First notice that the denominator is zero if we substitute x = -1, showing that the function is not defined when x = -1. Thus, we need to simplify the function algebraically:
x2 + 3x + 2 | = |
(x+1)(x+2) |
|
= |
|
Since we are now left with a closed form function that is defined when x = -1, we can now evaluate the limit by substitution:
lim x-1 |
x2 + 3x + 2 | |
= | lim x-2 |
(x+2) |
= | ((-1)+2) |
= | -6. |
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