Continuity and Limits of Functions Exercise Answers

1. Let f be given by f (x) = x R. (a) dom(f + g) = dom(f g) = (, 4], dom(f g) = [2, 2] and dom(g f ) = (, 4] (b) (f g)(0) = 2, (g f )(0) = 4, (f g)(1) = 3,(g f )(1) = 3, (f g)(2) = 0 and (g f )(2) = 2. (c) No! (d) (f g)(3) is not, but (g f )(3) is. 2. Let f be given by f (x) = 4 for x 0, f (x) = 0 for x < 0 and let g be given by g(x) = x2 for all x R. (a) f + g : R R is given by (f + g)(x) = 4 + x2 for all x 0 and (f + g)(x) = x2 for all x < 0. f g : R R is given by (f g)(x) = 4x2 for all x 0 and (f g)(x) = 0 for all x < 0. f g : R R is given by (f g)(x) = 4 for all x R. g f : R R is given by (g f )(x) = 16 for all x 0 and (g f )(x) = 0 for all x < 0. (b) The functions g, f g and f g, are continuous, while f , f + g and g f are discontinuous because they are discontinuous at 0. Note that although f is discontinous, the function f g is continuous so the continuity of f g does not imply both f and g are continuous. 3. The functions given by sin x, cos x, ex , 2x , ln x for x > 0, and xp for x > 0 (p R) are continuous on their domains. Use these facts and theorems in the notes to prove that the functions given as below are also continuous.1 (a) ln(1 + cos4 x). Solution. First 1 = x0 is continuous by one of the above facts. Next, cos x is continuous from above, and cos4 x = (cos x)4 is a composition of two functions (given by cos x and y 4 ) which are continuous on their domains. Thus, since the composition of two continuous functions is continuous, cos4 x is continuous. Now, since a function formed by pointwise addition is continuous, it follows that (1 + cos4 x) is a continuous function. Finally, since cos4 x 0 for all x R, we have 1 + cos4 x 1 > 0 for all x R. Thus since ln x is continuous for x > 0, the composition on the right of ln with (1+cos4 x) is continuous.
1

4 x for x 4 and let g be given by g(x) = x2 for all

We have used cosn x to denote (cos x)n for any n N and similarly for sinn x.

(b) [sin2 x + cos6 x] (c) 2x (d) 8x (e) tan x for x = odd multiple of /2 (f) x2 sin(1/x) for x = 0 (g) x2 sin(1/x) for x = 0 (h) (1/x) sin(1/x2 ) for x = 0 4. Prove that the function x is continuous on its domain [0, ). Hint: use the se2

quential denition of continuity and the fact that if (sn ) is a sequence of nonnegative real numbers and s = lim sn , then lim sn = s. 5. (a) Prove that if m N, then the function f (x) = xm is continuous on R. Hint: You can construct an - proof using the identity xm y m = (x y)(xm1 + xm2 y + + xy m2 + y m1 ). Or you can prove the result using induction on m. First prove that g(x) = x is continuous on R. Then use an inductive hypothesis that f (x) = xm is continuous on R and the theorem about the continuity of (f g). Solution. Let > 0 and let x0 be an arbitrary real number. We need to nd a > 0 such that if |x x0 | < then |xm xm | < . Now, by the hint, 0 |xm xm | = |x y||xm1 + xm2 x0 + + xxm2 + xm1 |. 0 0 0 So by the triangle inequality, |xm xm | < if 0 |x x0 |(|x|m1 + |x|m2 |x0 | + + |x||x0 |m2 + |x0 |m1 ) < . We cannot just solve this for by rearranging to get |x x0 | on the left on its own, because the term on the right-hand side of the inequality would be in terms of x. We need to somehow get rid of these |x| terms. So, suppose |x x0 | < 1 (any positive number would do instead of 1). Then by a triangle inequality, |x| |x0 | ||x| |x0 || |x x0 | < 1 and so |x| < 1 + |x0 |. Hence, for |x x0 | < 1, we have |x x0 |(|x|m1 + |x|m2 |x0 | + + |x||x0 |m2 + |x0 |m1 ) < |x x0 |((1 + |x0 |)m1 + (1 + |x0 |)m2 |x0 | + + (1 + |x0 |)|x0 |m2 + |x0 |m1 ). Thus |xm xm | < if |x x0 | < 1 and 0 |x x0 |((1 + |x0 |)m1 + (1 + |x0 |)m2 |x0 | + + (1 + |x0 |)|x0 |m2 + |x0 |m1 ) < . 2

So take = min 1, (1 + |x0 |)m1 + (1 + |x0 |)m2 |x m2 + |x |m1 0 | + + (1 + |x0 |)|x0 | 0

