Limits, Exponentials, and Logarithms

MAT 1300 B

Fall 2011
1 LIMITS 2

1 Limits

Ex: Consider the function

|x2 − 1|
f (x) = .
x−1

a) What is the domain of f ?

b) As x gets really close to 1 on the left (x < 1) what happens to f ?

c) As x gets really close to 1 on the right (x > 1) what happens to f ?

1 LIMITS 3

If f (x) becomes arbitrarily close to a number L as x approaches a from the

left (i.e. x < a) then we say that L is the left-handed limit of f (x) as x
approaches a from the left. This is denoted

lim f (x) = L.
x→a−

We similarly define the right-handed limit of f (x) as x approaches a from

the right and denote it by
lim+ f (x) = L.
x→a

In the above example the left-handed limit as x approaches 1 from the left is
-2. The right-handed limit as x approaches 1 from the right is 2. The chart
method we used is called the numerical method of finding the limit.

Ex: Find the left-handed and right-handed limits of

|x2 − 1|
f (x) =
x−1
as x approaches 1 from the graph. (This is the graphical method of finding
the limit)
2 RULES FOR LIMITS 4

Note: When finding limx→a+ f (x) or limx→a− f (x) it does not matter what
f (a) is or even if it is defined!

In fact, limx→a− f (x) and f (a) can both exist but be different!

Example: (
0 if x = 1
f (x) = |x2 −1|
x−1
otherwise

If limx→a+ f (x) and limx→a− f (x) both exist and have the same value (say L)
then we say that the limit of f (x) as x approaches a exists and is equal to
L. This is denoted
lim f (x) = L.
x→a

2 Rules for Limits

Let c and a be real numbers and let n be any positive integer. Suppose that
limx→a f (x) = L and limx→a g(x) = M.

Rules for Limits:

1. limx→a c = c

2. limx→a x = a

3. limx→a (cf (x)) = cL

4. limx→a (f (x) + g(x)) = L + M

5. limx→a (f (x)g(x)) = LM
f (x) L
6. limx→a g(x)
= M
provided M 6= 0
2 RULES FOR LIMITS 5

7. limx→a (f (x))n = Ln
p √
8. limx→a n f (x) = n L provided L > 0

Fact: If p(x) is a polynomial then, for any real a,

lim p(x) = p(a).

x→a

Ex: Find the following limits if they exist.

a)
(4x − 7)3
lim
x→2 x2 + 5
2 RULES FOR LIMITS 6

b)
x2 − 6x + 5
lim
x→1 x2 − 1

c)
x2 − x − 6
lim
x→3 |x − 3|
3 UNBOUNDED FUNCTIONS 7

3 Unbounded Functions

limx→∞ f (x) is the value (if one exists) which f (x) approaches as x is made
arbitrarily large.

Ex: Find
4x2 − 3x + 7
lim .
x→∞ 2x2 + 5x − 1

We use the notation limx→a f (x) = ∞ to represent the idea that f (x) can be
made arbitrarily large as x approaches a.

Ex: Find
5
lim
x→−3 (x + 3)2
4 CONTINUITY 8

4 Continuity

Recall that if f (x) is a polynomial, then limx→c f (x) = f (c). These types
of limits are easy to calculate. This leads to the following definition. Let
c ∈ (a, b) and f (x) a function whose domain contains (a, b). then the function
f (x) is continuous at c if

lim f (x) = f (c).

x→c

Note that this implies

1. f (c) is defined,

2. the limit exists, and

3. the two are equal.

Intuition:

The graph of a continuous function is one that has no holes, jumps, or gaps.
It can be “drawn without lifting the pencil”. This is intuition only.

Example:
4 CONTINUITY 9

f (x) is not continuous at

1. x = 1 because f (1) is not defined.

2. x = 2 because limx→2 does not exist.

3. x = 4. Here the limit exists, but is not equal to f (4).

These are the three basic ways something can fail continuity. Examples:

1. Any polynomial p(x) is continuous everywhere.

2. A rational function is one of the form

p(x)
f (x) =
q(x)

where p(x) and q(x) are polynomials. If f (x) is a rational function, it

will be continuous everywhere except where q(x) = 0 (in these places,
f (x) is undefined, hence certainly not continuous).
4 CONTINUITY 10

In general, if f (x) = p(x)

q(x)
, where p and q are arbitrary, then f (x) is
continuous everywhere that p and q are continuous and q is not 0.

