Precalculus (6th Edition) Blitzer

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-13446-914-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-13446-914-0

Chapter 11 - Section 11.3 - Limits and Continuity - Exercise Set - Page 1162: 54

Answer

The statement “If $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)\ne f\left( a \right)$ and $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)$ exists. I can redefine $ f\left( a \right)$ to make f continuous at a.” makes sense.

Work Step by Step

For a function to be continuous at a point a, the function must satisfy the following three conditions: (a) f is defined at a. (b) $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)$ exists. (c) $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)=f\left( a \right)$ Since, $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)\ne f\left( a \right)$ and $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)$ exists. So the function does not satisfy the third condition of being continuous at a. If the value of $ f\left( a \right)$ is redefined and is taken equal to $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)$, then, $\underset{x\to a}{\mathop{\lim }}\,f\left( x \right)=f\left( a \right)$ and the function satisfies all the conditions of being continuous Then the function is continuous at a. Hence, the statement makes sense.
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