(b) Prove that every polynomial function p(x) = a0 + a1 x + + an xn is continuous on R. 6. A rational function is a function of the form p/q, where p and q are polyonmial functions. The domain of f is {x R | q(x) = 0}. Prove that every rational function is continuous. Hint: Use the last exercise. 7. Prove that each of the following real-valued functions f is continuous at x0 by using the - denition of continuity. (a) f (x) = x2 , x0 = 2; (b) f (x) = x, x0 = 0; (c) f (x) = x sin(1/x) for x = 0 and f (0) = 0, x0 = 0; Solution. Let > 0. We want to show there exists a > 0 such that |x x0 | = |x| < implies that |f (x)f (x0 )| = |f (x)| < 0. Now, since when x = 0 we have |f (x)| = 0 < , we only need to consider x = 0. When x = 0, f (x) = x sin(1/x). Thus we need |x sin(1/x)| < . Now, for any x = 0, sin x [1, 1] and so x sin(1/x) (|x|, |x|) for all x = 0. It follows that |x sin(1/x)| < |x|. Thus we need to nd a such that if |x| < then |x| < . Hence set = . The work above shows that |x 0| < implies |f (x) f (0)| < as required. (d) f (x) = x3 , x0 arbitrary. Hint: x3 x3 = (x x0 )(x2 + x0 x + x2 ). 0 0 8. Prove that the following functions are discontinuous at the indicated points x0 . Use either the sequential or the - denition.2 (a) f (x) = 1 for x > 0 and f (x) = 0 for x 0, x0 = 0; (b) g(x) = sin(1/x) for x = 0 and g(0) = 0, x0 = 0; Solution. We will prove this using both denitions.
The function sgn is called the signum function. Note that sgn(x) = x/|x| for x = 0. The denition of P means P takes the value 15 on the interval [0, 1), the value 28 on the interval [1, 2), the value 41 on the interval [2, 3), etc.
2

 To show g is discontinuous at x0 = 0, using the sequential denition, we simply need to nd a sequence (xn ) converging to x0 , for which lim g(xn ) = g(x0 ). Consider the sequence given by xn = 1/(2n + /2) for all n N. Clearly we have lim xn = 0. To show this formally, you could use the denition of convergence of a sequence or use the theorem which says that for a sequence (sn ) for which sn > 0 for all n we have lim sn = (1/sn ) = 0 i lim sn = +. Furthermore, g(xn ) = sin(2n + /2) = 1 for all n N and it follows that lim g(xn ) = 1. Thus g is discontinuous. Now we ust the - denition. Suppose g is continuous. Then for all > 0 there exists a > 0 such that |x| < implies that | sin(1/x)| < . So x a > 0 such that if < x < then | sin(1/x)| < 1/2. Now sin(/2+k) = 1 for all k N. For the > 0 we xed, we can always nd a large enough k N such that 0 < 1/(/2 + k) < . But then we have an |x| < such that | sin(1/x)| = 1 > 1/2, a contradiction. (c) sgn(x) = 1 for x < 0, sgn(x) = 1 for x > 0 and sgn(0) = 0, x0 = 0. Solution. Again, to show the funcion is discontinuous at x0 = 0, all we need to do is nd is a sequence (xn ) converging to x0 , for which lim sgn(xn ) = sgn(x0 ) = sgn(0) = 0. Consider the sequence given by xn = 1/n for all n N. Then lim xn = 0 (we showed this in the lecture on sequences). Now, sgn(xn ) = sgn(1/n) = 1 for all n N. Thus lim sgn(xn ) = 1 (clearly!) and it follows that the signum function is discontinuous at x0 = 0. (d) P (x) = 15 for 0 x < 1 and P (x) = 15 + 13n for n x < n + 1, x0 a positive integer. 9. (a) Let f and g be continuous functions on [a, b] such that f (a) g(a) and f (b) g(b). Prove that f (x0 ) = g(x0 ) for at least one x0 in [a, b]. Hint: Dene a function h = f g and apply the intermediate value theorem making sure to justify its use. Solution. Dene the function h = f g given by h(x) = f (x) g(x) for all x [a, b]. Now h = f + (1)g and so, since we have a theorem saying that kg is continuous for any constant k if g is continuous and that the sum of two continuous functions is continuous, it follows that h is continuous on [a, b]. There are three cases to consider, with the rst two being trivial. If h(a) = f (a) g(a) = 0 or h(b) = f (b) g(b) = 0, we are done. So suppose that h(a) = f (a) g(a) > 0 and h(b) = f (b) g(b) < 0. Then we have h(b) < 0 < h(a) and, by the intermediate value theorem (which we can apply since h is continuous on [a, b]), there must be some x0 (a, b) such that h(x0 ) = 0. Putting all three 4

