Negation of Limit: Am I Right? What Am I Doing Wrong?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the negation of the definition of a limit in calculus, specifically focusing on the formal expression of limits and their negations. Participants are examining the correct formulation of these concepts and exploring the implications of their definitions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to articulate the negation of the limit definition, with some suggesting different formulations and questioning the correctness of their expressions. There is also exploration of the role of continuity in relation to limits.

Discussion Status

The conversation is active, with participants providing various interpretations and formulations of the negation of limits. Some have offered guidance on using quantifiers to express these negations, while others are questioning assumptions related to the continuity of functions at limit points.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted confusion regarding the importance of the function's value at the limit point and the distinction between limits and continuity. Participants are also considering specific examples of functions to illustrate their points.

soulflyfgm
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so is that a good negation of the defenition of the limit?

A function f with domain D doesn't not have limit L at a point c in D iff
not for every number E > 0 there is a corresponding number G >0 such if |F(x) - L| <E then is not the case 0< |x-a|<G
am i right? wat am i doing wrong?
thx so much. I made a new post that way ppl won't get confuse with the other post.
thank u so much
 
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I am guessing that the statement you want to negate is something like "for each e there is a d such that X(d) implies Y(e)." So the negation should be "for some e there is not any d such that X(d) implies Y(e)."
 
It's easy if you use quantifiers:
Definition of [itex]\lim_{x\to a}f(x)=L[/itex]:

[tex]\forall \epsilon>0 \exists \delta>0 : |x-a|<\delta \Rightarrow |f(x)-L|<\epsilon[/tex]

To negate this, simply use the rules:
[tex]\neg (\forall x:P) \iff \exists x: \neg P[/tex]
[tex]\neg (\exists x:P) \iff \forall x : \neg P[/tex]
 
is this right?

is this the right negation of the statement above?

[tex]\exists\epsilon>0 \forall \delta>0 : |x-a|<\delta \wedge\|f(x)-L|\geq\epsilon[/tex]

i am also using this fact
~(P=>Q) = P^~Q

how can i illustrate this negation? would it be a function that is not continuous at a point such as f(x) = 1/(x+1)?
thank you very much for al ur help!
 
Last edited:
I always seem to forget that f(a) isn't important in the definition.
The function doesn't even have to be defined at the limit point. The correct definition is:

[tex]\forall \epsilon>0 \exists \delta>0 : 0<|x-a|<\delta \Rightarrow |f(x)-L|<\epsilon[/tex]

So change [itex]|x-a|<\varepsilon[/itex] to [itex]0<|x-a|<\varepsilon[/itex], then it's correct.

This is different from continuity! A function is continuous at a if [itex]\lim \limits_{x\to a}f(x)=f(a)[/itex], which says 3 things:
1. The limit exists
2. f(a) is defined
3. The 2 are equal.

More precisely, a function is continuous at x=a if
[tex]\forall \epsilon>0 \exists \delta>0 : |x-a|<\delta \Rightarrow |f(x)-f(a)|<\epsilon[/tex]

The function 1/(x+1) is perfectly continuous everwhere on its domain. The point f(-1) is not defined so it's no problem. If you define f(-1)=0, then it's not continuous anymore.
 
Last edited:
Is this the right negation of a finite limit?

[tex] \neg(\lim_{x\to a}f(x)=L) \iff \exists \epsilon>0 \forall \delta>0\exists x: 0<|x-a|<\delta \Rightarrow |f(x)-L|\geq\epsilon \vee \neg\exists f(x)[/tex]

Thanks.
 

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