Some basic conceptual doubts about limits

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of limits in calculus, specifically addressing scenarios where the limits of functions do not exist and exploring the implications for their sums and products. Participants are examining the conditions under which limits can or cannot be determined.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are exploring whether the limits of sums and products of functions can exist when the individual limits do not. They are also questioning the necessity of the existence of one function's limit based on the existence of the limit of their sum.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided examples to illustrate their points, particularly using piecewise functions to demonstrate cases where the limits of the individual functions do not exist, yet their sum does. There is ongoing exploration of the implications of these examples for the existence of limits in related functions.

Contextual Notes

Participants are considering specific functions and their behaviors near certain points, particularly around the point where limits are being evaluated. There is a focus on understanding the relationships between the limits of sums and products of functions.

ythamsten
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(1)If the limit of f(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist, and the limit of g(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist either, the limit of (f+g)(x) and (fxg)(x), as x approaches a point a can possibly exist?

(2)
If the limit of f(x) as x approaches a and the limit of (f+g)(x), as x approaches a both exists, so the limit of g(x), as x approaches a, has to exist?

Thanks.
 
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ythamsten said:
If the limit of f(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist, and the limit of g(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist either, the limit of (f+g)(x) and (fxg)(x), as x approaches a point a can possibly exist?
Try to come up with an example where the bad behavior of ##f## and ##g## is canceled out when you form the sum ##f+g##. Try to come up with another example that does the same for the product ##fg##. Can find an example which works for both ##f+g## and ##fg##?

If the limit of f(x) as x approaches a and the limit of (f+g)(x), as x approaches a both exists, so the limit of g(x), as x approaches a, has to exist?
##\lim_{x \rightarrow a} f(x)## and ##\lim_{x \rightarrow a}g(x)## exist, what can you say about ##\lim_{x \rightarrow a} (f+g)(x)##?
 
ythamsten said:
(1)If the limit of f(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist, and the limit of g(x), as x approaches a point a doesn't exist either, the limit of (f+g)(x) and (fxg)(x), as x approaches a point a can possibly exist?

(2)
If the limit of f(x) as x approaches a and the limit of (f+g)(x), as x approaches a both exists, so the limit of g(x), as x approaches a, has to exist?

Thanks.

Sure. Can you give examples for (1) and maybe sketch a proof for (2)?
 
Thank you very much guys, this returned questions were very clarifying and didatic.
I imagine for (1) two piecewise functions, f(x):= -1 if x<0; 1 if x≥0, and g(x):=1 if x< 0; -1 if x≥0. As x approaches 0, they are clearly not limited, but (f+g)(x) has a limit, and it is 0 (as seen by the side limits). And for the product (fg)(x) it works the same way, as x aproaches 0 from the left we have a -1, and from the right, -1, even though the functions don't have a limit.
For question (2), g(x) has to have a limit, because the limit of the sum could be seen as a translation (the limit of the sum is equal to the sum of limits), and if g(x) don't have a limit, but f(x) does, the sum wouldn't have a limit. Is that true? Again, thank you very much.
 
ythamsten said:
Thank you very much guys, this returned questions were very clarifying and didatic.
I imagine for (1) two piecewise functions, f(x):= -1 if x<0; 1 if x≥0, and g(x):=1 if x< 0; -1 if x≥0. As x approaches 0, they are clearly not limited, but (f+g)(x) has a limit, and it is 0 (as seen by the side limits). And for the product (fg)(x) it works the same way, as x aproaches 0 from the left we have a -1, and from the right, -1, even though the functions don't have a limit.
For question (2), g(x) has to have a limit, because the limit of the sum could be seen as a translation (the limit of the sum is equal to the sum of limits), and if g(x) don't have a limit, but f(x) does, the sum wouldn't have a limit. Is that true? Again, thank you very much.

Close enuf. g=(f+g)-f. If (f+g) and f have limits then their difference does.
 
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