asymptotes
Synonyms
Examples
A hyperbola approaches its asymptotes arbitrarily closely as the distance from its center increases, but it never intersects them; however, a degenerate hyperbola consists only of its asymptotes.
Conic section analysis of the hyperbolic appearance of circles Figure 10: The hyperbola as a circle on the ground seen in perspective while gazing down slightly, showing the circle's (non-parallel) tangents as asymptotes.
Asymptotes convey information about the behavior of curves in the large, and determining the asymptotes of a function is an important step in sketching its graph.
A similar argument shows that the lower left branch of the curve also has the same two lines as asymptotes.
Asymptotes for rational functions A rational function has at most one horizontal asymptote or oblique (slant) asymptote, and possibly many vertical asymptotes.
Functions may lack horizontal asymptotes on either or both sides, or may have one horizontal asymptote that is the same in both directions.