Prove that $\lim_{x\rightarrow\infty}x-\sqrt{x(x+1)}=-\frac12$

calculuslimitslimits-without-lhopitalradicals

How do I prove that $$\lim_{x\rightarrow\infty}x-\sqrt{x(x+1)}=-\frac12$$? I first got this question when I was graphing $\sqrt{x(x+1)}$ and I noticed that it approached a linear function as $x$ increases. We couldn't use L'hopital's rule since these functions aren't in fraction form. Also, we couldn't simply substitute $x=\infty$. And Taylor series approximation seems very complicated.

Best Answer

\begin{align*} &\lim\limits_{x\rightarrow \infty} x-\sqrt{x(x+1)} \\ =& \lim\limits_{x\rightarrow \infty} \frac{x^2-x(x+1)}{x+\sqrt{x(x+1)}} \\ =& \lim\limits_{x\rightarrow \infty} - \frac{x}{x+\sqrt{x(x+1)}} \\ =& \lim\limits_{x\rightarrow \infty} - \frac{1}{1+\sqrt{1+\frac1x}} = -\frac12 \end{align*}

Usually, limits of the form $\infty-\infty$ can be calculated by multiplying the numerator and denominator by something of the form $\infty+\infty$ and then simplifying.

Hope this helps you.