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Exercise 353Calculus › Single-variable calculus › LimitsL1Added 1 Nov 2026

x times sin(1/x)

#squeeze theorem#oscillation

Statement

Show that
lim⁡x→0xsin⁡1x=0.\lim_{x\to0}x\sin\frac1x=0.

Hint

Use the bound ∣sin⁡t∣≤1|\sin t|\le1 for every real tt.

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Solution

Idea. As x→0x\to0, the factor sin⁡1x\sin\frac1x oscillates faster and faster between −1-1 and 11, but the factor xx shrinks to 00 and wins.

Computation. For every x≠0x\neq0, ∣sin⁡1x∣≤1\left|\sin\frac1x\right|\le1, so
0≤∣xsin⁡1x∣≤∣x∣.0\le\left|x\sin\frac1x\right|\le|x|.
Since ∣x∣→0|x|\to0 as x→0x\to0, the squeeze theorem gives ∣xsin⁡1x∣→0\left|x\sin\frac1x\right|\to0, hence xsin⁡1x→0x\sin\frac1x\to0.