# Thread: Evaluating and simplifying limits

1. ## Evaluating and simplifying limits

I need help on this limit problem, we aren't given an equation....so I'm not really sure how to do these. We were supposed to have a lesson on limits but we didn't finish the lesson and our teacher let us wander off without knowing 1/2 the material

Let f(x) =

-x, x < - 1
x -2, -1 less than or equal to x < 1
1, x = 1
(x-1)^2, x>1

A) limit of f(x), as x approaches -1 from below
B) limit of f(x), as x approaches -1 from above

And also the same for 0 and 1

I also need help on simplifying these limits, they are what they look like. The problems were so that the x would approach whatever number that would make the denominator 0. And I couldn't see any way to simplify these but if anyone here can that would be great.

1) [(x/x-2) - x+2]/x-4

2) [sq. root (1 + h) + 1]/h

3) [(1/sq. root(4+h)) - 1/2]/h

4) [sq. root (x-1)]/x^2 - 1

5) [sq. root(x+1) - sq. root(2x-2)]/x-3

2. Hello, realintegerz!

The first problem is straight-forward.

Let: . $f(x) \:=\:\begin{Bmatrix} -x & x < \text{-}1 \\
x -2 & \text{-}1 \le x < 1 \\
1 & x = 1 \\
(x-1)^2 & x>1 \end{Bmatrix}$

$a)\;\;\lim_{x\to\,\text{-}1^\text{-}}f(x)$
$\lim_{x\to\,\text{-}1^-}f(x) \;=\;\lim_{x\to\,\text{-}1^-}(-x) \;=\;-(\text{-}1) \;=\;1$

$b)\;\;\lim_{x\to\text{-}1^+}f(x)$
$\lim_{x\to\,\text{-}1^+}f(x) \;=\;\lim_{x\to\,\text{-}1^+}(x-2) \;=\;\text{-}1 - 2 \:=\:-3$

$c)\;\;\lim_{x\to0}f(x)$
$\lim_{x\to0}f(x) \;=\;\lim_{x\to0}(x-2) \;=\;0-2 \;=\;-2$

$\lim_{x\to1^-}f(x)$
$\lim_{x\to1^-}f(x) \;=\;\lim_{x\to1^-}(x-2) \;=\;1-2 \;=\;-1$

$e)\;\;\lim_{x\to1^+}f(x)$
$\lim_{x\to1^+}f(x) \;=\;\lim_{x\to1^+}(x-1)^2 \;=\;(1-1)^2 \;=\;0$

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A sketch makes the limits quite clear . . .
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