# Finding Limits

Ways to find limits (summary):

1. If the function is continuous at the value x approaches, then substitute that value and the number you get will be the limit.
2. If the function is not continuous at the value approaches, then
1. If you get something that is not zero divided by zero, the limit does not exist (DNE) or equals infinity (see below).
2. If you get $\frac{0}{0}$ or $\frac{\infty }{\infty }$ the limit may exist. Simplify by factoring, or using different trig functions. Later in the year a method called L’Hôpital’s Rule can often be used in this situation.
3. Dominance is a quick way of finding many limits. Exponentials dominate, polynomials, polynomials dominate logarithms, higher powers dominate lower powers. The next post will give some hints about dominance.

Infinity is not a number, but it often is used as if it were. When we say a limit is infinity, what we mean is that the function increases without bound, or there is some x-value that will make the expression larger than any number you choose. Writing things like $\infty -\infty =0,\frac{\infty }{\infty }=1,\infty +\infty =2\infty$ are common mistakes.

DNE or Infinity?  $\displaystyle \underset{x\to 3}{\mathop{\lim }}\,\frac{1}{{{\left( x-3 \right)}^{2}}}$ does not exist, and DNE is a correct answer. However, it is a bit better to say the limit is (equals) infinity, indicating that the expression gets larger without bound as x approaches 3. Both answers will get credit on an AP exam.  $\displaystyle \underset{x\to 3}{\mathop{\lim }}\,\frac{1}{x-3}$ DNE since the one-sided limits (from the left and from the right) are different.  Only DNE gets credit here.

Take a look at this AP question 1998 AB-2: In (a) students found that $\displaystyle \underset{x\to \infty }{\mathop{\lim }}\,2x{{e}^{2x}}=\infty \text{ or }DNE$, in (b) they found the minimum value of $2x{{e}^{2x}}$  is $-{{e}^{-1}}$ and in (c) they had to state the range of the function is $[-{{e}^{-1}},\infty )\text{ or }x>-{{e}^{-1}}$. Thus making the students show they knew that this kind of DNE is the kind where the value increases without bound.

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