Chapter 2: Limits and Derivatives

Thi Hoai Thuong NGUYEN

University of Science, VNU-HCM, Vietnam

September 19, 2024

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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The Limit of a function
The following table and figure gives values of f (x) = x 2 − x + 2 for
values of x close to 2 but not equal to 2

We can see that

The closer x is to 2 (on either side of 2), the closer f (x) is to 4.
In fact, we can make the values of f (x) as close as we like to 4 by
taking x sufficiently close to 2.
We express this by saying “the limit of the function f (x) = x 2 − x + 2
as x approaches 2 is equal to 4”.
The notation for this is limx→2 (x 2 − x + 2) = 4. 3 / 83
The Limit of a function

Definition of a Limit (using ε_δ)

Let f be a function defined on some open interval that contains the
number a, except possibly at a itself. Then we say that the limit of f (x)
as x approaches a is L, and we write

lim f (x) = L
x→a

if for every number ε > 0, there is a number δ > 0 such that

if 0 < |x − a| < δ then |f (x) − L| < ε.

The notations limx→a f (x) = L means that the values of f (x) can be
made as close as we please to L by requiring x to be close enough to
a (but not equal to a).

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The Limit of a function

Definition of a Limit (using ε_δ)

Let f be a function defined on some open interval that contains the
number a, except possibly at a itself. Then we say that the limit of f (x)
as x approaches a is L, and we write

lim f (x) = L
x→a

if for every number ε > 0, there is a number δ > 0 such that

if 0 < |x − a| < δ then |f (x) − L| < ε.

Remark: The function f (x) does not have to be defined at a.

sin(x)
Example: we can prove that limx→0 = 1 in spite of the function
x
sin(x)
does not have to be defined at 0.
x
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The Limit of a function
Example: Prove that limx→3 (4x − 5) = 7.
Solution: Preliminary analysis of the problem (guessing a value for δ).
Let ε be a given positive number. We want to find a number δ such that

if 0 < |x − 3| < δ then |(4x − 5) − 7| < ε.

On the other hand, we can see that

|(4x − 5) − 7| = 4|x − 3|.

Therefore, we want to find δ such that

if 0 < |x − 3| < δ then 4|x − 3| < ε

that is,
ε
if 0 < |x − 3| < δ then |x − 3| < .
4
This suggests that we should choose δ = ε/4.
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The Limit of a function

This example is illustrated by the following figure

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The Limit of a function
Definition of a Limit (using series)
Let f be a function defined on some open interval that contains the number a,
except possibly at a itself. Then we say that the limit of f (x) as x approaches
a is L if for every series (xn ) approaches a, the corresponding range of values
(f (xn )) approaches L.

Example: The limit of f (x) = x + 1 as x → 0 is 1 because for every series

(xn ) approaches 0, we have
f (xn ) = xn + 1 → 1.
Remark: The previous definition is used when we doubt the existence of the
limit of a function at a. It means that if there exists two series (xn ) and (yn )
such that
f (xn ) → L1 as xn → a
f (yn ) → L2 as yn → a
L1 6= L2
then there doesn’t exist limx→a f (x).
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The Limit of a function

Example: Calculate limx→0 sin (1/x).

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The Limit of a function
Definition of Left-Hand limit

lim f (x) = L
x→a−

if for every number ε > 0, there is a number δ > 0 such that

if a − δ < x < a then |f (x) − L| < ε

Definition of Right-Hand limit

lim f (x) = L
x→a+

if for every number ε > 0, there is a number δ > 0 such that

if a < x < a + δ then |f (x) − L| < ε

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The Limit of a function

Theorem
(
limx→a+ f (x) = L
lim f (x) = L ⇔
x→a limx→a− f (x) = L

Remark: We can use the above theorem to prove that a function has
no limit. It means that if neither the left nor the right-hand limit exists;
or if both the left and the right-hand limits exist but are different, then
the function has no limit.
|x|
Example: Calculate limx→0 .
x

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The Limit of a function

Properties
Assume that limx→a f (x) = L1 and limx→a g(x) = L2 . Then,
limx→a [αf (x)] = αL1 with α ∈ R.
limx→a [f (x) ± g(x)] = L1 ± L2 .
limx→a [f (x)g(x)] = L1 L2 .
f (x) L1
limx→a = with L2 6= 0.
g(x) L2
If f (x) ≤ g(x) for all x in an open interval that contains the number
a, then L1 ≤ L2 .

