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JEE Main 2018 · Mathematics · Limits · hard

Lim x→0(e^x^2-cos x-tfrac32x^2/(x^4 equals

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lim⁡x→0ex2−cos⁡x−32x2x4\displaystyle\lim_{x\to0}\dfrac{e^{x^2}-\cos x-\tfrac32x^2}{x^4} equals
  1. A. 512\dfrac{5}{12}
  2. B. 12\dfrac{1}{2}
  3. C. 1124\dfrac{11}{24}
  4. D. 1324\dfrac{13}{24}
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Answer: (C) 1124\dfrac{11}{24}

Both numerator terms must be expanded to order x4x^4. ex2=1+x2+x42+⋯e^{x^2}=1+x^2+\dfrac{x^4}{2}+\cdots and cos⁡x=1−x22+x424−⋯\cos x=1-\dfrac{x^2}{2}+\dfrac{x^4}{24}-\cdots. Then ex2−cos⁡x=32x2+(12−124)x4+⋯=32x2+1124x4+⋯e^{x^2}-\cos x=\dfrac32x^2+\left(\dfrac12-\dfrac1{24}\right)x^4+\cdots=\dfrac32x^2+\dfrac{11}{24}x^4+\cdots. Subtracting 32x2\tfrac32x^2 leaves 1124x4+O(x6)\dfrac{11}{24}x^4+O(x^6), so the limit is 1124\dfrac{11}{24}. L'Hopital would need four differentiations; the series route is faster. Forgetting the sign of the cos⁡x\cos x term gives 1324\tfrac{13}{24}. The same result follows from applying L'Hopital's rule four times, but the series method avoids long derivatives and shows exactly which terms survive, so it is the standard shortcut for such limits in JEE Main. Always keep terms up to the order of the denominator.
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