cases together, there must be some x0 [a, b] such that h(x0 ) = 0. But then we have shown f (x0 ) = g(x0 ) for at least one x0 [a, b]. (b) Show that our example about the existence of a xed point for a continuous function from [0, 1] into [0, 1] can be viewed as a special case of (a). Solution. Let a = 0 and b = 1 and let g(x) = x for all x [0, 1]. Then f (0) g(0) = 0 and f (1) g(1) = 1. Thus f is a function from [0, 1] into [0, 1] and the result above says that for at least one x0 [0, 1] we have f (x0 ) = g(x0 ) = x0 , i.e. f has a xed point. 10. Prove that x = cos x for some x (0, /2). Solution. Use the previous result with f (x) = cos x, g(x) = x and a = 0, b = /2. Then there exists at least one x (0, /2) such that cos x = x. 11. Prove that x2x = 1 for some x (0, 1). 12. Sketch the function given by f (x) = x/|x| for all x = 0. Determine, by inspection, the limits limx f (x), limx0+ f (x), limx0 f (x), limx f (x) and limx0 f (x) when they exist. Also indicate when they do not exist. Solution. The function f is simply the restriction of the signum function to x = 0. limx f (x) = 1, limx0+ f (x) = 1, limx0 f (x) = 1, limx f (x) = 1 and limx0 f (x) does not exist (since the right-hand and left-hand limits are not equal). 13. Repeat exercise 12 for f (x) = (sin x)/x. 14. Repeat exercise 12 for f (x) = x sin(1/x). 15. Repeat exercise 12 for f (x) = x3 /|x| and prove your assertions. 16. Find the following limits. (a) limxa [(x2 a2 )/(x a)] (b) limxb [( x b)/(x b)], b > 0 Solution. We have to rewrite the function to eliminate the x b term from the denominator: ( x b)( x + b) x b xb 1 = . = = xb (x b)( x + b) (x b)( x + b) x+ b for b > 0. Thus
xb

lim

x b 1 1 1 = = . = lim xb xb x+ b b+ b 2 b 5

(c) limxa [(x3 a3 )/(x a)] Hint: Use a previous hint. 17. Prove that if limxa f (x) = 3 and limxa g(x) = 2, then (a) limxa [3f (x) + g(x)2 ] = 13 (b) limxb [(1/g(x)] = 1/2 (c) limxa 3f (x) + 8g(x) = 5

18. Prove that limx0+ (1/x) = + and limx0 (1/x) = First, we dene these limits in general. Let f be a function dened on J \ {a}. Then limxa+ = + i for each M > 0 there exists > 0 such that a < x < a + implies f (x) > M . Let f be a function dened on J \ {a}. Then limxa = i for each M < 0 there exists > 0 such that a < x < a implies f (x) < M . Solution. We prove the rst limit, the other being similar. Let M > 0. We have to show that there is some > 0 such that if 0 < x < then 1/x > M . Now, if x > 0, we have 1/x > M i x < 1/M . So let = 1/M . The preceding working shows that 0 < x < implies f (0) > M as required. 19. Prove that limx (x 2)3 = 0 and limx2+ (x 2)3 = +. Proof. We prove the rst limit using the - denition. First, recall the - denition of a limit at and note that the function is dened on (, 0). Let > 0. We need to show that there exists some > such that, for x (, 0), x < implies |(x 2)3 | < . Now |(x 2)3 | < is equivalent to |x 2|3 < or |x2| > 1/3 . Now by a triangle inequality |x2| = ||x||2| |x||2| = |x|2. Thus, if |x|2 > 1/3 or, rearranging, |x| > 1/3 +2 we have our desired condition. So since x < 0, we need x < 1/3 2. Hence let = 1/3 2. We have shown above that if x (, 0) and x < , then |(x 2)3 | < as required. We prove the second limit using the sequential dention. By the denition of a right-hand limit, we need to show that, for some open interval S = (2, ), every sequence (xn ) with xn S for all n and limn xn = 2, we have limn (xn 2)3 = +. We can prove this directly, using our denition of the limit of a sequence, or we can use the limit theorems. We will do both. 6

 Let M < 0. To show that limn (xn 2)3 = , we need to show that for large n we have (xn 2)3 > M . Now, since limn xn = 2, there exists an N such that n > N implies |xn 2| < for any > 0. But then, since x > 2, we have xn 2 < for large n. Thus for n > N , xn 2 < implies that 1/(xn 2) > 1/, implying that (xn 2)3 > 3 . So take 3 = M i.e. = M 1/3 . Then reversing the steps, we nd n > N implies (xn 2)3 > M as desired. Now we use out limit theorem which says that for a sequence (sn ) of positive terms lim(1/sn ) = i lim sn = 0. Here we take the sequence given by sn = (xn 3)3 for all n. Now (xn 2)3 > 0 for all n since xn (2, ) for all n. Furthermore lim(xn 2)3 = [lim(xn 2))]3 by the theorem which says the limit of a product of sequences is the product of their limits. Now, by the theorem which says the limit of a sum of sequences is the sum of their limits, we have [lim(xn 2))]3 = [lim xn 2]3 = [2 2]3 = 0. Thus lim(xn 2)3 = .