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The Limit of a function

The Squeeze theorem

If g(x) ≤ f (x) ≤ h(x) for all x in an open interval that contains the
number a and limx→a g(x) = limx→a h(x) = L, then

lim f (x) = L.
x→a

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The Limit of a function

Example: Calculate limx→0 x 2 sin (1/x).

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Continuity

We noticed in Section 1 that the limit of a function as x approaches a

can often be found simply by calculating the value of the function at a.
Functions with this property are called continuous at a.

Definition
A function f is continuous at a number a if
f (a) is defined (that is, a is in the domain of f ).
limx→a f (x) exists.
limx→a f (x) = f (a).

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Continuity

As illustrated in the above figure, if f is continuous, then the points

(x, f (x)) on the graph of f approach the point (a, f (a)) on the graph. So
there is no gap in the curve.

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Continuity

Example: The following figure shows the graph of a function f . At

which numbers is f discontinuous? Why?

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Continuity

Example: Where are each of the following functions discontinuous?

x2 − x − 2
a. f (x) =
( x −2
1/x 2 , if x 6= 0,
b. f (x) =
1, if x = 0
 2
x − x − 2
, if x 6= 2,
c. f (x) = x −2
1, if x = 2


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Continuity

Definition
A function f is continuous from the right at a number a if

lim f (x) = f (a)

x→a+

and f is continuous from the left at a number a if

lim f (x) = f (a).

x→a−

Theorem
(
limx→a+ f (x) = f (a)
lim f (x) = f (a) ⇔
x→a limx→a− f (x) = f (a)

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Continuity

Definition
A function f is continuous on an interval if it is continuous at every
number in the interval.
Remark: Any elementary function (polynomials function, rational
functions, root functions, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric
functions,exponential functions, logarithmic functions,...) is continuous.

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Continuity

Properties
If f and g are continuous at a and c is a constant, then the following
functions are also continuous at a
f ± g, cf , fg
f
if g(a) 6= 0
g

Remark: If g is continuous at a and f is continuous at g(a), then the

composite function f ◦ g given by (f ◦ g) = f (g(x)) is continuous at a.

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Continuity

Example: Examine the continuity of the following function

(
x 2 sin(1/x), if x =
6 0,
f (x) =
0, if x = 0.

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Continuity

The Intermediate Value Theorem

Suppose that f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b] and let N be
any number between f (a) and f (b), where f (a) 6= f (b). Then there
exists a number c in (a, b) such that f (c) = N.

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Continuity

Example: Show that there is a root of the equation

4x 3 − 6x 2 + 3x − 2 = 0

between 1 and 2.

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Derivatives and rate of change
Definition
The derivative of a function f at a number a, denoted by f 0 (a), is

f (a + h) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim
h→0 h
if this limit exists.
Let us define
x =a+h
h = x − a.
We can see that
h → 0 ⇔ x → a.
Therefore an equivalent way of stating the definition of the derivative is
f (x) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim .
x→a x −a
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Derivatives and rate of change

Example: Find the derivative of the function f (x) = x 3 at the number a.

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Derivatives and rate of change

Example: Find the derivative of the function f (x) = 1/x at the number
a 6= 0.

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Derivatives and rate of change

Example: Let
(
x 2 sin(1/x), if x =
6 0,
f (x) =
0, if x = 0.

Find f 0 (0)?

