Mistake Master
Mistake Master · AP Precalculus · Unit 1 · Step-Through Animation
Not Every Forbidden Input Earns an Asymptote
You'll learnto decide when a forbidden input produces a vertical asymptote.
A vertical asymptote is the graph losing its composure: outputs running off without bound as the input closes in on a value the function cannot accept. But a shared factor changes everything, and multiplicity casts the deciding vote. Learn the test, say the behaviour in one-sided limits, and take inventory in a single pass.
denominator wins → asymptote · numerator holds → hole
Before you start
What you're looking at
A table of outputs for 1/(x−2) as the input closes in on 2 from both sides.
The question
As the input approaches the forbidden value, do the outputs run off without bound?
Watch for
The output magnitudes exploding, then the one-sided limit language that names the behavior.
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