Section 1.

(3/1908)

Formal definitions of limits

Overview: The definitions of the various types of limits in previous sections involve phrases such as
arbitrarily close, sufficiently close, arbitrarily large, and sufficiently large. For instance, according
to Definition 2 of Section 1.1, lim f (x) = L with a number L if f (x) is arbitrarily close to L for all x 6= a
xa

sufficiently close to a. These qualitative formulations of the definitions are all that are needed in most of
calculus. More quantitative formulations of the definitions are required, however, in dealing with difficult
examples and in proofs. In these formal definitions, phrases such as arbitrarily close and sufficiently
close are made precise by using inequalities. In this section we discuss the formal definition of two-sided
finite limits lim f (x) = L. Formal definitions of lim f (x) = L and lim f (x) = are presented in
xa

the context of infinite sequences in Section 11.1. Other definitions are similar and are studied in advanced
courses.
Topics:
The -definition of a finite two-sided limit
Using approximate inequalities
Two short proofs

Using graphs with finite limits

The -definition of a finite two-sided limit

To convert Definition 2 in Section 1.1 of lim f (x) = L into a formal definition, we replace the phrase
xa

f (x) is arbitrarily close to L with |f (x) L| <  for an arbitrarily small positive number , and
we replace the phrase for all x 6= a sufficiently close to a with for all x with 0 < |x a| < for a
sufficiently small positive number . We obtain the following:
Definition 1 (Finite two-sided limits) Suppose that y = f (x) is defined on open intervals (b, a) and
(a, c) on both sides of a. Then lim f (x) = L with a number L if and only if for every positive , there is
xa

a positive such that

|f (x) L| <  for all x with 0 < |x a| < .

and are the Greek letters epsilon and delta.

51

(1)

p. 52 (3/1908)

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

Statement (1) means that the portions of the graph y = f (x) for a < x < a and for a < x < a+
are between the lines y = L +  and y = L  as is illustrated in Figure 1.
y

y =L+
L
y =L

|f (x) L| < 

y = f (x)




for

0 < |x a| <

FIGURE 1

a+

To see the geometric meaning of this Definition 1, imagine that the positive parameter  in Figure 1
decreases toward zero, so that the lines y = L  and y = L +  approach the line y = L. If the definition
is satisfied, then for each , there is a such that the portion of the graph for a < x < x0 on the left
of a and the portion for a < x < a + on the right of a lie between those lines. Since  can be arbitrarily
small, this causes the value f (x) of the function to approach L as x approaches a from both sides.
Notice that if a has been found to satisfy Definition 1 for a particular , then any smaller positive
would also work for that  and the same would serve for any larger .
We can often show that Definition 1 is satisfied by giving a rule that defines a suitable for every
positive , as in the following example.
Example 1

Figure 2 shows the graph of the function y = F (x) defined by

F (x) = 4x for x 6= 2.
Use Definition 1 to prove that lim F (x) = 8.
x2

y = F (x)

y = F (x)

12
8+
8
8

8
4
1

2 2 2

lim F (x) = 8

|F (x) 8| < 
for 0 < |x 2| <

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3

x2

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

Solution

p. 53 (3/1908)

We need to show that for each positive number  there is a positive number such that
|F (x) 8| <  for all x with 0 < |x 2| <

(2)

(Figure 3). We do this in three steps. We begin with preliminary calculations. Next,
we use these calculations to define a rule that provides a suitable for each . Then we
verify that the rule works.
(Preliminary calculations) For x 6= 2, F (x) equals 4x and
|F (x) 8| <  |4x 8| <  4|x 2| < 

(3)

|x 2| < 41 .

(The rule) Given  > 0, set =

the last expression in (2).

1
4

so that the last expression in (3) is the same as

(Verification) With this definition of , statement (2) is valid because if x satisfies

0 < |x 2| < , then it satisfies the last inequality in (3) and therefore |F (x) 8| < .

Example 2

Show, using Definition 1, that lim x3 = 0.

Solution

Since |x3 0| = |x3 | and |x 0| = |x|, we need a rule defining a positive for each
positive  (Figure 4) such that

x0

|x3 | <  for all x with 0 < |x| < .

(4)

(Preliminary calculations) We solve the first inequality in (4) for |x| by taking cube
roots of both sides:
|x3 | <  |x| < 1/3

(5)

(The rule) Given  > 0, define = 1/3 so that the last expressions in (4) and (5) are
the same.
(Verification) Statement (4) holds with this definition of because if 0 < |x| < ,
then |x| < 1/3 and |x|3 <  by (5). 
y

y = x3
y=

|x3 | < 
for
0 < |x| <
FIGURE 4

x
y = 

p. 54 (3/1908)

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

Example 3

Use Definition 1 to prove that the statement lim x3 = 2 is false.