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Derivatives and rate of change
Tangents:
If a curve C has equation y = f (x) and we want to find the tangent line
to C at the point P(a, f (a)).

Then, we consider a nearby point Q(x, f (x)), where x 6= a, and

compute the slope of the secant line PQ
f (x) − f (a)
mPQ = .
x −a
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Derivatives and rate of change

Then, we let Q approach P along the curve C by letting x approach a.

If mPQ approaches a number m, then we define the tangent t to be the
line through P with slope m. It means that that the tangent line is the
limiting position of the secant line PQ as Q approaches P.

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Derivatives and rate of change

Definition
The tangent line to the curve y = f (x) at the point P(a, f (a)) is the line
through P with slope

f (x) − f (a)
m = lim = f 0 (a)
x→a x −a
if this limit exists.
If we use the point-slope form of the equation of a line, we can write an
equation of the tangent line to the curve y = f (x) at the point (a, f (a))

y − f (a) = f 0 (a)(x − a).

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Derivatives and rate of change

Example: Find an equation of the tangent line to the parabola y = x 2

at the point P(1, 1).

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Derivatives and rate of change

The more we zoom in, the more the parabola looks like a line. In other
words, the curve becomes almost indistinguishable from its tangent
line.

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Derivatives and rate of change

In general, an equation of the tangent line to the graph of a function

f (x) at the point a is

y = f (a) + f 0 (a)(x − a).

The linear function whose graph is this tangent line, namely

L(x) = f (a) + f 0 (a)(x − a)

is called the linearization of f at a.

The approximation

f (x) ≈ f (a) + f 0 (a)(x − a)

is called the linear approximation or the tangent line approximation of

f at a.

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Derivatives and rate of change

Example: Let f (x) = x 2 . Find the linearization of f at 1.

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Derivatives and rate of change
Rates of Change:
Suppose y is a quantity that depends on another quantity x. Let
us denote y = f (x).
If x changes from x1 to x2 , then the change in x (also called the
increment of x) is
∆x = x2 − x1
and the corresponding change in y is
∆y = f (x2 ) − f (x1 ).

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Derivatives and rate of change

The difference quotient

∆y f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
=
∆x x2 − x1

is called the average rate of change of y with respect to xover

the interval [x1 , x2 ] and can be interpreted as the slope of the
secant line PQ.
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Derivatives and rate of change

If ∆x → 0 then we can use the notation ∆x = dx.

The other notation for the derivatives
If we define dy := f 0 (x)dx then we get the other notation for the
derivatives
dy ∆y
f 0 (x) = = lim .
dx ∆x→0 ∆x

Remark:
The symbol d/dx is called differentiation operators because
they indicate the operation of differentiation, which is the process
of calculating a derivative.
The symbol d/dx should not be regarded as a ratio. It is simply a
synonym for f 0 (x).

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Derivatives and rate of change

Definition
A function f is differentiable at a if f 0 (a) exists.
A function f is differentiable on an open interval
(a, b) ( or (a, +∞), (−∞, a), (∞, ∞)) if it is differentiable at every
number in the interval.

Theorem
If f is differentiable at a, then f is continuous at a.

Example: Where is the function f (x) = |x| differentiable?

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Derivatives and rate of change

Higher Derivatives:
If f is a differentiable function, then its derivative f 0 is also a function.
Thus, f 0 may have a derivative of its own, denoted by (f 0 )0 = f 00 . It is
called the second derivative of f .
Notation
If y = f (x) then

d 2y
 
00 d dy
f (x) = = ,
dx dx dx 2
d d 2y d 3y
 
000
f (x) = = .
dx dx dx 3

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Differentiation rules

Assume that f , g, k are differentiable functions. Then, the following

properties hold
(αf )0 = αf 0 with α ∈ R.
(f ± g)0 = f 0 ± g 0 .
(fg)0 = f 0 g + fg 0 .
(fgk )0 = f 0 gk + fg 0 k + fgk 0 .
(1/f )0 = −f 0 /f 2 .
 0
f f 0 g − fg 0
= .
g g2

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Differentiation rules

The Chain rule

If g is differentiable at x and f is differentiable at g(x), then the
composite function f ◦ g is differentiable at x and

(f ◦ g)0 (x) = f 0 (g(x)) g 0 (x).

