151 WebCalc Fall 2002-copyright Joe Kahlig

1 Horizontal and Vertical Asymptote Shortcuts

The function f (x) has a vertical asymptote at x = a provided one of the following conditions are true. lim f (x) = lim f (x) = lim f (x) = lim f (x) =
xa+ xa+ xa xa

A function f (x) has a horizontal asymptote of y = a provided lim f (x) = a or lim f (x) = a
x

If the function f (x) is a rational function, a polynomial divided by a polynomial, then we have some shortcuts for nding asymptotes. Shortcut for Vertical Asymptotes: To nd the VA of a rational function,rst need to simplify the function. Factor the numerator and the denominator and cancel any common terms. The function will have VA where the simplied function is not dened. Shortcut for Horizontal Asymptotes: If f (x) is a rational function of the form f (x) = an xn + an1 xn1 + ... + ao bm xm + bm1 xm1 + ... + bo

where xn is the highest power in the numerator and xm is the highest power in the denominator. Case n=m HA y= an bm

n<m n>m

y=0

no HA