Science:Math Exam Resources/Courses/MATH104/December 2010/Question 01 (a)

MATH104 December 2010

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Question 01 (a)
Evaluate $\lim _{x\to 2}{\frac {x^{2}+x-6}{3x^{2}-5x-2}}$

Make sure you understand the problem fully: What is the question asking you to do? Are there specific conditions or constraints that you should take note of? How will you know if your answer is correct from your work only? Can you rephrase the question in your own words in a way that makes sense to you?

If you are stuck, check the hint below. Consider it for a while. Does it give you a new idea on how to approach the problem? If so, try it!

Hint
Try factoring the numerator and the denominator.

Checking a solution serves two purposes: helping you if, after having used the hint, you still are stuck on the problem; or if you have solved the problem and would like to check your work. If you are stuck on a problem: Read the solution slowly and as soon as you feel you could finish the problem on your own, hide it and work on the problem. Come back later to the solution if you are stuck or if you want to check your work. If you want to check your work: Don't only focus on the answer, problems are mostly marked for the work you do, make sure you understand all the steps that were required to complete the problem and see if you made mistakes or forgot some aspects. Your goal is to check that your mental process was correct, not only the result.

Solution

Found a typo? Is this solution unclear? Let us know here. Please rate my easiness! It's quick and helps everyone guide their studies. The first thing we should try is direct substitution (it sometimes works). Unfortunately if we substitute in $x=2$ we have ${\frac {0}{0}}$. The next thing we try is to simplify this expression. Factoring is often a good idea: $\lim _{x\to 2}{\frac {x^{2}+x-6}{3x^{2}-5x-2}}=\lim _{x\to 2}{\frac {(x+3)(x-2)}{(3x+1)(x-2)}}=\lim _{x\to 2}{\frac {x+3}{3x+1}}$ In the last equality we cancelled the common factor of (x-2). Note that, without the limit, ${\frac {(x+3)(x-2)}{(3x+1)(x-2)}}$ and ${\frac {x+3}{3x+1}}$ are not equal (because the function is not defined at $x=2$). In taking the limit as $x\to 2$, however, we don't need to worry what happens to the function at the precise point $x=2$. To evaluate $\lim _{x\to 2}{\frac {x+3}{3x+1}}$ we can try direct substitution again. This time, when we directly substitute $x=2$, we have $5/7$. This is our answer.

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