code: def check_bounds(args, lowerLimit, upperLimit):
          
          penalty = 0
          bound_hit = False
          for i in range(0, len(args)):
              if args[i] < lowerLimit[i] or args[i] > upperLimit[i]:
                  penalty = 10**15
                  bound_hit = True
          return penalty, bound_hit
docs: checks whether the parameter vector has left its bound, if so, adds a big number