On the other hand, if y = f (u) and u = g(x) then we get

dy dy du
= .
dx du dx

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Differentiation rules

√
Example: Find F 0 (x) with F (x) = x 2 + 1.
√
Solution: If we let u = x 2 + 1 and y = u, then

dy du 1 1 x
F 0 (x) = = √ (2x) = √ (2x) = √ .
du dx 2 u 2
2 x +1 2
x +1

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Differentiation rules

Let u = g(x). Then, the following properties hold

1. (u n )0 = nu 0 u n−1 .
2. (eu )0 = u 0 eu .
3. (sin(u)) = u 0 cos(u).
4. (cos(u))0 = u 0 sin(u).
u0
5. (ln(u))0 = .
u
u0
6. (tan(u))0 = .
cos2 (u)
u0
7. (cot(u))0 = − 2 .
sin (u)

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Differentiation rules

Derivative of the inverse function

Let f be a one-to-one function and g = f −1 . Assume that f 0 (x) 6= 0.
Then, g have a derivative at y = f (x) and

1 1
g 0 (f (x)) = or g 0 (y ) = 0 .
f 0 (x) y

Example:
a. Find the derivative of the inverse function of the following function

y = f (x) = x + x 3 , x ∈ R.

b. Find (f −1 )0 (2).

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Implicit differentiation

Example: Let y implicitly as a differentiable function of x. It satisfies

the following equation

x 3 + y 3 = 6y .

Find y 0 (x).
Solution: Assume that y is differentiable at x. We take the derivative of
both sides of the previous equation with respect to x and we get

3x 2 + 3y 2 y 0 (x) = 6y 0 (x)
 
⇔ 3y 2 − 6 y 0 (x) = −3x 2
x2
⇔y 0 (x) = .
2 − y2

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Maximum and Minimum values

Definition
Let c be a number in the domain D of a function f . Then f (c) is the
absolute maximum value of f on D if f (c) ≥ f (x) for all x in D.
absolute minimum value of f on D if f (c) ≤ f (x) for all x in D.

Remark: An absolute maximum or minimum is sometimes called a

global maximum or minimum. The maximum and minimum values of f
are called extreme values.
Definition
Let c be a number in the domain D of a function f . Then f (c) is the
local maximum value of f if f (c) ≥ f (x) when x is near c.
local minimum value of f if f (c) ≤ f (x) when x is near c.

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Maximum and Minimum values
Example:

Local maximum values of f : f (b), f (d).

Local minimum values of f : f (a), f (c), f (e).
Absolute maximum values of f : f (d).
Absolute minimum values of f : f (a).
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Maximum and Minimum values

The extreme value theorem

If f is continuous on a closed interval [a, b] then
f attains an absolute maximum value f (c) with c ∈ [a, b].
f attains an absolute minimum value f (d) with d ∈ [a, b].

Figure: Functions continuous on a closed interval always attain extreme

values.

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Maximum and Minimum values

Figure: This function has minimum value f (2) = 0, but no maximum value.

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Maximum and Minimum values

Figure: This continuous function f has no maximum or minimum.

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Maximum and Minimum values

Fermat’s theorem
If f has a local maximum or minimum at c and f 0 (c) exists then
f 0 (c) = 0.

Definition
A critical number of a function f is a number c in the domain of f such
that either f 0 (c) = 0 or f 0 (c) doesn’t exist.

Theorem
If f has a local maximum or minimum at c, then c is a critical number of
f.

