Limits of functions
Limit of a function. Some remarkable limits.
Infinitesimal and infinite values. Finite limit.
Infinite limit. Notion of an infinity.
Limit of a function. A number L is called a limit of a function y = f ( x )
as x tends a :
if and only if for any  > 0 one can find such a positive number
 =
( ), depending on
, that | x – a | < implies that | f ( x ) – L | <
.
This definition means, that L is a limit of a function y = f ( x ) , if the function value approaches unrestrictedly
to L , when the argument value x approaches a. Geometrically it means, that for any
> 0 it is possible to find such a number , that if x is within an interval ( a
– , a +
), then a function value is within an interval ( L – , L +
) . Note, that according to this definition, a function argument x only approaches
a, not adopting this value! It must be considered at calculating limit of any function at a point of its discontinuity ( i.e., where this function doesn’t exist ).
E x a m p l e . Find :
S o l u t i o n . Substituting x = 3 into the expression  we’ll receive a meaningless
expression  ( see “About meaningless expressions” in the section “Powers
and roots” of the part “Algebra”). Therefore we’ll solve in a different way:
Here the fraction canceling is valid, because x  3 , it only approaches 3.
Now we have:
because, if x approaches 3 , then x + 3 approaches 6 .
Some remarkable limits.
Infinitesimal and infinite value. If limit of some variable is equal to 0, this variable is called an infinitesimal.
E x a m p l e . The function y =  is an infinitesimal, if x approaches 4, because
If an absolute value of some variable increases unboundedly, then this variable is called an infinite value.
An infinite value has no a finite limit, but it has so called an infinite limit; this fact is written as:
The symbol  (“infinity”) doesn’t mean some number, it means only that the
fraction increases unboundedly if x approaches 3 . It should be noted, that the fraction can be both positive (at x > 3) and negative
(at x < 3). If an infinite value can be only positive at any values of x, it is marked in a record. For example, at x
 0 the function y
= x–2 is an infinite value, but it is positive both at
x > 0 and at x < 0 ; this is expressed as:
On the contrary, the function y = – x –2 is always negative, therefore
According to this, a result of our example can be written as:
then this fraction approaches 1 , i.e. its limit is 1.
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