Solution to Homework of Section 2.

2
Calculus I | Fall 2016 (MS, IEEM)
[TA] Yang Ming Hsun | September 28, 2016

Exercises 120. Decide in the manner of Section 2.1 whether or not indicated limit exists.
Evaluate the limits that do exist.
Exercise 5.

x4 1
.
x1 x 1
lim

Solution. For x 6= 1,
x4 1
(x 1)(x3 + x2 + x + 1)
=
= x3 + x2 + x + 1.
x1
x1
Since
x4 1
= x3 + x2 + x + 1 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4.
x1

as x 1,
Hence

x4 1
x1 x 1
lim

exists and

Exercise 12.

x4 1
= 4.
x1 x 1
lim

x
.
|x|

lim

x0

Solution. For x < 0,

x
x
=
= 1.
|x|
x
Since
x
= 1 1.
|x|

as x 0 ,
Hence
lim

x0

x
|x|

exists and

Exercise 13.

lim+

x1

lim

x0

x
= 1.
|x|

x1
.
x

Solution. Since

as x 1+ ,
Hence
+

as x 1 ,
Therefore

lim

x1+

x1
x

x 1 0 and x 1.

x1
0
= 0.
x
1

exists and

x1
lim
= 0.
x1+
x

Exercise 15.

lim+ f (x) if f (x) =

x2

2x 1, x 2
x2 x, x > 2.

Solution. For x > 2, f (x) = x2 x. Since

as x 2+ ,

f (x) = x2 x 4 2 = 2.

Hence
lim f (x) exists and

lim f (x) = 2.

x2+

x2+

Exercise 18.
x2 , x < 3
7, x = 3
lim f (x) if f (x) =
x3

2x + 3, x > 3.

Solution. For x > 3, f (x) = 2x + 3. Since

as x 3+ ,

f (x) = 2x + 3 9.

Hence
lim f (x) = 9.

x3+

()

For x < 3, f (x) = x2 . Since

as x 3 ,

f (x) = x2 9.

Hence
lim f (x) = 9.

x3

By () and (),
lim f (x) exists and

lim f (x) = 9.

x3

x3

Exercise 20.

lim f (x) if f (x) =

x2

x2 , x 1
5x, x > 1.

Solution. For x > 1, f (x) = 5x. Since

as x 2,

f (x) = 5x 10.

Hence
lim f (x) exists and

x2

lim f (x) = 10.

x2

()

Exercises 2326. Find the largest that works for the given .
Exercise 25.
lim 1 x
x2 2

= 1;

 = 0.01.

Solution. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find > 0) such
that
if 0 < |x 2| < ,



1

 2 x 1

then

<  = 0.01.

Note that


1

 2 x 1

<

1
2

|x 2| < 

|x 2| < 2 = 2 0.01 = 0.02.

Take = 0.02 > 0. If 0 < |x 2| < , then



1

 2 x 1

= 21 |x 2| < 12 =

1
2

0.02 = 0.01 = .

Exercise 3540. Give an , proof for the following statements.

Exercise 38.
lim (2 5x) = 2.

x0

Proof. Let  > 0. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find
> 0) such that
if 0 < |x 0| < ,

then

|(2 5x) 2| < .

Note that
|(2 5x) 2| < 

5 |x| < 

|x| < 51 .

Take = 51 . If 0 < |x 0| < , then

|(2 5x) 2| = 5 |x| = 5 |x 0| < 5 = 5 51  = .
By definition of limit, limx0 (2 5x) = 2.
Exercise 40.
lim |x 2| = 0.

x2

Proof. Let  > 0. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find
> 0) such that
if 0 < |x 2| < ,

then

||x 2| 0| < .

Note that




|x 2| 0

<

|x 2| < .

Take = . If 0 < |x 2| < , then





|x 2| 0

= |x 2| < = .

By definition of limit, limx2 |x 2| = 0.