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Maximum and Minimum values

The closed interval method

To find the absolute maximum and minimum values of a continuous
function f on a closed interval [a, b]
1. Find the values of f at the critical numbers of f in (a, b).
2. Find the values of f at the endpoints of the interval.
3. The largest of the values from Steps 1 and 2 is the absolute
maximum value; the smallest of these values is the absolute
minimum value.
Example: Find the absolute maximum and minimum values of the
function

f (x) = x 3 − 3x 2 + 1, −1/2 ≤ x ≤ 4.

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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The Mean value theorem
The following theorems show the relationship between the derivatives
and the properties of function f
Rolle’s theorem
Let f be a function that satisfes the following three hypotheses
f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b].
f is differentiable on the open interval (a, b).
f (a) = f (b).
Then, there is a number c in (a, b) such that f 0 (c) = 0.

In each case it appears that there is at least one point (c, f (c)) on the
graph where the tangent is horizontal and therefore f 0 (c) = 0.
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The Mean value theorem

Example: Prove that the equation x 3 + x − 1 = 0 has exactly one real

root.

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The Mean value theorem

The Mean value theorem

Let f be a function that satisfies the following hypotheses
f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b].
f is differentiable on the open interval (a, b).
Then, there is a number c ∈ (a, b) such that

f (b) − f (a)
f 0 (c) =
b−a
⇔ f (b) − f (a) = f 0 (c)(b − a).

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The Mean value theorem

We can see that

Since f 0 (c) is the slope of the tangent line at the point (c, f (c)), the
Mean Value Theorem says that there is at least one point
P(c, f (c)) on the graph where the slope of the tangent line is the
same as the slope of the secant line AB.
In other words, there is a point P where the tangent line is parallel
to the secant line AB.

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The Mean value theorem

Example: Assume that f (0) = −3 and f 0 (x) ≤ 5 for all values of x.

Find the largest value of f (2).

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves

Increasing/Decreasing test
If f 0 (x) > 0 on an interval, then f is increasing on that interval.
If f 0 (x) < 0 on an interval, then f is decreasing on that interval.

Example: Find where the function f (x) = 3x 4 − 4x 3 − 12x 2 + 5 is

increasing and where it is decreasing.

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves

The first derivative test

Assume that c is a critical number of a continuous function f
If f 0 changes from positive to negative at c, then f has a local
maximum at c.
If f 0 changes from negative to positive at c, then f has a local
minimum at c.
If f 0 is positive to the left and right of c, or negative to the left and
right of c, then f has no local maximum or minimum at c.

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves

Example: Find the local maximum and minimum values of the function

g(x) = x + 2 sin(x), 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π.

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
Definition
If the graph of f lies above all of its tangents on an interval I, then
it is called concave upward on I.
If the graph of f lies below all of its tangents on an interval I, then
it is called concave downward on I.
A point P on a curve y = f (x) is called an inflection point if
B f is continuous.
B The curve changes from concave upward to concave downward or
from concave downward to concave upward at P.

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves

Concavity test
If f 00 (x) > 0 for all x ∈ I, then the graph of f is concave upward on
I.
If f 00 (x) < 0 for all x ∈ I, then the graph of f is concave downward
on I.
Example: Sketch a possible graph of a function fthat satisfes the
following conditions:
(i) f 0 (x) > 0 on (−∞, 1), f 0 (x) < 0 on (1, +∞).
(ii) f 00 (x) > 0 on (−∞, −2) and (2, +∞), f 00 (x) < 0 on (−2, 2).
(iii) limx→−∞ f (x) = −2, limx→+∞ f (x) = 0.

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Derivatives and the Shapes of curves

The second derivative test

Assume that f 00 is continuous near c.
If f 0 (c) = 0 and f 00 (c) > 0 then f has a local minimum at c.
If f 0 (c) = 0 and f 00 (c) < 0 then f has a local maximum at c.

Example: Discuss the curve y = f (x) = x 4 − 4x 3 with respect to

concavity, points of infection, and local maxima and minima. Use this
information to sketch the curve.

