At x = 0, the function $${\text{f}}\left( {\text{x}} \right) = \left| {\sin \frac{{2\pi {\text{x}}}}{{\text{L}}}} \right|$$ , (-$$\infty $$ < x < $$\infty $$, L > 0) is A. continuous and differentiable B. Not continuous and not differentiable C. Not continuous but differentiable D. Continuous but not differentiable

continuous and differentiable
Not continuous and not differentiable
Not continuous but differentiable
Continuous but not differentiable

The correct answer is: D. Continuous but not differentiable

The function $f(x) = | \sin \frac{2\pi x}{L} | $ is continuous at $x=0$ because the two-sided limit $\lim_{x\to 0} f(x)$ exists and is equal to $f(0)$. However, the function is not differentiable at $x=0$ because the derivative $f'(x)$ does not exist at $x=0$.

To see why the derivative does not exist at $x=0$, we can consider the following graph of the function:

[asy]
unitsize(1 cm);

draw((0,-1.2)–(0,1.2));
draw((-2,0)–(2,0));

real g(real x) {
return abs(sin(2pix/1));
}

draw(graph(g,-2,2),red);

label(“$x$”, (2,0), E);
label(“$y$”, (0,1.2), N);
[/asy]

As you can see, the graph of the function has a sharp point at $x=0$. This means that the function is not differentiable at $x=0$.

In general, a function is differentiable at a point $x=a$ if and only if the two-sided limit $\lim_{x\to a} \frac{f(x) – f(a)}{x-a}$ exists and is equal to $f'(a)$. In the case of the function $f(x) = | \sin \frac{2\pi x}{L} | $, the two-sided limit $\lim_{x\to 0} \frac{f(x) – f(0)}{x-0}$ does not exist, so the function is not differentiable at $x=0$.

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