3

Exercise 41. Let f be some function for which you know only that
if 0 < |x 3| < 1,

then

|f (x) 5| < 0.1.

Which of the following statements are necessarily true?

(a) If |x 3| < 1, then |f (x) 5| < 0.1.
(b) If |x 2.5| < 0.3, then |f (x) 5| < 0.1.
(c) limx3 f (x) = 5.
(d) If 0 < |x 3| < 2, then |f (x) 5| < 0.1.
(e) If 0 < |x 3| < 0.5, then |f (x) 5| < 0.1.
(f) If 0 < |x 3| < 41 , then |f (x) 5| < 14 (0.1).
(g) If 0 < |x 3| < 1, then |f (x) 5| < 0.2.
(h) If 0 < |x 3| < 1, then |f (x) 4.95| < 0.05.
(i) If limx3 f (x) = L, then 4.9 L 5.1.
Solution.

(a) False.

[Reason] Note that

0 < |x 3| < 1
|x 3| < 1

x (2, 3) (3, 4) ,
x (2, 4) ,

and note that

3 (2, 4) ,

but 3
/ (2, 3) (3, 4) .

Since 3
/ (2, 3) (3, 4). Hence we have no evidence whether or not x = 3 satisfies
|f (x) 5| < 0.1. Therefore the statement is not necessarily true.
[Counterexample] Let

f (x) =

5, x 6= 3
100, x = 3.

(1) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then x 6= 3 and it implies that

|f (x) 5| = |5 5| = 0 < 0.1.
(2) If x = 3, then x (2, 4) but
|f (x) 5| = |f (3) 5| = |100 5| = 95 0.1.
(b) True.
[Reason/Proof] Note that
|x 2.5| < 0.3

x (2.2, 2.8) .

and (2.2, 2.8) (2, 3) (3, 4). If x (2.2, 2.8), then x (2, 3) (3, 4) and it implies that
|f (x) 5| < 0.1. Therefore the statement is true.
4

(c) False.
[Reason] Since the statement
if 0 < |x 3| < 1,

then

|f (x) 5| < 0.1

is equivalent to for  = 0.1 > 0, there exists = 1 > 0 such that

if 0 < |x 3| < ,

then

|f (x) 5| < .

Hence for every  > 0 (different from 0.1), we have no evidence whether or not there
exists a corresponding > 0 such that
if 0 < |x 3| < ,

then

|f (x) 5| < .

Compared with the definition of limit, we can not conclude that limx3 f (x) = 5.
[Counterexample] Let f (x) = 5.01.
(1) For x (2, 3) (3, 4), |f (x) 5| = |5.01 5| = 0.01 < 0.1.
(2) limx3 f (x) = limx3 (5.01) = 5.01 6= 5.
(d) False.
[Reason] Note that
0 < |x 3| < 2

x (1, 3) (3, 5) ,

and note that (1, 2][4, 5) is contained in (1, 3)(3, 5), but not contained in (2, 3)(3, 5). If
x (1, 2][4, 5), we have no evidence whether or not x satisfies |f (x)5| < 0.1. Therefore
the statement is not necessarily true.
[Counterexample] Let

f (x) =

5, 2 < x < 4
100, otherwise.

(1) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then

|f (x) 5| = |5 5| = 0 < 0.1.
(2) If x = 23 , then x (1, 3) (3, 5) but


|f (x) 5| = f ( 23 ) 5 = |100 5| = 95 0.1.

(e) True.
[Reason/Proof] Note that
0 < |x 3| < 0.5

x (2.5, 3) (3, 3.5)

and (2.5, 3) (3, 3.5) (2, 3) (3, 4). If x (2.5, 3) (3, 3.5), then x (2, 3) (3, 4)
and it implies that |f (x) 5| < 0.1. Therefore the statement is true.