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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
0 ∞
The following results applies to the indeterminate forms as form , 0 × ∞,
0 ∞
L’hospital’s rule
Assume that f and g are differentiable and g 0 (x) 6= 0 on an open interval I
that contains a (except possibly at a). Suppose that

lim f (x) = 0 and lim g(x) = 0

x→a x→a

or that

lim f (x) = ±∞ and lim g(x) = ±∞.

x→a x→a

Then,
f (x) f 0 (x)
lim = lim 0
x→a g(x) x→a g (x)

if the limit on the right side exists.

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Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule

Remark: L’hospital’s rule is also valid for one-sided limits and for limits
at infinity or negative infinity. It means that “x → a00 can be replaced by
any of the symbols x → a+ , x → a− , x → +∞, x → −∞.
Example:
ln(x)
a. Find limx→1 .
x −1
ex
b. Find limx→∞ 2 .
x

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Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule

The other types of the indeterminate forms

If the limit of f (x)g(x) has the form 0 × ∞ then we can rewrite it as
form
f (x) g(x)
f (x)g(x) = or f (x)g(x) =
1/g(x) 1/f (x)

After that, we use L’hospital’s rule to compute the limit of f (x)g(x).

If the limit of f (x)g(x) has the form 1∞ , ∞0 or 00 then we can
0
rewrite it as form by using the formula ab = eb ln(a) .
0
Example:
a. Find limx→0+ x ln(x).
1 x
 
b. Find limx→∞ 1 + .
x
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Table of Contents

1 The Limit of a function

2 Continuity
3 Derivatives and rate of change
4 Differentiation rules
5 Maximum and Minimum values
6 The Mean Value theorem
7 Derivatives and the Shapes of curves
8 Indeterminate forms and L’hospital’s rule
9 Newton’s method

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Newton’s method

Problem:
For a quadratic equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0, there is a well-known
formula for the solution.
For third- and fourth-degree equations, there are also formulas for
the solutions, but they are extremely complicated.
If f is a polynomial of degree 5 or higher, there is no such formula.
How would you solve such these equation?

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Newton’s method
We now want to solve an equation of the form f (x) = 0. So, the roots
of the equation corresponds to the x−intercepts of the graph of f .
The root that we are trying to find is labeled r in the following figure

The idea of Newton’s method:

We start with a first approximation x1 , which is obtained by
guessing, or from a rough sketch of the graph of f , or from a
computer-generated graph of f .
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Newton’s method

Consider the tangent line L to the curve y = f (x) at the point (x1 , f (x1 )) and look at the
x−intercept of L, labeled x2 .
+ To find a formula for x2 in terms of x1 , we use the fact that the slope of L is f 0 (x). So,
its equation is
y − f (x1 ) = f 0 (x1 )(x − x1 ).
+ Since the x−intercept of L is x2 , we know that the point (x2 , 0) is on the line. So, we
have
0 − f (x1 ) = f 0 (x1 )(x2 − x1 ).
+ If f 0 (x1 ) 6= 0, we can solve this equation for x2
f (x1 )
x2 = x1 − .
f 0 (x1 ) 78 / 83
Newton’s method
We use x2 as a second approximation to r .
Next we repeat this procedure with x1 replaced by the second
approximation x2 using the tangent line at (x2 , f (x2 )). This gives a
third approximation
f (x2 )
x3 = x2 − .
f 0 (x2 )
If we keep repeating this process, we obtain a sequence of
approximations x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , ... as shown in the following figure

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Newton’s method

In general, if the n−th approximation is xn and f 0 (xn ) 6= 0 then the next

approximation is given by

f (xn )
xn+1 = xn − .
f 0 (xn )

If the numbers xn become closer and closer to r as n becomes large,

then we say that the sequence converges to r and we write

lim xn = r .
n→∞

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Newton’s method

Example: Find the root of the equation cos(x) = x (correct to six

decimal places)

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION !

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