Evaluating lim(x=>0) (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x

  • Thread starter vrmuth
  • Start date
In summary: L'Hopital's Rule is used when we have indeterminate form (such as 0/0 or ∞/∞) as the limit. In cases where the limit is not indeterminate, you can use other algebraic techniques such as factoring, rationalizing the denominator, or simplifying the expression in some other way.In summary, L'Hopital's Rule can be a useful tool for evaluating limits, but it is not the only method available. In some cases, it may not even work, so it's important to be aware of other techniques for finding limits.
  • #1
vrmuth
80
0
i am also stuck with this one
lim(x=>0) ( (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2))/x , i want to evaluate this algebraically,can anybody give me a clue
 
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  • #2


A couple of applications of L'Hopitals rule will do it :)
 
  • #3


JHamm said:
A couple of applications of L'Hopitals rule will do it :)

hi jhamm thanks,could you please show how L'hopitals rule will do it , and cann't it be done algebraically?
 
  • #4
vrmuth said:
i am also stuck with this one
lim(x=>0) ( (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2))/x , i want to evaluate this algebraically,can anybody give me a clue
As you have written it, the limit does not exist. Have you copied the question correctly?
 
  • #5
vrmuth said:
i am also stuck with this one
lim(x=>0) ( (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2))/x , i want to evaluate this algebraically,can anybody give me a clue
The domain for the function [itex]\displaystyle f(x)=\frac{\sqrt{x+9}-\sqrt{x-9}}{x}[/itex] is [9, ∞) .

So, as Hootenanny wrote, there appears to be something wrong with the problem as you posted it.
 
  • #6
SammyS said:
The domain for the function [itex]\displaystyle f(x)=\frac{\sqrt{x+9}-\sqrt{x-9}}{x}[/itex] is [9, ∞) .

So, as Hootenanny wrote, there appears to be something wrong with the problem as you posted it.

Hootenanny said:
As you have written it, the limit does not exist. Have you copied the question correctly?

yes the limit does exist, thanks
 
  • #7
vrmuth said:
yes the limit does exist, thanks

Are you sure?

Let f(x) = g(x)/h(x).

Then:

lim f(x)
= lim [g(x)/h(x)]
= [lim g(x)] / [lim h(x)]
 
  • #8
Harrisonized said:
Are you sure?

Let f(x) = g(x)/h(x).

Then:

lim f(x)
= lim [g(x)/h(x)]
= [lim g(x)] / [lim h(x)]

did you see the function and that x tends to 0 ? :)
 
  • #9
Let lim g(x) = a, where a∈ℂ (that is, a is a complex variable / it admits complex values). Then lim a/h(x) as h(x)→0 = ∞'​, where ∞'​ denotes the complex infinity (which, as its name suggests, doesn't exist on ℝ, the set of real numbers).I'm telling you, the limit doesn't exist. Also fyi, L'hopital's rule doesn't work all the time.
 
  • #10
vrmuth,
As described, for your given function, as x approaches 0, makes little sense because the domain cannot include any x value less than 9. You could try some algebraic tricks if you like, but you still have your originally given function. Try using a graphing calculator or a graphing program to display how the function looks, and check what you see "as x approaches 0".
 
  • #11
Harrisonized said:
Let lim g(x) = a, where a∈ℂ (that is, a is a complex variable / it admits complex values). Then lim a/h(x) as h(x)→0 = ∞'​, where ∞'​ denotes the complex infinity (which, as its name suggests, doesn't exist on ℝ, the set of real numbers).


I'm telling you, the limit doesn't exist. Also fyi, L'hopital's rule doesn't work all the time.

symbolipoint said:
vrmuth,
As described, for your given function, as x approaches 0, makes little sense because the domain cannot include any x value less than 9. You could try some algebraic tricks if you like, but you still have your originally given function. Try using a graphing calculator or a graphing program to display how the function looks, and check what you see "as x approaches 0".

actually i 've written "does exist " instead of "doesn't exist" ,sorry,thanks for everybody :smile:
 
  • #13
Harrisonized said:
Let lim g(x) = a, where a∈ℂ (that is, a is a complex variable / it admits complex values). Then lim a/h(x) as h(x)→0 = ∞'​, where ∞'​ denotes the complex infinity (which, as its name suggests, doesn't exist on ℝ, the set of real numbers).


