009A Sample Final 1, Problem 1

In each part, compute the limit. If the limit is infinite, be sure to specify positive or negative infinity.

(a)   $\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x^{3}-9x}{6+2x}}$

(b)   $\lim _{x\rightarrow 0^{+}}{\frac {\sin(2x)}{x^{2}}}$

(c)   $\lim _{x\rightarrow -\infty }{\frac {3x}{\sqrt {4x^{2}+x+5}}}$

Foundations:
L'Hôpital's Rule
Suppose that $\lim _{x\rightarrow \infty }f(x)$  and $\lim _{x\rightarrow \infty }g(x)$  are both zero or both $\pm \infty .$
If $\lim _{x\rightarrow \infty }{\frac {f'(x)}{g'(x)}}$  is finite or  $\pm \infty ,$
then $\lim _{x\rightarrow \infty }{\frac {f(x)}{g(x)}}\,=\,\lim _{x\rightarrow \infty }{\frac {f'(x)}{g'(x)}}.$

Solution:

(a)

Step 1:
We begin by factoring the numerator. We have
$\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x^{3}-9x}{6+2x}}\,=\,\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x(x-3)(x+3)}{2(x+3)}}.$
So, we can cancel $x+3$  in the numerator and denominator. Thus, we have
$\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x^{3}-9x}{6+2x}}\,=\,\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x(x-3)}{2}}.$

Step 2:
Now, we can just plug in $x=-3$  to get
$\lim _{x\rightarrow -3}{\frac {x^{3}-9x}{6+2x}}\,=\,{\frac {(-3)(-3-3)}{2}}\,=\,{\frac {18}{2}}\,=\,9.$

(b)

Step 1:
We proceed using L'Hôpital's Rule. So, we have
${\begin{array}{rcl}\displaystyle {\lim _{x\rightarrow 0^{+}}{\frac {\sin(2x)}{x^{2}}}}&=&\displaystyle {\lim _{x\rightarrow 0^{+}}{\frac {2\cos(2x)}{2x}}}\\&&\\&=&\displaystyle {\lim _{x\rightarrow 0^{+}}{\frac {\cos(2x)}{x}}.}\\\end{array}}$

Step 2:
This limit is   Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle +\infty.}

(c)

Step 1:
We have
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{\sqrt{4x^2+x+5}}=\lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{\sqrt{x^2(4+\frac{1}{x}+\frac{5}{x^2}})}.}
Since we are looking at the limit as Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} goes to negative infinity, we have Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sqrt{x^2}=-x.}
So, we have
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{\sqrt{4x^2+x+5}}\,=\,\lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{-x\sqrt{4+\frac{1}{x}+\frac{5}{x^2}}}.}

Step 2:
We simplify to get
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{\sqrt{4x^2+x+5}}\,=\,\lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{-3}{\sqrt{4+\frac{1}{x}+\frac{5}{x^2}}}.}
So, we have
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty} \frac{3x}{\sqrt{4x^2+x+5}}=\frac{-3}{\sqrt{4}}=\frac{-3}{2}.}

Final Answer:
(a)    Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 9}
(b)    Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle +\infty}
(c)    Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle -\frac{3}{2}}

Return to Sample Exam