(f) False.
[Reason] Note that
0 < |x 3| <

1
4

x (2.75, 3) (3, 3.25)

and (2.75, 3) (3, 3.25) (2, 3) (3, 4). If x (2.75, 3) (3, 3.25), then x (2, 3) (3, 4)
and it implies that |f (x) 5| < 0.1. However, we have no evidence whether or not
|f (x) L| < 41 (0.1) = 0.025 for all x (2.75, 3) (3, 3.25); that is, |f (x) 5| may lie in
(0, 0.025) or [0.025, 0.1). Therefore the statement is not necessarily true.
[Counterexample] Let f (x) = 5.09.
(1) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then
|f (x) 5| = |5.09 5| = 0.09 < 0.1.
(2) If x = 2.9, then x (2.75, 3) (3, 3.25) but
|f (x) 5| = |f (2.9) 5| = |5.09 5| = 0.09 0.025 = 41 (0.1) .
(g) True.
[Reason/Proof] If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then
|f (x) 5| < 0.1 < 0.2.
Therefore the statement is true.
(h) False.
[Reason] Note that:
(1) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then
|f (x) 5| < 0.1

f (x) (4.9, 5.1) .

(2) |f (x) 4.95| < 0.05 f (x) (4.9, 5).

(3) [5, 5.1) is contained in (4.9, 5.1), but not contained in (4.9, 5).
If x (2, 3) (3, 4), we have no evidence whether or not |f (x) 4.95| < 0.05; that is,
f (x) may lie in (4.9, 5) or [5, 5.1). Therefore the statement is not necessarily true.
[Counterexample] Let f (x) = 5.01.
(1) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), then |f (x) 5| = |5.01 5| = 0.01 < 0.1.
(2) If x (2, 3) (3, 4), |f (x) 4.95| = |5.01 4.95| = 0.06 0.05.
(i) True.
[Reason] From the statement
if 0 < |x 3| < 1,

then

|f (x) 5| < 0.1,00

we know that f (x) lies between 4.9 and 5.1 as x get sufficiently close to 3. Therefore
the limit of f (x) as x approaches 3 can be neither larger than 5.1 nor smaller than 4.9.

[Proof] Suppose that limx3 f (x) = L. We want to prove (by contradiction) that
4.9 L 5.1. Note that
4.9 L 5.1

|L 5| 0.1.

Assume that |L 5| > 0.1. Let  = |L 5| 0.1 > 0. By definition of limit, there exists
0 > 0 such that
if 0 < |x 3| < 0 ,

then

|f (x) L| <  = |L 5| 0.1.

Take = min{1, 0 }. Note that 1 and 0 . If 0 < |x 3| < , then

(1) 0 < |x 3| < 1 |f (x) 5| < 0.1;
(2) 0 < |x 3| < 0 |f (x) L| < |L 5| 0.1.
If 0 < |x 3| < , then
|f (x) L| < |L 5| 0.1
= |L f (x) + f (x) 5| 0.1
|L f (x)| + |f (x) 5| 0.1
< |L f (x)| + 0.1 0.1
= |L f (x)| = |f (x) L| .

(by (2))

(by Triangle Inequality)

(by (1))

It leads to a contradiction. Therefore the statement is necessarily true.

Exercise 42. Suppose that |A B| <  for each  > 0. Prove that A = B.
HINT: Suppose that A 6= B and set  = 12 |A B|.
Proof. We prove by contradiction that A = B. Assume that A 6= B. Let  = 21 |A B| > 0.
Then
|A B| <  = 21 |A B|

1
2

|A B| < 0

|A B| < 0.

It leads to a contradiction. Therefore A = B.

Exercise 45. Prove that
lim f (x) = 0 iff

xc

lim |f (x)| = 0.

xc

Proof. Note that





|f (x)| 0

= |f (x)| = |f (x)| = |f (x) 0| .

() Suppose that limxc f (x) = 0. We want to prove that limxc |f (x)| = 0. Let  > 0. We
want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find > 0) such that


then |f (x)| 0 < .

if 0 < |x c| < ,

Since limxc f (x) = 0. Hence there exists 0 > 0 such that

if 0 < |x c| < 0 ,

then

|f (x) 0| < .