I'm telling you, the limit doesn't exist. Also fyi, L'hopital's rule doesn't work all the time.

vrmuth said:
actually i 've written "does exist " instead of "doesn't exist" ,sorry,thanks for everybody :smile:

Dickfore said:
:biggrin:let's end this thread
 
  • #14
Harrisonized said:
I'm telling you, the limit doesn't exist. Also fyi, L'hopital's rule doesn't work all the time.
can you please show me some example where L'hopital's rule won't work ?
 
  • #15
lim x→∞ x/√(x2+1)

This limit actually came up in my electrostatics exam a few days ago.
 
  • #17
That's great. It's obviously 1. -_-

I'm just providing an example of l'Hopital's rule failing for the limit.
 
Last edited:
  • #18
Harrisonized said:
lim x→∞ x/√(x2+1)

This limit actually came up in my electrostatics exam a few days ago.
wow! its getting reciprocated each time we apply L'hopital rule , then what's the method to find such limits when l'hopital rule doesn't work ?
 
  • #19
Let [itex]L \equiv \lim_{x \rightarrow \infty} \frac{x}{ \sqrt{x^2 + 1} }[/itex]. This is indeterminate form of the type [itex]\frac{\infty}{\infty}[/itex]. Applying the L'Hospital's Rule with:
[tex]
f(x) = x \Rightarrow f'(x) = 1
[/tex]
[tex]
g(x) = \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \Rightarrow g'(x) = \frac{1}{2} (x^2 + 1)^{-\frac{1}{2}} 2 x = \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}
[/tex]

Then:
[tex]
\frac{f'(x)}{g'(x)} = \frac{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x}
[/tex]

But, notice that this is the reciprocal of the original fraction! So, we have:
[tex]
L = \frac{1}{L} \Rightarrow L^2 = 1 \Rightarrow L = \pm 1
[/tex]
The negative limit is impossible since both of the functions are positive. Thus, we are left with [itex]L = 1[/jtex].
So, L'Hospital's Rule does work in this case.
 
  • #20
Dickfore said:
Let [itex]L \equiv \lim_{x \rightarrow \infty} \frac{x}{ \sqrt{x^2 + 1} }[/itex]. This is indeterminate form of the type [itex]\frac{\infty}{\infty}[/itex]. Applying the L'Hospital's Rule with:
[tex]
f(x) = x \Rightarrow f'(x) = 1
[/tex]
[tex]
g(x) = \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \Rightarrow g'(x) = \frac{1}{2} (x^2 + 1)^{-\frac{1}{2}} 2 x = \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}
[/tex]

Then:
[tex]
\frac{f'(x)}{g'(x)} = \frac{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x}
[/tex]

But, notice that this is the reciprocal of the original fraction! So, we have:
[tex]
L = \frac{1}{L} \Rightarrow L^2 = 1 \Rightarrow L = \pm 1
[/tex]
The negative limit is impossible since both of the functions are positive. Thus, we are left with [itex]L = 1[/jtex].
So, L'Hospital's Rule does work in this case.

There's one small error in your work: you assume that the limit does exist to apply L'Hopital's Rule, while the fact that this limit does exist, or not, is still unknown.

@vrmuth:

To solve these types of problem, we often divide both numerator, and denominator by x to the greatest power (in this problem is x).

