Question

How do you find the horizontal asymptote on a function?

Answer 1

To find horizontal asymptotes: If the degree (the largest exponent) of the denominator is bigger than the degree of the numerator, the horizontal asymptote is the x-axis (y = 0). If the degree of the numerator is bigger than the denominator, there is no horizontal asymptote.

Explanation:

Answer 2

determine the limit as x → ±∞

Explanation:

If the function is a rational function, the horizontal asymptote will be the value of the ratio of the highest-degree terms in the numerator and denominator.

If the function is an exponential function, the horizontal asymptote will be the function value when the exponential factor is zero.

In the general case, you will need to determine the limit(s) of the function as the magnitude of the value of the independent variable gets large (tends toward infinity).