Limits and continuity: some conceptions of first-year students

Abstract

A research method consisting of written tests and individual interviews was introduced to examine first-year university students' understanding of fundamental calculus concepts. Six hundred and thirty students from three South African universities were subjected to the tests pertaining to this study. Several misconceptions underlying students' understanding of calculus concepts were identified. This paper deals mainly with some of the common errors and misconceptions relating to students' understanding of ‘limit of a function’ and ‘continuity of a function at a point’.