[tex]\lim_{x \rightarrow +\infty} \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}[/tex]
[tex]=\lim_{x \rightarrow +\infty} \frac{\frac{x}{x}}{\frac{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x}}[/tex]
[tex]=\lim_{x \rightarrow +\infty} \frac{1}{\sqrt{\frac{x^2 + 1}{x^2}}} = ...[/tex]

It should be easy to go from here. Let's see if you can get 1 as the answer. :)

Regards,
 
  • #21
VietDao29 said:
There's one small error in your work: you assume that the limit does exist to apply L'Hopital's Rule, while the fact that this limit does exist, or not, is still unknown.

Well, you can look at the use of l'Hospital's Rule as a heuristic guide. It does give a correct solution if we make the assumption that a finite limit exists. For those that require a rigorous proof, one can then go ahead and construct an epsilon-delta proof by using these identities:

[tex]
\left\vert \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} - 1 \right\vert = \left\vert \frac{x - \sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} \right\vert = \left\vert \frac{x - \sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} \cdot \frac{x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1}} \right\vert = \left\vert \frac{x^2 - x^2 - 1}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1} \left( x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \right)} \right\vert
[/tex]

[tex]
\frac{1}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1} \left \vert x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \right \vert} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1} \left( x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \right)}
[/tex]

Next, we notice that [itex]\sqrt{x^2 + 1}[/itex] and [itex]x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1}[/itex] are both monotonically increasing, and the following inequality:
[tex]
\sqrt{x^2 + 1} > |x|, \forall x
[/tex]
holds (the graph of the hyperbola lies above its asymptotes). For [itex] x > M > 0[/itex], we have the following series of inequalities:
[tex]
\sqrt{x^2 + 1} \left( x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \right) > \sqrt{M^2 + 1} \left( M + \sqrt{M^2 + 1} \right) > M (M + M) > 2 M^2
[/tex]

For any given [itex]\epsilon > 0[/itex], we can find such an [itex]M > M_{0} > 0[/itex], so that:
[tex]
2 M^2_0 = \frac{1}{\epsilon}
[/tex]
[tex]
M_0 = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \epsilon}}
[/tex]

[tex]
\left( \forall \epsilon > 0 \right) \left(\exists M_0(\epsilon) > 0 \right) \left( \forall x > M > M_{0} \right) \left\vert \frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} - 1 \right \vert \equiv \frac{1}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1} \left( x + \sqrt{x^2 + 1} \right) } < \epsilon
[/tex]

Thus, we had constructed a proof that:
[tex]
\lim_{x \rightarrow \infty}{\frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}} = 1
[/tex]
 
  • #22
VietDao29 said:
It should be easy to go from here. Let's see if you can get 1 as the answer. :)

Regards,
yes, i can get , thanks :)
 

Related to Evaluating lim(x=>0) (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x

1. What is the limit of (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x as x approaches 0?

The limit of (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x as x approaches 0 is undefined. This is because when x approaches 0, the denominator becomes 0, which is undefined in mathematics. Therefore, the limit does not exist.

2. Is it possible to evaluate the limit of (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x at x=0?

No, it is not possible to evaluate the limit at x=0 because the function is undefined at x=0. When evaluating limits, it is important to check if the function is defined at the given value of x.

3. How can I simplify the expression (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x before evaluating the limit?

You can simplify the expression by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by the conjugate of (x-9)^(1/2), which is (x+9)^(1/2). This will result in the expression (x+9)-(x-9)/[(x+9)^(1/2)x]. Then, you can simplify further by cancelling out the common factor of (x+9) in the numerator and denominator.

4. Can I use L'Hopital's rule to evaluate the limit of (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x as x approaches 0?

No, L'Hopital's rule can only be applied when the limit has an indeterminate form, such as 0/0 or ∞/∞. In this case, the limit does not have an indeterminate form and therefore, L'Hopital's rule cannot be used.

5. What is the significance of evaluating the limit of (x+9)^(1/2)-(x-9)^(1/2)/x as x approaches 0?

Evaluating limits helps us to understand the behavior of a function as x approaches a certain value. In this case, evaluating the limit at x=0 helps us to understand how the function behaves when x gets closer and closer to 0. It can also help us to identify any potential discontinuities or asymptotes in the function.

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