Lim t approaches 9 9-t/3-sqrt of t

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SUMMARY

The limit as t approaches 9 for the expression (9 - t)/(3 - sqrt(t)) simplifies to 6. The correct approach involves multiplying the numerator and denominator by the conjugate of the denominator, which is (3 + sqrt(t)). This allows for cancellation of the (9 - t) terms, leading to the final result of 3 + sqrt(t) evaluated at t = 9. It is crucial to clearly indicate the limit process to avoid losing points in academic settings.

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... Lim t approaches 9 9-t/3-sqrt of t. First I multiplied the conjugate of 3 + sqrt of t to both numerator and denominator. I got 27+9 sqrt of t - 4t / 9-t ... I plug 9 to t. Denominator cancels out. I got 18 but answer states 6. How?
 
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CrossFit415 said:
... Lim t approaches 9 9-t/3-sqrt of t. First I multiplied the conjugate of 3 + sqrt of t to both numerator and denominator. I got 27+9 sqrt of t - 4t / 9-t ... I plug 9 to t. Denominator cancels out.

Your numerator after multiplying by 3 + \sqrt{t} is incorrect! You shouldn't expand everything out like that. After multiplying, keep the numerator, and try canceling out instead.

Oh, and by the way, you should learn https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=8997" to make your post much clearer. Just take a look at the page I gave. Learning LaTeX isn't very hard, but I assure that it'll give your post a whole new look. Just give it a try. :)
 
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CrossFit415 said:
... Lim t approaches 9 9-t/3-sqrt of t.

At the very least, use enough parentheses to make it clear what you mean. Knowledgeable people would reasonably interpret the expression you wrote as
9 - \frac{t}{3} - \sqrt{t}

Even without using LaTeX you could write your limit like this: lim(t -> 9) (9 - t)/(3 - sqrt(t))
 
Lim t ---> 9

\frac{(9-t)}{(3-\sqrt{t})}
 
Here's how I did it...

\frac{9-t}{3-\sqrt{t}} (\frac{3+\sqrt{t}}{3+\sqrt{t}}) =

\frac{27+9\sqrt{t}-3t-t\sqrt{t}}{9-t}

Plugged in 9 for t...

then I got a different answer than 6.
 
CrossFit415 said:
Here's how I did it...

\frac{9-t}{3-\sqrt{t}} (\frac{3+\sqrt{t}}{3+\sqrt{t}}) =

\frac{27+9\sqrt{t}-3t-t\sqrt{t}}{9-t}

Plugged in 9 for t...

then I got a different answer than 6.
No, don't do that. Instead, notice that when you did multiply the denominator by its conjugate you got
(3 - \sqrt{t})(3 + \sqrt{t}) = 9 - t
?

What you should do is FACTOR the numerator, which is (sort of) a difference of two squares:
\displaystyle\lim_{t \rightarrow 9} \frac{9 - t}{3 - \sqrt{t}} = \displaystyle\lim_{t \rightarrow 9} \frac{(3 - \sqrt{t})(3 + \sqrt{t})}{3 - \sqrt{t}}

Can you take it from here?
 
Last edited:
Just keep the numerator as (9-t)(3+sqrt(t)) so it will cancel out with the denominator. What is left is 3+sqrt(t).
 
Thanks a lot for your help everyone. It makes a lot of sense now.
 
Last edited:
Yea I got it

\frac{(9-t)(3+\sqrt{t}}{(9-t)}

=3+\sqrt{t}

=6

Thank you. :)
 
  • #10
CrossFit415 said:
Yea I got it

\frac{(9-t)(3+\sqrt{t}}{(9-t)}

= 3+\sqrt{t}

= 6

Thank you. :)

The last two expressions above aren't equal. What you are missing is any indication that you are taking a limit.


What you have above should be written like this.
\lim_{t \to 9}\frac{(9-t)(3+\sqrt{t}}{(9-t)}

=\lim_{t \to 9}3+\sqrt{t}

= 6
If you omit the limit symbols, your instructor is likely to deduct points from your work.
 

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