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Home›Calculus 1›L'Hôpital's rule›Problem 1.57

Limit of \( \displaystyle \frac{3 x - \sin{\left(3 x \right)}}{27 x^{3}} \) as \( x \to 0 \)

Problem 1.57 · medium

Evaluate \( \displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{3 x - \sin{\left(3 x \right)}}{27 x^{3}} \).
  1. \[ \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{3 x - \sin{\left(3 x \right)}}{27 x^{3}}\right) \]
    limitSet up the limit with the specified direction.✓ Proved
  2. \[ = \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{\frac{d}{d x} \left(3 x - \sin{\left(3 x \right)}\right)}{\frac{d}{d x} 27 x^{3}}\right) \]
    lhopitalApply L'Hopital's rule since the limit is an indeterminate form 0/0.✓ Proved
  3. \[ = \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{3 - 3 \cos{\left(3 x \right)}}{81 x^{2}}\right) \]
    simplifyCompute the derivatives of the numerator and denominator.✓ Proved
  4. \[ = \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{\frac{d}{d x} \left(3 - 3 \cos{\left(3 x \right)}\right)}{\frac{d}{d x} 81 x^{2}}\right) \]
    lhopitalApply L'Hopital's rule again as the limit is still 0/0.✓ Proved
  5. \[ = \lim_{x \to 0^+}\left(\frac{\sin{\left(3 x \right)}}{18 x}\right) \]
    simplify simplifyCompute the derivatives of the numerator and denominator. Simplify the fraction by dividing the coefficients.✓ Proved
  6. \[ = \lim_{x \to 0^+} \frac{1}{6} \]
    trig-limit cancelUse the fundamental trigonometric limit sin(u)/u -> 1 as u -> 0. Cancel the common factor of x.✓ Proved
  7. \[ = \frac{1}{6} \]
    limitEvaluate the final constant value.✓ Proved
Answer \( \frac{1}{6} \)

Every line of this solution was proved by the computer algebra system SymPy. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt.

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0line 1 is the problem as stated
2✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where x = 0
undefined where Derivative(27*x**3, x) = 0
3✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where Derivative(27*x**3, x) = 0
undefined where x = 0
4✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where x = 0
undefined where Derivative(81*x**2, x) = 0
5✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where Derivative(81*x**2, x) = 0
undefined where x = 0
6✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where x = 0
7✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
undefined where x = 0
8✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
9✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
answer✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0final line against the stated answer: simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
answer, a second way✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0SymPy took the limit from both sides and got the stated value

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (error) — Step 7 applies two rules at once: it replaces sin(3x) with 3x (trig‑limit) and then simplifies the fraction. Each step must change only one thing, so this step is invalid.
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass
Every verdict on record (4)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-03
  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (error) 2026-10-03 — Step 7 applies two rules at once: it replaces sin(3x) with 3x (trig‑limit) and then simplifies the fraction. Each step must change only one thing, so this step is invalid.
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-30 — The solution correctly applies L'Hopital's rule and standard limit laws. Each step isolates a single operation, and the labels accurately reflect the transformations performed.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-30

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by gemma4:26b, checked 2026-10-03 with SymPy 1.14.0.