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Exercise 708Calculus › Single-variable calculus › LimitsL2Added 1 Nov 2026

Difference of two infinite reciprocals

#infinity minus infinity#Taylor expansion

Statement

Compute
lim⁡x→0(1sin⁡x−1x).\lim_{x\to0}\left(\frac1{\sin x}-\frac1x\right).

Hint

Put everything over a common denominator and expand x−sin⁡xx-\sin x.

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Solution

Idea. As x→0+x\to0^+ both 1sin⁡x\frac1{\sin x} and 1x\frac1x tend to +∞+\infty. Their difference is an "∞−∞\infty-\infty" form: we do not know in advance who wins. A common denominator makes the competition visible.

Computation.
1sin⁡x−1x=x−sin⁡xxsin⁡x.\frac1{\sin x}-\frac1x=\frac{x-\sin x}{x\sin x}.
We know x−sin⁡x=x36+o(x3)x-\sin x=\dfrac{x^3}6+o(x^3), and xsin⁡x=x2+o(x2)x\sin x=x^2+o(x^2). Hence
x−sin⁡xxsin⁡x=x36+o(x3)x2+o(x2)=x6⋅1+o(1)1+o(1)⟶0.\frac{x-\sin x}{x\sin x}=\frac{\frac{x^3}6+o(x^3)}{x^2+o(x^2)}=\frac{x}{6}\cdot\frac{1+o(1)}{1+o(1)}\longrightarrow0.

Conclusion. The limit is 00: the two infinite quantities are so close to each other that their difference vanishes.