You observe the following pattern: J, K, N, B. What is the next letter in the sequence?

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salantis [7]

Answer:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{cos(2x)} - \sqrt[3]{cos(3x)}}{sin(x^2)} = \frac{1}{2}$

General Formulas and Concepts:

Calculus

Limits

Limit Rule [Variable Direct Substitution]: $\displaystyle \lim_{x \to c} x = c$

L'Hopital's Rule

Differentiation

Derivatives
Derivative Notation

Basic Power Rule:

f(x) = cxⁿ
f’(x) = c·nxⁿ⁻¹

Derivative Rule [Chain Rule]: $\displaystyle \frac{d}{dx}[f(g(x))] =f'(g(x)) \cdot g'(x)$

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given the limit:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{cos(2x)} - \sqrt[3]{cos(3x)}}{sin(x^2)}$

When we directly plug in x = 0, we see that we would have an indeterminate form:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{cos(2x)} - \sqrt[3]{cos(3x)}}{sin(x^2)} = \frac{0}{0}$

This tells us we need to use L'Hoptial's Rule. Let's differentiate the limit:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{cos(2x)} - \sqrt[3]{cos(3x)}}{sin(x^2)} = \displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\frac{-sin(2x)}{\sqrt{cos(2x)}} + \frac{sin(3x)}{[cos(3x)]^{\frac{2}{3}}}}{2xcos(x^2)}$

Plugging in x = 0 again, we would get:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\frac{-sin(2x)}{\sqrt{cos(2x)}} + \frac{sin(3x)}{[cos(3x)]^{\frac{2}{3}}}}{2xcos(x^2)} = \frac{0}{0}$

Since we reached another indeterminate form, let's apply L'Hoptial's Rule again:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\frac{-sin(2x)}{\sqrt{cos(2x)}} + \frac{sin(3x)}{[cos(3x)]^{\frac{2}{3}}}}{2xcos(x^2)} = \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\frac{-[cos^2(2x) + 1]}{[cos(2x)]^{\frac{2}{3}}} + \frac{cos^2(3x) + 2}{[cos(3x)]^{\frac{5}{3}}}}{2cos(x^2) - 4x^2sin(x^2)}$

Substitute in x = 0 once more:

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\frac{-[cos^2(2x) + 1]}{[cos(2x)]^{\frac{2}{3}}} + \frac{cos^2(3x) + 2}{[cos(3x)]^{\frac{5}{3}}}}{2cos(x^2) - 4x^2sin(x^2)} = \frac{1}{2}$