3. Consider
x2 − 1
f (x) = .
x−1
Let’s graph it. f (x) is undefined at x = 1. If x 6= 1, we get

x2 − 1 (x + 1)(x − 1)
= = x + 1 – this is a line.
x−1 x−1
So the graph is

This is continuous everywhere except x = 1. So the intervals on which

it is continuous are (−∞, 1) and (1, ∞).

4. The function
1
g(x) =
x2 + 1
is continuous everywhere because x2 + 1 is never 0.
√
5. f (x) = x is continuous on the interval (0, ∞)
4 CONTINUITY 11

6. f (x) = 1/x is continuous on the interval (−∞, 0) and (0, ∞)

7. The sum of continuous functions is continuous

8. The product of continuous functions is continuous

Ex: Find the intervals of the real number line on which the following functions
are continuous.

a)
x2 − 5x + 2
f (x) =
x+7

b) 
 2x − 5 if x < 3

f (x) = 1 if x = 3

4 − x if x > 3

5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 12

5 Exponential Functions and the Natural Base

e

If a > 0 and a 6= 1, then the exponential function with base a is given by

f (x) = ax . An important special case is when a = e ≈ 2.71828 . . . , an
irrational number.

Properties of Exponents

Let a, b > 0. Then,

1. a0 = 1

2. ax ay = ax+y

3. (ax )y = axy

4. (ab)x = ax bx
ax
5. ay
= ax−y
ax
6. ( ab )x = bx

7. a−x = 1/ax

The number e is defined to be

 x
1
lim 1 + = e = lim (1 + x)1/x
x→∞ x x→0

• It’s possible to prove that this limit exists, but it’s not obvious.

• It’s an irrational number.

5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 13

Graphs:

1. Exponential growth; ex

2. Exponential decay; e−x

5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 14

3. More generally, if a > 1,

If 0 < a < 1,
5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 15

Here are some sample calculations you should be able to do with exponents:

2. a)
 3
1 1 1
= 3 =
5 5 125

b)
 1/3
1 1
=
8 2

c)
2
(64)2/3 = (64)1/3 = 42 = 16


f)
5
45/2 = 41/2 = 25 = 32


You should be able to do these calculations on a test without the aid of a

calculator.
5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 16

Compounding Interest

Suppose I invest $1 in a bank that pays 100% interest. Clearly, at the end
of one year, I will have $2 (it is also clear that I should be investing much
more than $1).

But suppose instead that after 6 months I withdraw my money and imme-
diately re-invest it. How much money will I have at the end of the year?

After 6 months, we have $1.50. If we then reinvest this at 100% interest for
the rest of the year, we get
 
1
$1.50 1 + = $2.25
2
The 21 term above corresponds to the interest rate (100% or 1.00) divided by
the number of times we compounded in the year. So by getting interest on
the interest we got from the first 6 months, we ended up with more money
at the end of the year. What happens if we compound it more often?

Consider this table:

# of times $ after
compounded 1 year (approx)
1 2
2 2.25
3 2.37
4 2.44
20 2.65
100 2.70
10000 2.72

Note that:

• The more times you compound, the more money you make. However,
5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 17

the amount of increase gets less and less.

• The numbers on the right hand side approach a limit. Can you see
what it is?

The general formula: Let

P = initial deposit (or principal ),

r = interest rate, expressed as a decimal,

n = number of coumpounding per year,

t = number of years

Then the formula for A(t), the balance after t years is

h r int
A(t) = P 1 +
n

Why? You start with P dollars. When it is time for the first compounding,
you multiply by 1 + nr (you would normally multiply by 1 plus the inter-

est rate, but since only an nth of the year has passed we have to divide
the interest rate by n). After each compounding, you multiply by another
1 + nr .

Example: Suppose you start with an initial deposit of $2500 with an annual
interest rate of 5%. How much do you have after 20 years if you compound
yearly? Every 6 months? Every 3 months? Every month? Every day?

Solution: The ns for each other above cases are n = 1, 2, 4, 12, 365. So the
5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 18

solutions can be filled into this chart:

n A(t)
1 2500(1 + 0.05)20 ≈ 6633.24

40
2 2500 1 + .05
2

80
4 2500 1 + .05
4

240
12 2500 1 + .05
12

.05 7300
365 2500 1 + 365

Note: on tests you will not be expected to simplify these numbers.

