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07 July Introduction To Continuity

The document discusses continuity of functions and defines a function as continuous at a point if its left and right hand limits exist and are equal to the value of the function at that point. It also provides an example of proving the continuity of the function f(x)=5x-3 at various points.

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KIRAN N K
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21 views15 pages

07 July Introduction To Continuity

The document discusses continuity of functions and defines a function as continuous at a point if its left and right hand limits exist and are equal to the value of the function at that point. It also provides an example of proving the continuity of the function f(x)=5x-3 at various points.

Uploaded by

KIRAN N K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A function is said to be continuous at

a point if we can draw the graph of


the function around that point
without lifting the pen from the
plane.

Otherwise it is called a
discontinuous function.
Introduction to Continuity
The meaning of the term continuity
is same as we use in our daily life.
For example the water flow in
the rivers is continuous. The flow of
time in human life is continuous i.e.
we are getting older
continuously and so on. Similarly, in
mathematics, we have the notion of
the continuity of a function.
When we say that a function f(x) is
continuous at a point x = a it means
that the point (a, f(a)), the graph of
the function has no holes or gaps. In
simple words, a function is said to
be continuous if we can sketch
its curve on a graph without lifting
your pen even once.
Definition 1. Suppose f is a real
function on a subset of the real
numbers and let c be a point in
the domain of f. Then f is continuous
at c if → = f(c)
Continuity at a Point:
A function f(x) is said to be
continuous at a point x = a, if
Left hand limit of f(x) at(x = a)
= Right hand limit of f(x) at (x
= a) = Value of f(x) at (x = a)
i.e. if at x = a, LHL = RHL =
f(a)
where, LHL
=
and RHL =
Problem: Prove that the function
f(x) = 5x – 3 is continuous at x = 0,
x = -3 and x = 5
Solution:

The given function is f(x) = 5x – 3


At x = 0, f(0) = 5 * 0 – 3 = -3

limx→0 f(x) = limx→0 (5x - 3) = 5 * 0 – 3 = -3

Therefore, f is continuous at x = 0
At x = -3, f(-3) = 5 * (-3) – 3 = -15 – 3 = -18

limx→-3 f(x) = limx→-3 (5x - 3) = 5 * (-3) – 3 =


-15 – 3 = -18

Therefore, f is continuous at x = −3
At x = 5, f(5) = 5 * 5 – 3 = 25 – 3 = 22

limx→5 f(x) = limx→5 (5x - 3) = 5 * 5 – 3 =


25 – 3 = 22

Therefore, f is continuous at x = 5
Definition 2. If the left hand limit, right
hand limit and the value of the function at
x = c exist and equal to each other, then f
is said to be continuous at x = c.
i.e.
limx-> c- f(x) = f(c) = limx-> c+ f(x) = f(c)
Again if the right hand and left hand
limits at x = c coincide, then we say that
the common value is the limit of the
function at x = c.
So, we may also represent the definition of
continuity as follows:

Definition 3. A function is continuous at x =


c if the function is defined at x = c and if the
value of the function at x = c equals the limit
of the function at x = c.

If f is not continuous at c, we say f is


not continuous at c and c is called a point of
discontinuity of f.

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