Solution

We need to show that there is a positive  such that there is no positive with the
property that |x3 2| <  for all x with 0 < |x| < .

x0

Since the limit is actually 0, we can use any  < 2. We will use  = 1. There is
no positive such that |x3 2| < 1 for all x with 0 < |x| < since 0 < x3 < 1 and
hence |x3 2| > 1 for 0 < x < 1. 

Using approximate inequalities

In Examples 1 and 2 we found formulas for to satisfy the definition of lim f (x) = L by solving the
xa

inequality |f (x) L| <  exactly. In many cases, this inequality is relatively difficult to solve and we use,
instead, the following procedure in which this inequality is replaced by one that is easier to deal with.
(Preliminary calculations) Use factoring or other techniques to write f (x) L in the form
f (x) L = g(x)(x a)
with another function y = g(x). Then pick a specific positive number 1 (1 = 1 will often work) such
that g(x) is bounded for 0 < |x a| < 1 and pick a positive constant M such that |g(x)| M for
0 < |x a| < 1 . Then
|f (x) L| M |x a| for 0 < |x a| < 1 .
(6)
(The rule) The positive number must be defined so that
|f (x) L| <  for all x with 0 < |x a| < .

(7)

Accordingly given  > 0, let be the smaller of 1 and /M .

(Verification) Statement (7) is valid with this definition of because if 0 < |x a| < , then
|f (x) L| M |x a| < since 1 , and then |f (x) L| <  since /M .

Example 4

Show that by Definition 1, lim x2 = 9.

Solution

We need a rule that gives a positive for every positive  such that

x3

|x2 9| <  for 0 < |x 3| < .

(8)

(Preliminary calculations) We start by factoring |x2 9| in the form |x + 3||x 3|.

Since |x + 3| is bounded in any finite interval, we set 1 = 1. Then 2 < x < 4 for
|x 3| < 1 and, consequently, |x + 3| < 7 for |x 3| < 1. Therefore,
|x2 9| = |x + 3||x 3| 7|x 3| for |x 3| < 1.

(9)

(The rule) Inequality (9) shows that we can have |x2 9| < , as in (8), by requiring
|x 3| < 71  so that 7|x 3| <  and by requiring |x 3| < 1, so that (8) holds. Given
 > 0, we define to be the smaller of 1 and 71 .
(Verification) Statement (8) holds with this definition of because if
0 < |x 3| < , then |x 3| < 1 so that |x2 9| 7|x 3| by (9) and then
|x2 9| 7|x 3| < 7 7

1
7

= . 

The procedure in Example 4 gives, for each  > 0, a that satisfies Definition 1, even though it
2
is generally not the largest possible such for that .
For example, the inequality |x 9| < 1 holds for
2
positive x if 8 < x < 9 or equivalently if 8 < x < 10 (Figure 5). Therefore, the largest possible for
.

.
 = 1 in the definition of lim x2 = 9 is the smaller of 3 8 = 0.1715 and 10 3 = 0.1622. Since the
x3

.
latter number is smaller, the largest for  = 1 is 10 3 = 0.1622, which is slightly larger than the
.
= 1/7 = 0.1428 obtained with the procedure of Example 3. Either of these s or any smaller positive
would serve in the definition.

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

p. 55 (3/1908)

y = x2

10
=1
9
8

FIGURE 5

Example 5
Solution

10

1
= 1.
x
We need a rule that gives a positive for every positive  such that

Show that by Definition 1, lim

x1




1
 1 <  for all x with 0 < |x 1| < .

x

(10)

(Preliminary calculations) We write

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

To have the quantity on the right be no greater than M |x 1| with a constant M , we

restrict x to the interval [ 21 , 32 ] that extends one-half unit to the left and one-half unit
to the right of x = 1. (We need to keep x away from 0 since 1/|x| as x 0.)
Because 1/|x| 2 for 21 x 32 , we then have




1
 1 = 1 |x 1| 2|x 1| for
 |x|
x

1
2

x 32 .

(The rule) Given  > 0, let be the minimum of

1
2

and

(11)

1
2 .

(Verification) Statement (10) is valid with this choice of because if 0 < |x 1| < ,
then 21 x 32 since 12 and then by (11)

since

1
2 .



1

 1 2|x 1| < 2 2( 1 ) = .
2
x


p. 56 (3/1908)

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

Two short proofs

The next two examples illustrate how Definition 1 is used in proofs.
Example 6

Use Definition 1 to prove that if lim g(x) = 10, then lim 2g(x) = 20.

Solution

We need a rule that gives a positive for every positive  such that

x8

x8

|2g(x) 20| <  for all x with 0 < |x 8| < .

