Questions tagged [limits]

Questions on the evaluation and properties of limits in the sense of analysis and related fields. For limits in the sense of category theory, use the tag “limits-colimits” instead.

In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function or sequence "approaches" as the input or index approaches some value. Limits are essential to (and mathematical analysis in general) and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals.

The formal $\varepsilon$-$\delta$ definition of a finite limit at a point $a\in \mathbb{R}$ is:

$$\Big(\lim_{x\rightarrow a} f(x) = L \Big)\iff \Big(\forall \varepsilon >0\, \exists \delta > 0: \forall x\in D\quad 0<\vert x-a\vert <\delta \implies \vert f(x)-L\vert <\varepsilon \Big).$$

The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to the concepts of limit and direct limit in category theory.

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Why is substituting a different variable valid in taking limits?

I went looking for a proof that: $$e^x=\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\left(1+\frac xn\right)^n$$ I found this answer by Faiq Irfan in response to this question: Prove $ e^x = \exp(x) $ starting with their limits-based definitions Everything makes sense…
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An interesting limit: $\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} \left(\frac{n^{n-1}}{(n-1)!}\right)^{\frac{1}{n}}$

It was a new contributor's question. I answered, got my -1 again and then deleted. Then I asked myself. Then gave it up again. Actually I was gonna ask a different question NOW. When I pressed ask a question, to my surprise, the question I intended…
Bob Dobbs
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Help with proving the limit of this function with epsilon

I need to prove that $\lim_{x\to\infty} f(x)=1$ where $f(x)=(x^2+g(x))/(x^2+1)$ with $g:(0,\infty)\to\mathbb{R}$ and $|g(x)|\leq 5x$. Here's my proof so far: We need to prove that for all $\epsilon>0$ there exists an M>0 so that $|f(x)-1|<\epsilon$…
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How to build $\varepsilon$ – $N(\varepsilon)$ proof for this limit?

Assignment says: Using the definition of the limit of a sequence (applying the “$\varepsilon$ – $N(\varepsilon)$ language”) prove that: $$\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{n+4\sqrt{n}-3}{2\sqrt{n}+7} = +\infty$$ Can you please help me? EDIT: I solved it by…
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Sum of a series when $n$ goes to infinity

How can we determine the sum $$\lim_{n \to \infty} \left(\frac{n}{n^2+1}+\frac{n}{n^2+2}+\cdots+\frac{n}{n^2+n}\right)$$ I tried to reduce this to an integral problem by dividing both numerator and denominator by $n^2$ but we get the term…
madness
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How to take a double limit keeping a certain ratio fixed?

How to take the limit $N \rightarrow \infty$ and $q \rightarrow \infty$ of the expression $\binom{N}{q}$ such that $\frac{q^{2}}{N}= \lambda$. Can I substitute $N = \frac{q^2}{\lambda}$ and then take $q \rightarrow \infty$ in the resulting…
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Find the limit of $\mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to \infty } \left( {{x^p}\left( {\sqrt[3]{{x + 1}} + \sqrt[3]{{x - 1}} - 2\sqrt[3]{x}} \right)} \right)$

Value of p such that $\mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to \infty } \left( {{x^p}\left( {\sqrt[3]{{x + 1}} + \sqrt[3]{{x - 1}} - 2\sqrt[3]{x}} \right)} \right)$ is some finite | non-zero number. My approach is as follow $\mathop {\lim }\limits_{x \to…
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Find the limit of $\frac{1+\frac13+\frac{1}{3^2}+...+\frac{1}{3^n}}{1+\frac15+\frac{1}{5^2}+...+\frac{1}{5^n}}$

Find the limit $$\lim_{n\to\infty}\dfrac{1+\frac13+\frac{1}{3^2}+...+\frac{1}{3^n}}{1+\frac15+\frac{1}{5^2}+...+\frac{1}{5^n}}$$ For the numerator we have…
kormoran
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What is a conditional double limit and how to compute it?

What is a conditional double limit and how to compute it for \begin{equation*} \lim_{(x,y)\rightarrow\infty,x\leq y}\frac{2x-1}{x-1}+\frac{x}{y}? \end{equation*}
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Question with $\lim_{h\to 0} \frac{\frac{f(a+h)-f(a)}{h}-f'(a)}{h}$

I want to find out the flaw in this solution to the limit $$\lim_{h\to 0} \frac{\frac{f(a+h)-f(a)}{h}-f'(a)}{h}.$$ The numerator is \begin{align*} & \frac{f(a+h)-f(a)}{h}-f'(a) \\ & =\frac{f(a+h)-f(a+\frac{h}{2})+f(a+\frac{h}{2})-f(a)}{h}-f'(a) \\ &…
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Find $\lim_{x \to \infty} \left(1-\frac{\ln(x)}{x}\right)^x$

$\lim_{x \to \infty} \left(1-\frac{\ln(x)}{x}\right)^x$ The answer is 0 (I have faith in my lecturer, so I believe this to be correct), but I get 1. I applied L'Hopital to the fraction, got $\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{1}{x}$, and eventually…
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Rearranging $\frac{1}{4^n}$?

Let's say I take a unit square and cut it up into four equal size squares, each 0.5 side, and say color the upper left red, the lower left blue and the lower right yellow. I can then repeat this same process with the remaining quarter square. After…
chx
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Limit of $x\ln x$ without using L'Hôpital's rule

I came across the question of solving $\lim_{x\to 0^+} x\ln{x}$ by using the squeeze/sandwich theorem. Furthermore, any use of L'Hôpital's rule is not permitted. My working can be found below, yet I am not sure it can be considered…
Liam
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How would one go about solving this limit : $\lim_{x\to+0} ((x+9)^x-9^x)^x$

$\displaystyle \tag*{} \lim \limits _{x\to+0} ((x+9)^x-9^x)^x$ Hi everyone ! Sorry in advance for any formatting and grammatical errors ! My attempt to solve this limit went something like this : Write the limit as $\displaystyle \lim…
Doppler
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Solving a limit involving binomial coefficients

If $$a_n=\sum_{i=0}^{n}\frac{1}{n\choose i}$$ then find $$L=\lim_{n \to \infty}\frac{1}{a_n}$$ I tried to solve it by using sandwich theorem and obtained following relation $$\frac{1}{\frac{1}{n\choose 0}+\frac{1}{n\choose n}}\geq…
Lalit Tolani
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