Question

State the horizontal asymptote of the rational function. For full credit, explain the reasoning you used to find the horizontal asymptote. (5 points)
x^2+3x-2/x-2

Answer 1

to find the vertical asymptote, set the denominator equal to zero and solve for x.

to find the horizontal asymptote, only evaluate the terms in the numerator and denominator that have the biggest exponent. Use the following rules (m is the exponent of the numerator and n is the exponent of the denominator):

m > n, then y = ∞ so there is no asymptote

m = n, then simplify the coefficients to determine the asumptote

m < n, then y = $\frac{1}{infinity}$ so the asymptote is y = 0

$\frac{x^{2} + 3x - 2}{x - 2}$

m = 2, n = 1 ⇒ m > n so y = ∞

Answer: there is no horizontal asymptote