How Do You Solve a Limit as x Approaches Negative Infinity?

  • Thread starter Thread starter newguy_13
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Infinity Limit
Click For Summary
To solve the limit as x approaches negative infinity, it's important to analyze each term in the expression. The term 3/e^x approaches 0, while e^-3x grows significantly. The limit can be simplified by focusing on the dominant terms, leading to the conclusion that the limit is not finite. The calculations indicate that as x approaches negative infinity, the denominator becomes indefinitely small, which affects the overall limit. Understanding the behavior of exponential functions in limits is crucial for solving similar problems in the future.
newguy_13
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Homework Statement
Limit problem
Relevant Equations
There are none
I don't know what do do from here other than i can make the 3/e^x a 0 due to the fact its divided by such a large number. What do i do with the e^-3x? Thanks for the help
image.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
newguy_13 said:
Homework Statement: Limit problem
Homework Equations: There are none

I don't know what do do from here other than i can make the 3/e^x a 0 due to the fact its divided by such a large number. What do i do with the e^-3x? Thanks for the help
The same. What happens to ##e^{-3x}## if ##x## gets larger and larger? What does ##e^{-sth.}## mean?
 
So the answer is just -4?
 
newguy_13 said:
So the answer is just -4?
You're looking for the limit as ##x## tends to ##-\infty##.
 
You must be careful if you cancel factors, as they can tend to zero and then you lose information which one is faster. It is always better to avoid divisions as long as possible. That means: Simplify the initial quotient by considering ##x \to -\infty##, then you get one single term ##e^{...x}## which tells you the result.
 
Ok so can you let me know what the answer is? That would help me to understand where i went wrong and what to do in the future problems. Thanks!
 
newguy_13 said:
Ok so can you let me know what the answer is? That would help me to understand where i went wrong and what to do in the future problems. Thanks!

You took the limit ##x \rightarrow +\infty##.
 
newguy_13 said:
Ok so can you let me know what the answer is? That would help me to understand where i went wrong and what to do in the future problems. Thanks!

Re helping you with the problem. The first thing I would do is look at each of the four terms and see what happens in the limit. The numerator should be clear, but you may need to take a closer look at the denominator.
 
  • #10
PeroK said:
You're looking for the limit as ##x## tends to ##-\infty##.
I think that's what the OP has, but may have misread what he/she wrote in the 3rd line, where the limit part looks a bit like x -->-- ∞.
 
  • #11
Mark44 said:
I think that's what the OP has, but may have misread what he/she wrote in the 3rd line, where the limit part looks a bit like x -->-- ∞.

Yes, but the OP has calculated the terms based on ##x \rightarrow +\infty##.

newguy_13 said:
So the answer is just -4?
 
  • #12
newguy_13 said:
Ok so can you let me know what the answer is?
Not finite. Look at the recipe in post #6, only two steps.
 
  • #13
We have

lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{2x}-e^{-x}}{3e^{x}-e^{2x}}=lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{2x}-\frac{1}{e^{x}}}{e^{x}\left( 3-e^{x}\right) }=lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{3x}-1}{e^{2x}\left( 3-e^{x}\right) }

then \left( 4e^{3x}-1\right) \rightarrow -1 and \left( 3-e^{x}\right)\rightarrow 3 as x\rightarrow -\infty but \frac{1}{e^{2x}}\rightarrow ? as x\rightarrow -\infty?
 
  • Like
Likes Delta2
  • #14
benorin said:
We have

lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{2x}-e^{-x}}{3e^{x}-e^{2x}}=lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{2x}-\frac{1}{e^{x}}}{e^{x}\left( 3-e^{x}\right) }=lim_{x\rightarrow -\infty}\frac{4e^{3x}-1}{e^{2x}\left( 3-e^{x}\right) }

then \left( 4e^{3x}-1\right) \rightarrow -1 and \left( 3-e^{x}\right)\rightarrow 3 as x\rightarrow -\infty but \frac{1}{e^{2x}}\rightarrow ? as x\rightarrow -\infty?
##\frac {1}{e^{2x}}## will go to +##\ infty## as ## x \rightarrow \infty##. Denominator will become indefinitely small.
 
  • #15
@WWGD I know this, I was attempting to walk the OP thru it. Sorry to highjack your thread, I just like to feel useful somehow. Cheers!
 
  • Like
Likes Delta2
  • #16
benorin said:
@WWGD I know this, I was attempting to walk the OP thru it. Sorry to highjack your thread, I just like to feel useful somehow. Cheers!
No problem @benorin
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
2K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K