Home›Calculus 1›One-sided limits of piecewise functions›Problem 1.802

One-sided limits of piecewise functions

Problem 1.802 · easy

Let \( \displaystyle f(x) = \begin{cases} 3 x^{2} - x + 3 & x < -1 \\ -3 & x = -1 \\ 3 - 3 x & x > -1 \end{cases} \). Find \( \displaystyle \lim_{x\to -1^-} f(x) \), \( \displaystyle \lim_{x\to -1^+} f(x) \), \( \displaystyle \lim_{x\to -1} f(x) \) and \( \displaystyle f(-1) \).

For x < -1 only the first piece matters, so the left-hand limit is the limit of that polynomial.
Reviewed
\[ \lim_{x \to -1^-}\left(3 x^{2} - x + 3\right) = 7 \]
Left-hand limit.✓ Proved
\[ \lim_{x \to -1^+}\left(3 - 3 x\right) = 6 \]
Right-hand limit.✓ Proved
The one-sided limits are different, so the two-sided limit does not exist.
Reviewed
The value f(-1) = -3 is read straight from the middle line; it does not affect any of the limits.
Reviewed

Answer \( \lim_{x\to -1^-} f(x) = 7,\ \lim_{x\to -1^+} f(x) = 6,\ \lim_{x\to a} f(x) \text{ does not exist},\ f(-1) = -3 \)

✓ Nihil obstat Lines: 2 proved, 3 reviewed. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. Reviewers found nothing wrong with the explanation. How we verify

The full receipt

Line	Status	Checked by	Detail
1	Reviewed	reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx	a sentence; read, not computed
2	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
3	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
4	Reviewed	reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx	a sentence; read, not computed
5	Reviewed	reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx	a sentence; read, not computed
answer, a second way	✓ Checked independently	sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0	the pieces evaluated at a ± 1e-12

Reviewers

gpt-oss:20b: pass
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass — The solution correctly identifies the relevant pieces for the one-sided limits, computes them accurately, and correctly concludes that the two-sided limit does not exist due to the mismatch. The evaluation of f(-1) is also correct.

Every verdict on record (6)

qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-11-03 — The solution correctly identifies the relevant pieces for the one-sided limits, computes them accurately, and correctly concludes that the two-sided limit does not exist due to the mismatch. The evaluation of f(-1) is also correct.
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-11-03
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-11-02 — The solution correctly identifies the relevant pieces for the one-sided limits, verifies the calculations, and correctly concludes that the two-sided limit does not exist because the one-sided limits differ. The statement that the function value does not affect the limits is also correct.
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-11-02
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-11-02 — The solution correctly identifies the relevant pieces for the one-sided limits and the function value. The reasoning for the non-existence of the two-sided limit is sound.
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-11-02

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 generator:structured/one_sided_limits, checked 2026-11-03 with SymPy 1.14.0.