The Basic Properties - At A Glance

Basic Property 1

If c is a real number, then

Think of this as taking the limit of the constant function f(x) = c. No matter what we plug in for x, we get c as the output. If we made a table

every number in the f(x) column would be c. As x gets closer to a, f(x) gets closer to (or stays equal to) c.

As long as a is a real number, it doesn't even matter what a is; c is all that matters.

Sample Problem

Basic Property 2

Using actual numbers, what is  ?

We're looking at the limit as x approaches 3 of the function f(x) = x. If we make a table, we find

As x gets closer to 3, f(x) gets closer to 3 since x and f(x) are the same thing, So we can conclude that  = 3.

There's plenty more properties to come. Stay tuned.