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Squeeze theorem with a trigonometric bound

Suppose a function h(x)h(x) is known to satisfy the inequality −x2≤h(x)(1−cos⁡x)≤x2-x^2 \le h(x)\big(1-\cos x\big) \le x^2 for all xx near 00 (with x≠0x \neq 0).

You are told that for all xx near 00 (with x≠0x \neq 0), a function h(x)h(x) satisfies −x2≤h(x)(1−cos⁡x)≤x2.-x^2 \le h(x)\big(1-\cos x\big) \le x^2. Using this inequality together with the known limit lim⁡x→01−cos⁡xx2=12\lim_{x\to 0}\dfrac{1-\cos x}{x^2} = \dfrac{1}{2} and lim⁡x→0sin⁡xx=1\lim_{x \to 0} \dfrac{\sin x}{x}=1, determine lim⁡x→0x h(x)sin⁡x.\lim_{x\to 0} x\,h(x)\sin x.

Hint

First, divide every part of the inequality by (1−cos⁡x)(1-\cos x) (which is positive for small x≠0x \neq 0) to isolate h(x)h(x). Then multiply through by xsin⁡xx\sin x to build the expression x h(x)sin⁡xx\,h(x)\sin x. Finally, apply the squeeze theorem to the resulting bounds. Use the fact that 1−cos⁡x∼x221 - \cos x \sim \frac{x^2}{2} for small xx to evaluate the limit.

Step-by-step solution

From −x2≤h(x)(1−cos⁡x)≤x2-x^2 \le h(x)(1-\cos x) \le x^2, divide through by 1−cos⁡x>01-\cos x>0 (which is positive for small x≠0x\ne 0) to get −x21−cos⁡x≤h(x)≤x21−cos⁡x.-\frac{x^2}{1-\cos x} \le h(x) \le \frac{x^2}{1-\cos x}. Multiplying every part of this inequality by xsin⁡xx\sin x preserves the inequality direction since xsin⁡x≥0x\sin x \ge 0 for xx near 00. This gives −x3sin⁡x1−cos⁡x≤x h(x)sin⁡x≤x3sin⁡x1−cos⁡x.-\frac{x^3\sin x}{1-\cos x} \le x\,h(x)\sin x \le \frac{x^3\sin x}{1-\cos x}.

To evaluate lim⁡x→0x3sin⁡x1−cos⁡x\lim_{x\to 0} \frac{x^3\sin x}{1-\cos x}, we use the given standard limits. Since lim⁡x→01−cos⁡xx2=12\lim_{x\to 0}\frac{1-\cos x}{x^2} = \frac{1}{2}, we have 1−cos⁡x∼x221-\cos x \sim \frac{x^2}{2} for small xx. Therefore, ∣x3sin⁡x1−cos⁡x∣≈x3⋅∣sin⁡x∣x2/2≈2x∣sin⁡x∣.\left|\frac{x^3\sin x}{1-\cos x}\right| \approx \frac{x^3 \cdot |\sin x|}{x^2/2} \approx 2x|\sin x|. Since ∣sin⁡x∣≤1|\sin x| \le 1, we have ∣x3sin⁡x1−cos⁡x∣≤2∣x∣\left|\frac{x^3\sin x}{1-\cos x}\right| \le 2|x|. As x→0x \to 0, both bounds approach 00. By the Squeeze Theorem, lim⁡x→0x h(x)sin⁡x=0.\lim_{x\to 0} x\,h(x)\sin x = 0.

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