PROBLEM:

Find the value or values of x for which the function is discontinuous.

\large \displaystyle f\left( x \right)=\frac{3x}{x-5}

Solution:

A function \displaystyle f\left( x \right) is continuous at \displaystyle x=a if \displaystyle \lim_{x \to a} f\left( x \right)=f\left( a \right), which implies these three conditions:

1. \displaystyle f\left( a \right) is defined.
2. \displaystyle \lim_{x \to a} f\left( x \right)=L exists, and
3. \displaystyle L=f\left( a \right)

We are given a rational function. A rational function is not defined when the denominator is equal to zero. If we equate the denominator to zero, we can compute the value/s of \displaystyle x where the function is discontinuous.

\begin{align*}
x-5 & = 0 \\
x & = 5 \ \qquad \ \color{DarkOrange} \left( \text{Answer} \right)
\end{align*}

The function is not continuous at \displaystyle x=5.

The graph of the function \displaystyle f\left( x \right)=\frac{3x}{x-5} is drawn below. It can be seen that there is an infinite discontinuity at \displaystyle x=5.