Find \(\lim\limits_{x \to 3} (\frac{x^{3} + x^{2} - 12x}{x^{2} - 9})\)

Answer Details

To evaluate the limit, we can substitute the value of x into the expression and see what we get. However, in this case, x = 3 would make the denominator 0, and division by 0 is undefined. This suggests that we need to simplify the expression first. We can factor the numerator and denominator, then simplify the expression: \[\lim\limits_{x \to 3} \frac{x^{3} + x^{2} - 12x}{x^{2} - 9} = \lim\limits_{x \to 3} \frac{x(x-3)(x+4)}{(x+3)(x-3)} = \lim\limits_{x \to 3} \frac{x(x+4)}{x+3}\] Now, we can substitute x = 3 into the simplified expression: \[\frac{3(3+4)}{3+3} = \frac{21}{6} = \frac{7}{2}\] Therefore, the answer is \(\frac{7}{2}\).