Limit of an inverse tangent function

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greenteacup
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Homework Statement



limit as x->[tex]\infty[/tex] of arctan[(1/x)-1]

2. The attempt at a solution

Well, my graphing calculator is showing a vertical asymptote at x=0 and a horizontal one at x=(what I think is) -[tex]\pi[/tex]/4

I'm not really sure how to solve this though... hence me being here : /

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out by splitting it up into lim(arctan(1/x)) and lim(arctan(1)), which did indeed give me -pi/4. I'm not sure how to delete this though, so I'll just leave it up for anyone who's having a similar problem, I suppose. :)
 
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greenteacup said:

Homework Statement



limit as x->[tex]\infty[/tex] of arctan[(1/x)-1]

2. The attempt at a solution

Well, my graphing calculator is showing a vertical asymptote at x=0 and a horizontal one at x=(what I think is) -[tex]\pi[/tex]/4

I'm not really sure how to solve this though... hence me being here : /

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out by splitting it up into lim(arctan(1/x)) and lim(arctan(1)), which did indeed give me -pi/4. I'm not sure how to delete this though, so I'll just leave it up for anyone who's having a similar problem, I suppose. :)

You got the right answer, but you did it wrong. arctan(1/x-1) is not equal to arctan(1/x)-arctan(1). You can't break it up that way. If you know lim(1/x)=0 then lim(1/x-1)=(-1). Then since arctan is continuous, lim(arctan(1/x-1))=arctan(lim(1/x-1))=arctan(-1).
 
Ok take y=(1/x)-1. What y goes to as x goes to infinity?