(12)

Since the inequality on the left of (12) can be written 2|g(x) 10| <  and this is
equivalent to |g(x) 10| < 21 , we apply Definition 1 to lim g(x) = 10 with 12  in
x8

Example 7

place of . According to that definition, there is a > 0 such that |g(x) 10| < 21  for
0 < |x 8| < , and this shows that (12) holds. 

Suppose that lim f (x) = L and lim g(x) = M with numbers L and M . Prove, using
xx0

xx0

Definition 1, that lim [f (x)+ g(x)] = L+ M . (This is the first statement in Theorem 1
xx0

of Section 1.1.)
Solution

We need to show that for every  > 0 there is a > 0 such that
|[f (x) + g(x)] (L + M )| <  for all x 0 < |x x0 | < .

(13)

(Preliminary calculations) Because f (x) tends to L and g(x) tends to M , |f (x) L|

and |g(x) M | are arbitrarily small for all x 6= x0 sufficiently close to x0 . We use the
triangle inequality
|A + B| |A| + |B|

(14)

which is valid for any numbers A and B, to write

|[f (x) + g(x)] (L + M )| = |[f (x) L] + [g(x) M ]|
|f (x) L| + |g(x) M | .

(15)

(The rule) Let  be an arbitrary positive number. The number on the right of (15) is
less than  if |f (x) L| < 21  and |g(x) M | < 21 . From Definition 1 with  replaced
by 12  and applied to f and g, there are positive numbers 1 and 2 such that
|f (x) L| <
|g(x) M | <

1
2
1
2

for 0 < |x x0 | < 1

for 0 < |x x0 | < 2 .

(16)

We defiine to be the smaller of 1 and 2 .

(Verification) With this definition of , statement (13) holds because if
0 < |x x0 | < , then inequalities (16) hold and by (15),
|[f (x) + g(x)] (L + M )| |f (x) L| + |g(x) M | < 12  + 12  = . 

Inequality (14)

is valid because |A + B| = |A| + |B| if A and B are both 0 or are both 0, and |A + B| < |A| + |B|
if one of A and B is positive and the other is negative. This result is called the triangle inequality because it is the statement
P R P Q + QR that the length of one side of a triangle P QR is no greater than the sum of the lengths of the other two sides in
the special case where P = (A, 0), Q = (0, 0), and R = (B, 0) and P QR is a line segment.

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

p. 57 (3/1908)

Using graphs with finite limits

Suitable values of in Definition 1 for specific s can sometimes be found from graphs, as in the next
example.

Example 8
According to Definition 1 applied to the limit lim ( x + 3 x) = 2 with  = 0.25, there
x1

is a positive such that

|( x + 3 x) 2| < 0.25 for all x with 0 < |x 1| < .

(17)

Use the graph of y = x + 3 x in Figure 6 to find the approximate value of the largest
that could be used in (17).
y

y=

x+ 3x

1
FIGURE 6
1
Solution

Since 2 0.25 = 1.75 and 2 + 0.25 = 2.25, (17) is the same as the statement
1.75 <

x+

3
x < 2.25 for all x with 0 < |1 x| < .

(18)

We draw the horizontal lines y = 1.75 and y = 2.25 and then vertical lines from their
intersections with the graph to the x-axis, as in Figure 7. We see that the graph lies
between these lines for a < x < b with a 0.73 and b 1.33. The largest possible
that could be used in (18) is the smaller of the numbers 1 a 1 0.73 = 0.27 and
b 1 1.33 1 = 0.33. The largest possible is 0.27. 
y

y=

x+ 3x

2.25
2
1.75

FIGURE 7
0.73 1 1.33

p. 58 (3/1908)

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

Interactive Examples 1.5

1.

Interactive solutions are on the web page http//www.math.ucsd.edu/ashenk/.

Use Definition 1 to verify the limit lim 3 x = 0.

x0

18
= 6.
Verify Definition 1 for lim
x3 x
(a) Use the graph in Figure 8pto find the approximate value of the largest that can be used

2.
3.

in Definition 1 applied to lim

x1

9 4x x3 = 2 with  = 0.4. (b) Check your answer with a

graphing calculator or computer.

y=

9 4x x3

2
1
FIGURE 8
1

Exercises 1.5
A

Answer provided.

Outline of solution provided.

Graphing calculator or computer required.

CONCEPTS:

1.

Figure 9 shows the graph of a function y = g(x) such that lim g(x) = 10 (a) Which of the
x3

values = 0.1, = 0.2, = 0.3, and = 1 would satisfy Definition 1 for this limit with  = 5?
(b) For which the values  = 1,  = 2,  = 5, and  = 10 would = 0.5 work?
y

y = g(x)

20
15
10
5
FIGURE 9

In

the published text the interactive solutions of these examples will be on an accompanying CD disk which can be run by
any computer browser without using an internet connection.

