MH1100/MTH112: Calculus I.

Problem list for Week #2.

Tutorial in the week beginning 27th of August.
This weeks topics:
Some motivations for limits: tangents and velocities. (Section 1.4).
The basic concept of a limit. (Section 1.5).
Using the limit laws to determine limits. (Section 1.6).
Your tutor will aim to discuss: Problems 4, 7, 14, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, and
other problems.
Problems that I think are more unusual or dicult than normal are marked
with a .
Problem 1:
The point P
_
1,
1
2
_
lies on the the graph of the function f(x) =
x
1+x
.
(a) If Q is the point
_
x,
x
1+x
_
, use your calculator to nd the slope of the
secant line PQ for the following values of x:
(i) 0.5 (ii) 0.9
(iii) 0.99 (iv) 0.999
(v) 1.5 (vi) 1.1
(vii) 1.01 (viii) 1.001
(b) Using the results of part (a), guess the value of the slope of the tangent
line to the curve at P
_
1,
1
2
_
.
(c) Using the slope from part (b), nd an equation of the tangent line to
the curve at P
_
1,
1
2
_
.
1
Problem 2: (Problem 1.4.5 in [Stewart].)
If a ball is thrown into the air with a velocity of 10m/s, its height in metres
t seconds later is given by H(t) = 10t 4.9t
2
.
(a) Find the average velocity for the time beginning when t = 1.5 and
lasting
(i) 0.5 seconds (ii) 0.1 seconds
(iii) 0.05 seconds (iv) 0.01 seconds.
(b) Estimate the instantaneous velocity when t = 1.5.
Problem 3: (Problem 1.5.6 in [Stewart].)
Consider a function h(x) with the following graph.
State the value of the following quantity, if it exists. If it does not exist,
explain why.
(a) lim
x3
h(x) (b) lim
x3
+ h(x) (c) lim
x3
h(x)
(d) h(3) (e) lim
x0
h(x) (f) lim
x0
+ h(x)
(g) lim
x0
h(x) (h) h(0) (i) lim
x2
h(x)
(j) h(2) (k) lim
x5
+ h(x) (l) lim
x5
h(x)
2
Problem 4: (Problem 1.5.16 in [Stewart])
Give an example of a function f satisfying the following conditions:
lim
x0
f(x) = 1
lim
x0
+ f(x) = 1
lim
x2
f(x) = 0
lim
x2
+ f(x) = 1
f(2) = 1
f(0) is undened.
Problem 5: (Problem 1.5.19 in [Stewart])
Guess the value of the limit
lim
x2
x
2
2x
x
2
x 2
by evaluating the function at the points
x = 2.5, 2.1, 2.05, 2.01, 2.005, 2.001, 1.9, 1.95, 1.99, 1.995, 1.999.
3
Problem 6: (Problem 1.6.2 in [Stewart])
Consider 2 functions f and g, with the following graphs:
Use these graphs to evaluate the following limits. If the limit does not exist,
explain why.
(a) lim
x2
[f(x) + g(x)] (b) lim
x1
[f(x) + g(x)]
(c) lim
x0
[f(x)g(x)] (d) lim
x1
f(x)
g(x)
(e) lim
x2
[x
3
f(x)] (f) lim
x1
_
3 + f(x).
Problem 7:
Use the limit laws to evaluate the limit
lim
x1
_
1 + 3x
1 + 4x
2
+ 3x
4
_
3
,
carefully justifying each step.
Problem 8: (1.6.10 in [Stewart])
(a) What is wrong with the following equation?
x
2
+ x 6
x 2
= x + 3
(b) Given your answer to (a), explain why the following equation is correct.
lim
x2
x
2
+ x 6
x 2
= lim
x2
(x + 3).
4
Problem 9: (1.6.15 from [Stewart])
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
t3
t
2
9
2t
2
+ 7t + 3
.
Problem 10:
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
h0

1 + h 1
h
.
Problem 11:
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
x7

x + 2 3
x 7
.
Problem 12: (1.6.23 from [Stewart])
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
x4
1
4
+
1
x
4 + x
.
Problem 13:
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
x9
x
2
81

x 3
.
5
Problem 14: (1.6.29 from [Stewart])
Evaluate the following limit, if it exists:
lim
t0
_
1
t

1 + t

1
t
_
.
Problem 15: (1.6.36 from [Stewart])
Use the squeeze theorem to show that
lim
x0
_
x
3
+ x
2
sin

x
= 0.
Problem 16: (1.6.40 from [Stewart])
Prove that
lim
x0
+

x
_
1 + sin
2
_
2
x
__
= 0.
Problem 17: (1.6.41 from [Stewart])
Does the limit following limit exist? If so, determine the limit. If not,
explain why not.
lim
x3
(2x + |x 3|) .
Problem 18: (1.6.45 and 1.6.46 from [Stewart])
Do the following limits exist? If so, determine the limits.
(i) lim
x0

_
1
x

1
|x|
_
(ii) lim
x0
+
_
1
x

1
|x|
_
6
Problem 19:
Consider the function
F(x) =
x
2
1
|x 1|
.
(i) Find lim
x1
+ F(x).
(ii) Find lim
x1
F(x).
(iii) Does lim
x1
F(x) exist?
(iv) Sketch the graph of F(x).
Problem 20: (1.6.55 from [Stewart])
If p(x) is a polynomial, show that lim
xa
p(x) = p(a).
Problem 21: (1.6.56 from [Stewart])
If r(x) is a rational function (recall that this means that r(x) =
p(x)
q(x)
for
some polynomials p(x) and q(x)), show that lim
xa
r(x) = r(a) for every
number in the domain of r(x).
() Problem 22: (1.6.57 from [Stewart])
If lim
x1
f(x)8
x1
= 10, then what is lim
x1
f(x)? Explain your deduction
carefully.
() Problem 23: (1.6.59 from [Stewart])
Consider the function
f(x) =
_
x
2
if x is rational
0 if x is irrational
.
Prove that lim
x0
f(x) = 0.
() Problem 24: (1.6.61 from [Stewart])
Find an example to illustrate the fact that it is possible for lim
xa
(f(x)g(x))
to exist even though neither lim
xa
f(x) nor lim
xa
g(x) exists.
7