5 EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURAL BASE E 19

Continuous Compounding

This process of compounding repeatedly has a limit at n → ∞. This is called

continuous compounding. Let’s find this formula: we will do it for t = 1.
 r n
A = lim P 1 +
n→∞ n
 r n
= P lim 1 +
n→∞ n
If we let x = r/n, then n = r/x. Then as n → ∞, x → 0, so we have

A = P lim (1 + x)r/x
x→0
h ir
1/x
= P lim (1 + x)
x→0
r
= P ·e

In general, we have that if P is the initial amount and r is the rate, then
with continuous compounding

A(t) = P ert
6 LOGARITHMS 20

6 Logarithms

Note the graph of ex passes the horizontal line test, so f (x) = ex is one-to-one
and therefore has an inverse function. This is also true of f (x) = ax for any
a > 0, a 6= 1.

More generally, for any a > 1 the graph of ax and its inverse look like this.
If f (x) = ax , then we define the inverse function f −1 to be the logarithm
with base a, and write
f −1 (x) = loga (x)
Note that, since the image of ax is only the positive numbers, the domain of
loga (x) is all positive real numbers. The key property is:

loga x = b ⇐⇒ ab = x
6 LOGARITHMS 21

Examples:
log10 10 = 1 10? = 10
log5 25 = 2 5? = 25
log4 12 = − 21 4? = 12
1 1
log5 125 = −3 5? = 125
↑ ↑
log equation corresponding
exponential equation

Log Rules

1. Most important: by the properties of inverse functions we have

logb (bx ) = x and blogb x = x

The most important case of logs is when b = e. Log base e has a special
name, in fact we define loge x = ln(x). So the above becomes

ln(ex ) = x and eln(x) = x

LEARN THIS!!
The function ln(x) is known as the natural logarithm function, and
ln(x) should be read as “the natural logarithm of x”. In class, you may
also hear me read this as “lawn x”, but this isn’t as standard.

Other rules: (I will state for ln, but they work for every log). Suppose that
x, y > 0

2. ln(xy) = ln(x) + ln(y)

 
3. ln xy = ln x − ln y

4. ln(xy ) = y ln(x)
6 LOGARITHMS 22

Calculations:
3
e3 ln(x) = eln(x ) = x3
 
1
ln = ln(e−1 ) = −1
e
Rewrite the following:
 xy 
ln = ln(xy) − ln(z) = ln(x) + ln(y) − ln(z)
z

Compound Interest Revisited: (p324 #77)

A deposit of $1000 is made in an account that earns interest at a rate of

5% per year. How long will it take for the balance to double if interest is
compounded annually?

Solution: From our earlier formula, our balance after t years is

 t
.05
A(t) = 1000 1 + = 1000(1.05)t
1
We are trying to find t such that A(t) = 2000. So we set the formula equal
to 2000:
2000 = 1000(1.05)t
2 = 1.05t
We have to solve this for t. The general principle we use is that if we are
trying to solve for a variable in the exponent, take log of both sides. So we
get
ln(2) = ln(1.05t )
ln(2) = t ln(1.05)
In this last point we see the point of using logs - the exponent can be brought
down and solved for. So,
ln(2)
t= ≈ 14.21 years.
ln(1.05)
6 LOGARITHMS 23

Note that this is a very typical test/exam question. The answer I would
ln(2)
expect is t = ln(1.05) .

Example 2: Same question, but now interest is compounded 10 times a year.

Solution: By our formula,

 10t
.05
A(t) = 1000 1 + = 1000(1.005)10t
10

Again, we solve A(t) = 2000.

2000 = 1000(1.005)10t

2 = 1.00510t
ln(2) = ln(1.00510t )
ln(2) = 10t ln(1.005)
Therefore,
ln(2)
t= ≈ 13.9 years.
10 ln(1.005)
Example 3: Same question, but now interest is compounded continuously.

Solution: By our formula,

A(t) = 1000e.05t

Again, we solve A(t) = 2000.

2000 = 1000e.05t

2 = e.05t
ln(2) = ln(e.05t )
ln(2) = .05t
6 LOGARITHMS 24

Therefore,
ln(2)
t= ≈ 13.86 years.
.05

Notice that continuous compounding gives a kind of “best case scenario”

– no amount of compounding will get your money to double faster than
approximately 13.86 years.

6.1 Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations

Given any equation, we can take the natural logarithm of both sides to try
and find a solution!

Ex: Solve for x.

ln(x) + ln(x + 2) = ln(15)