()

Take = 0 > 0. If 0 < |x c| < = 0 ,





|f (x)| 0

= |f (x) 0| < .

(by ())

By definition of limit, limxc f (x) = 0.

() Suppose that limxc |f (x)| = 0. We want to prove that limxc f (x) = 0. Let  > 0.
We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find > 0) such that
if 0 < |x c| < ,

|f (x) L| < .

then

Since limxc |f (x)| = 0. Hence there exists 1 > 0 such that



then |f (x)| 0 < .

if 0 < |x c| < 1 ,

()

Take = 1 > 0. If 0 < |x c| < = 1 ,



|f (x) 0| = |f (x)| 0 < .

(by ())

By definition of limit, limxc f (x) = 0.

Exercise 46.

(a) Prove that

if

lim f (x) = L,

lim |f (x)| = |L| .

then

xc

xc

(b) Show that the converse is false. Give an example where

lim |f (x)| = |L|

lim f (x) = M 6= L,

and

xc

xc

and then give an example where

lim |f (x)|

exists and

xc

lim f (x) does not exist.

xc

Proof. (a) Suppose that limxc f (x) = L. We want to prove that limxc |f (x)| = |L|. Let
 > 0. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, > 0) such that


then |f (x)| |L| < .

if 0 < |x c| < ,

Since limxc f (x) = L. Hence there exists 0 > 0 such that

if 0 < |x c| < ,

then

|f (x) L| < .

Take = 0 > 0. If 0 < |x c| < = 0 , then





|f (x)| |L|

|f (x) L|
< .

(by Traingle Inequality)

(by ())

By the definition of limit, limxc |f (x)| = |L|.

(b)

(i) Let f (x) = 1, c = 0. Then

lim |f (x)| = lim |1| = lim 1 = 1 = |1| ,

xc

x0

x0

lim f (x) = lim (1) = 1.

xc

x0

Take L = 1 and M = 1. Then

lim |f (x)| = |L|

and

xc

Therefore the converse of Part (a) is false.

8

lim f (x) = M 6= L.

xc

(())

(ii) Let

f (x) =

1, x 0
1, x < 0,

and c = 0. Then |f (x)| = 1, and

lim |f (x)| = lim 1 = 1 (exists).

xc

()

x0

Note that
lim f (x) = lim (1) = 1.

lim f (x) = lim+ 1 = 1,

x0+

x0

x0

x0

Since limx0+ f (x) 6= limx0 f (x). Hence

lim f (x) = lim f (x) does not exist.

xc

()

x0

By () and (), the converse of Part (a) is false.

Exercise 49.

(a) Show that limxc

x=

c for each c > 0.

HINT: If x and c are positive, then



1
|x c|
< |x c| .
0  x c =
x+ c
c

(b) Show that limx0+

x = 0.

Proof. (a) Let c > 0 and  > 0. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0
(that is, to find > 0) such that
if 0 < |x c| < ,

then




 x c

< .

Note that:
(1) If x > 0, then



 x c

| x c| | x + c|

=
| x + c|

|( x c)( x + c)|
|x c|
|x c|
|x c|

<
=
=
= .
x+ c
x+ c
c
0+ c

(2)
|x c|

<
c
Take = min{c,

|x c| <

c } > 0. Note that c and

c .

c . If 0 < |x c| < ,

(1) c < x < c + x > c c 0 = c > 0


 |x c|

c

(2)  x c <
< = .
c
c
c

By definition of limit, limxc x = c.

9

x dom(f ),

(b) Let  > 0. We want to show that there exists a corresponding > 0 (that is, to find
> 0) such that
if 0 < x < 0 + ,

Note that | x 0| = x and

x<

then

|f (x) L| < .

x < 2 .

Take = 2 . If 0 < x < , then






 x 0 = x < = 2 = .
By definition of right-hand limit, limx0+

10

x = 0.