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

p. 59 (3/1908)

BASICS:

2.O

According to Definition 1 applied to lim (5x 6) = 14, there is, for each  > 0, a > 0 such
x4

that |(5x 6) 14| <  for 0 < |x 4| < . Find the largest possible such for  = 0.01.

Verify Definition 1 or 2 for the limits in Exercises 3 through 5.

3.O
lim 3 x 5 = 0
x5

4.

5.
O

6.

lim (6x + 2) = 20

x3

lim (x2 + 2x) = 3

x1

According to Definition 1 applied to the limit lim

x1

positive such that

 1
1

 x + x2

1
1
+ 2
x
x

= 2 with  = 0.5, there is a

2 < 0.5 for all x with 0 < |1 x| < . ()

1
1
in Figure 10 to find the approximate value of the largest that
+
x x2
C
(b) Check the result of part (a) with a graphing calculator or computer.

(a) Use the graph of y =

could be used in ().

y=

1
1
+ 2
x
x

3
2
1
FIGURE 10
1

Verify Definition 1 for the limits in Exercises 7 through 14.

7.O
8.A
9.
10.
11.A

lim x2 = 25

x5

12.O

6
=3
x0 x + 2
lim (3x + 6) = 18

13.A

lim

x4

lim (x + 3) = 7

x2

lim

x5

15
=3
x

14.

lim

=2

x2

x2

lim

30x
=0
x+7

lim

3x
=1
x+2

x0

x1

p. 60 (3/1908)

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

In Exercises 15 through 18, (a) use the graph to find the approximate value of the largest that can
be used in Definition 1 with the given value of . C (b) Check your result with a graphing calculator or
computer.
15.O

lim (4 4x2 + 2x3 ) = 2 with  = 0.4; Figure 11

x1

y = 4 4x2 + 2x3

3
2
1
FIGURE 11
1
16.A

lim

x1

1
+ x2
x

= 2 with  = 0.5; Figure 12

y

y=

1
+ x2
x

3
2
1
FIGURE 12
1
17.A

lim (x2 + x) = 18 with  = 4; Figure 13

x4

y = x2 +

30
20
10
FIGURE 13
1

Section 1.5, Formal definitions of limits

18.

lim

x2

p. 61 (3/1908)

80
= 20 with  = 2; Figure 14
x+2
y

y=

80
x+2

20
10
FIGURE 14
1

EXPLORATION:

19.O

(a) The width w of a cube is measured to be 2 centimeters and this value is used to calculate
the volume V = w3 = 8 (cubic centimeters) of the cube. How accurately must the width be
measured in order that the resulting error in the calculated volume be 0.1 cubic centimeters?
(b) What does this calculation have to do with the definition of a limit?

20.A

(a) A hunk of clay weighs exactly 100 grams, and its volume is measured to be 50 cubic
centimeters. This value is used to calculate the density = 100/V = 2 (grams per cubic
centimeter) of the clay. How accurately must the volume be measured in order that the resulting
error in the calculated density be 0.05 grams per cubic centimeter? (b) What does this
calculation have to do with the definition of a limit?

21.

(a) The area A

of a square
is measured to be 9 square meters and this value is used to calculate
its width w = A = 9 = 3. How accurately must the area be measured in order that the
resulting error in the calculated width be 0.1 meters? (b) What does this calculation have to
do with the definition of a limit?

In Exercises 22 and 23, use a graphing calculator or computer to find the approximate value of the the
largest that could be used in Definition 1 with the given value of  in the definition of the limit

22.A

23.
24.

lim (4 + 4x ln x) = 4 with  = 0.5

x1

lim [x + 2 sin( 21 x)] = 3 with  = 0.5

x1

Does = 0.2 work with  = 0.2 in Definition 1 applied to lim x2 = 1?

x1

Use Definition 1 to prove that the statements in Exercises 25 through 28 are false.
25.O
26.O
29.

lim x2 = 9.2

27.A

x3

lim x2 = 0

x1

1
28.
lim (x2 + 5) = 0
=
x0
x0.01+ x
Define G(x) = x for rational numbers x and G(x) = 0 for irrational x. Use Definition 1 to show
that (a) lim G(x) = 0 and (b) the two-sided finite limit lim G(x) does not exist for x0 6= 0.
lim

xx0

x0

30.

Suppose that lim f (x) = L and lim g(x) = M with numbers L and M . Use Definition 1 to
xx0

xx0

show that (aO ) lim [f (x)g(x)] = LM and (b) lim

xx0

xx0

(End of Section 1.5)

f (x)
L
=
if M 6= 0.
g(x)
M