Limit Existence and the Epsilon-Delta Proof

  • Thread starter Thread starter faradayscat
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Limit
faradayscat
Messages
57
Reaction score
8

Homework Statement


Prove that

lim (x,y,z)→(0,0,0) 2xz/(x²+y²+z²) = 0

Homework Equations


My teacher wants me to show this using epsilon delta, so

0<√(x²+y²+z²)<∂ ⇒ |f(x,y,z) - 0| < ε

The Attempt at a Solution


The limit does not exist apparently.. when you approach the limit along different paths you get different answers.. say, along (t,0,t) gives 1 while along (0,0,t) gives 0. Did my professor make a mistake in this assignment, or does the limit actually exist and I'm missing something?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You're right. Your professor made a mistake.
 
  • Like
Likes faradayscat
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top