Why does Wolfram|Alpha make a mistake here?

Solution 1:

WolframAlpha understands the expression $\sqrt[3]{x}$ for negative x in a different way than you expect.

Try this: lim\frac{\sqrt{1-x}-3}{2+surd(x,3)} as x to -8

If you take the complex roots of $\sqrt[3]{x}$ you get $0$ as the limit, because the denominator is different from zero in this case.

So, Wolfram|Alpha did not make a mistake but just uses a different root of $\sqrt[3]{x}$.

For the real root you get $-2$:

$t^3 = -x \Rightarrow \lim_{x \to -8}\frac{\sqrt{1-x}-3}{2+\sqrt[3]{x}} = \lim_{t \to 2}\frac{\sqrt{1+t^3}-3}{2-t} = -f'(2) \mbox{ for } f(t) = \sqrt{1+t^3}$

$$f'(t) = \frac{3t^2}{2\sqrt{1+t^3}}\Rightarrow \lim_{x \to -8}\frac{\sqrt{1-x}-3}{2+\sqrt[3]{x}} = - f'(2) = -2$$

In Mathematica 11.3 I get

In[1]:= Limit[(Sqrt[1 - x] - 3)/(2 + CubeRoot[x]), x -> -8]
Out[1]= -2

Mathematica Documentation says CubeRoot[x] gives the real-valued cube root of $x$.

Even

In[4]:= -8^(1/3)
Out[4]= -2

Mathematica gives me the correct answers