Harvey Mudd College Math Tutorial:
L’Hôpital’s Rule
Consider the limit
f (x)
.
lim
g(x)x→a
If both the numerator and the denominator are finite at a and g(a) 6= 0, then
f (x) f (a)
lim = .
x→a g(x) g(a)
Example
x2 + 1 10
lim = = 2.
x→3 x + 2 5
But what happens if both the numerator and the denominator tend to 0? It is not clear
what the limit is. In fact, depending on what functions f (x) and g(x) are, the limit can be
anything at all!
Example
x3 −x −1
lim 2 = lim x = 0. lim 3
= lim 2 = −∞.
x→0 x x→0 x→0 x x→0 x
x 1 kx
lim 2 = lim = ∞. lim = lim k = k.
x→0 x x→0 x x→0 x x→0
These limits are examples of indeterminate forms of type 00 . L’Hôpital’s Rule provides a
method for evaluating such limits. We will denote lim , lim+ , lim− , lim , and lim generically
x→a x→a x→a x→∞ x→−∞
by lim in what follows.
0
L’Hôpital’s Rule for
0
Suppose lim f (x) = lim g(x) = 0. Then
f 0 (x) f (x) f 0 (x)
1. If lim = L, then lim = lim = L.
g 0 (x) g(x) g 0 (x)
f 0 (x) f (x)
2. If lim tends to +∞ or −∞ in the limit, then so does .
g 0 (x) g(x)
Geometrical Interpretation Sketch of the Proof of L’Hôpital’s
Rule
Examples
d
sin x dx
(sin x) cos x
• lim = lim d = lim = 1.
x→0 x x→0
dx
(x) x→0 1
d 2
2 ln x dx
(2 ln x) x
• lim = lim d = lim = 2.
x→1 x − 1 x→1 dx
(x − 1) x→1 1
d
ex − 1 dx
(ex − 1) ex
• lim = lim d = lim = ∞.
x→0 x2 x→0
dx
(x2 ) x→0 2x
If the numerator and the denominator both tend to ∞ or −∞, L’Hôpital’s Rule still applies.
∞
L’Hôpital’s Rule for
∞
Suppose lim f (x) and lim g(x) are both infinite. Then
f 0 (x) f (x) f 0 (x)
1. If lim = L, then lim = lim = L.
g 0 (x) g(x) g 0 (x)
f 0 (x) f (x)
2. If lim 0
tends to +∞ or −∞ in the limit, then so does .
g (x) g(x)
The proof of this form of L’Hôpital’s Rule requires more advanced analysis.
∞
Here are some examples of indeterminate forms of type .
∞
Example
ex ex
lim = lim = ∞.
x→∞ x x→∞ 1
Sometimes it is necessary to use L’Hôpital’s Rule several times in the same problem:
Example
1 − cos x sin x cos x 1
lim 2
= lim = lim = .
x→0 x x→0 2x x→0 2 2
Occasionally, a limit can be re-written in order to apply L’Hôpital’s Rule:
Example
1
ln x x
lim x ln x = lim 1 = lim = lim (−x) = 0.
x→0 x→0
x
x→0 − x12 x→0
We can use other tricks to apply L’Hôpital’s Rule. In the next example, we use L’Hôpital’s
Rule to evaluate an indeterminate form of type 00 :
Example
To evaluate lim+ xx , we will first evaluate lim+ ln(xx ).
x→0 x→0
lim ln(xx ) = lim+ x ln(x) = 0, by the previous example.
x→0+ x→0
Then since lim+ ln(xx ) → 0 as x → 0+ and ln(u) = 0 if and only if u = 1,
x→0
xx → 1 as x → 0+ .
Thus,
lim xx = 1.
x→0+
Notice that L’Hôpital’s Rule only applies to indeterminate forms. For the limit in the first
example of this tutorial, L’Hôpital’s Rule does not apply and would give an incorrect result
of 6. L’Hôpital’s Rule is powerful and remarkably easy to use to evaluate indeterminate
forms of type 00 and ∞
∞
.
Key Concepts
L’Hôpital’s Rule for 00
Suppose lim f (x) = lim g(x) = 0. Then
f 0 (x) f (x) f 0 (x)
1. If lim = L, then lim = lim = L.
g 0 (x) g(x) g 0 (x)
f 0 (x) f (x)
2. If lim 0 tends to +∞ or −∞ in the limit, then so does g(x)
.
g (x)
L’Hôpital’s Rule for ∞ ∞
Suppose lim f (x) and lim g(x) are both infinite. Then
f 0 (x) f (x) f 0 (x)
1. If lim 0 = L, then lim = lim 0 = L.
g (x) g(x) g (x)
f 0 (x) f (x)
2. If lim tends to +∞ or −∞ in the limit, then so does g(x)
.
g 0 (x)
[I’m ready to take the quiz.] [I need to review more.]
[Take me back to the Tutorial Page]
