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Mathematics Limits & proof Question?

Hi I need some desperate help on these question any help will be very much appreciated

A.)

Prove each of the following statements.

(i) lim x→1 (2x^3 − 5x^2 + 2x + 1) / (x^2 − 4x + 3) = 1

(ii) lim x→0 (sin x) / e^(sin x) − 1 = 1

(iii) lim x→∞ 4x^4 − log(e)x / 2e^x + 3x^2 = 0

B.)

Use the ε–δ definition of continuity to prove that the function

f(x) = 2x^2 − 3x

is continuous at 2.

C.)

Prove that the function

f(x) = (x − 2) / (x + 1)

is uniformly continuous on the interval [1, 3], stating any results from

the module which you use.

2 Answers

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  • kb
    Lv 7
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    A) If you need ε–δ proofs, please let me know. (How rigorous do these need to be?)

    (i) lim(x→1) (2x^3 − 5x^2 + 2x + 1) / (x^2 − 4x + 3)

    = lim(x→1) (2x^2 - 3x - 1)(x - 1) / [(x - 3)(x - 1)]

    = lim(x→1) (2x^2 - 3x - 1)/(x - 3)

    = (2 - 3 - 1)/(1 - 3), via quotient rule for limits

    = 1.

    (ii) lim(x→0) (sin x) / (e^(sin x) − 1)

    = lim(t→0) t / (e^t − 1), letting t = sin x

    = 1 / [lim(t→0) (e^t − 1)/t]

    = 1 / [(d/dt) e^t {at t = 0}], via definition of a derivative

    = 1/e^0

    = 1.

    (iii) lim(x→∞) (4x^4 − ln x) / (2e^x + 3x^2)

    = lim(x→∞) (4x^4/e^x − ln x/e^x) / (2 + 3x^2/e^x), dividing each term by e^x

    = (0 − 0) / (2 + 0), by L'Hopital's Rule or otherwise.

    ----------------------

    B) Note that |f(x) - f(2)|

    = |2x^2 - 3x - 2|

    = |(2x + 1)(x - 2)|

    = |2((x - 2) + 2) + 1| * |x - 2|

    = |2(x - 2) + 5| |x - 2|

    ≤ 2 |x - 2|^2 + 5 |x - 2|

    < 2 |x - 2| + 5 |x - 2|, assuming that |x - 2| < 1

    = 7|x - 2|.

    So given ε > 0, let δ = min{1, ε/7}. Then, |x - 2| < δ implies that

    |f(x) - f(2)| < 7|x - 2| < 7(ε/7) = ε.

    Hence, f is continuous at x = 2.

    ------------------

    C) The short version is that f is continuous (quotient of continuous functions, and the denominator is nonzero) on a compact set.

    An ε–δ is like this:

    Given ε > 0, we need δ > 0 such that for all x, y in [1, 3] with |x - y| < δ, we have |f(x) - f(y)| < ε.

    To this end, note that since f(x) = (x - 2)/(x + 1) = 1 - 3/(x+1),

    |f(x) - f(y)|

    = |-3/(x+1) - (-3/(y+1))|

    = 3|1/(y+1) - 1/(x+1)|

    = 3 |x - y| / ((x+1)(y+1)), by combining the fractions (and noting x, y > 0)

    ≤ 3 |x - y| / ((1+1) (1+1)), since 1/(t+1) is decreasing on [1,3]

    = (3/4) |x - y|.

    So given ε > 0, let δ = min{1, 4ε/3}. Then, for all x, y in [1, 3] with |x - y| < δ, we have

    |f(x) - f(y)| ≤ (3/4)|x - y| ≤ (3/4)(4ε/3) = ε.

    Hence, f is uniformly continuous on [1,3].

    I hope this helps!

  • 9 years ago

    ask your teacher

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