-hand limit
Right-hand limit

lim f (x)

xa

lim f (x)

xa+

Generally speaking, lim f (x) exists if and only if the two one-sided limits exist and are equal.
xa

The description above may look too abstract if you are looking at it the first time. The best thing to do is
to think about what these means geometrically in terms of the graphs of the functions, and work with simple
examples first.
Examples, Examples, Examples
Example 1.

1
Consider the limits of the function f (x) = . By running along the graph of y = x1 , it is not hard to see
x
the following:
1
1
y = 1/x
(a) lim
= 0.
(b) lim
= 0.
x+ x
x x
1
1
(c) lim
= +. (d) lim
= .
x0+ x
x0 x
1
1
(e) lim =
for all real number a 6= 0
xa x
a

Note that the line y = 0 (x-axis) is a horizontal asymptote to the graph, and the line x = 0 (y-axis)
is a vertical asymptote to the graph.
Example 2. Consider the limits of the function f (x) =
1
= 0.
x+ x 2
1
= +.
(c) lim+
x0 x 2
1
1
(e) lim
=
xa x 2
a2
(a) lim

1
= 0.
x x 2
1
(d) lim
= .
x0 x 2

(b)

lim

1
.
x2

y=1/(x-2)

|
2

for all real number a 6= 2

Note that the line y = 0 (x-axis) is a horizontal asymptote to the graph, and the line x = 2 is a
vertical asymptote to the graph.
Example 3. Consider the limits of the function f (x) = x1
x .
Either by considering the graph of the given function, or by rewriting it as
f (x) = (x 1)

1
1
=1
x
x
y = (x-1)/x

the following limits can be found

x1
x1
(a) lim
= 1.
(b) lim
= 1.
x+
x
x
x
x1
x1
(c) lim+
= . (d) lim
= +.
x
x
x0
x0
x1
a1
(e) lim
=
for all real number a 6= 0
xa
x
a

Note

that the line y = 1 is a horizontal asymptote to the graph, and the line x = 0 (y-axis) is a vertical
asymptote to the graph.
Example 4.
Note that the limit of a function f (x) as x a may not be the same as the function value f (a). For
example, consider the following piecewise defined function

if x < 3

x+2
1
if x = 3
f (x) =

2x 1 if x > 3

Then the limit of f (x) as x 3 exits since the left-hand-side limit and right-hand-side limit agree,
lim f (x) = 5 = lim+ f (x),

x3

x3

but f (3) = 1 6= 5 = lim f (x).

x3

Example 5.
Limits of functions do not always exists. One basic example is the function f (x) = sin x1 as x 0. It
1
1
can be seen by considering some special values of x, such as x = n
or x = n
. For those values, their
function values will keep oscillating between 1 and 1 and therefore neither the left-hand-side limit nor the
right-hand-side limit exits.
Basic Techniques in Limit Computation
Once we know some basic examples of limits of functions, like those related to
more limits by using the following rules of limits.
3

1
x,

we can easily compute

Some Useful Rules of Limits

Whenever the limits below exist, we have
(i) lim [cf (x)] = c lim f (x) for any constant c.
xa

xa

(ii) lim [f (x) + g(x)] = lim f (x) + lim g(x)

xa

xa

xa

(iii) lim [f (x) g(x)] = lim f (x) lim g(x)

xa

xa

xa

(iv) lim [f (x)g(x)] = lim f (x) lim g(x)

xa

xa

xa

lim f (x)

(v) lim

xa

f (x)
= xa
g(x)
lim g(x)
xa

if lim g(x) 6= 0

(vi) lim [f (x)]p = ( lim f (x))p

xa

xa

xa

for any rational exponent p when ( lim f (x))p exists.

xa

1. lim (x2 2x + 5) = ( lim x)2 2 lim x + lim 5 = 22 2 2 + 5 = 7.

x2

x2

x2

x2

q
p
p

3
3
3
2. lim x2 2 = 3 lim (x2 2) = 22 2 = 2
x2

x2

lim (2x2 x + 1)
2x2 x + 1
2 22 2 + 1
7
x2
3. lim
=
=
=
2
2
x2
x2 1
2

1
3
lim (x 1)
x2

like

Sometimes, we need to use some algebraic tricks to find limits when direct substituting leads to things

0
0 or .

x2 4
.
x2 x 2
Note that if we directly substitute x = 2 into the expression, we will get
However, noticing that (x 2) is a factor of the numerator, we have
4. Find the limt lim

0
0

which does not make sense.

x2 4
(x 2)(x + 2)
= lim
= lim (x + 2) = 2 + 2 = 4
x2 x 2
x2
x2
x2

x3
5. Find the limit lim
.
x3 x 9
It is a 00 type limit again:
lim

x3
x3
1
1

= lim
= lim
=
x2 x 9
x2 ( x 3)( x + 3)
x2
x+3
3+3
lim

2x2 x + 3
.
x+ 3x2 + x 1
It is like finding limit of sequence:
6. Find the limit lim

x2 (2
2x2 x + 3
=
lim
x+ x2 (3 +
x+ 3x2 + x 1
lim

1
x
1
x

3
x2 )
1
x2 )

20+30
2
=
3+00
3

Sometimes we may not be able to deal with limits of the type 00 ,

, 0 simply by some algebraic
cancellation. Later on, after we have enough discussion about derivatives, there is another useful trick called

the lHopitals rule which can be used to deal with these types of limits.
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1
-1

Compute the
s following limits.
x2 5x + 6
(a) lim
x2
x2 4

-0.5

(b) lim2
xe

(ln x)3 8
(ln x)2 4

To be continued ...

0.5

(c)

lim

x0

1 + sin x
cos2 x