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A clever solution to a math problem - July 2, 2024

Today, when browsing Zhihu, I came across a question -

How to elegantly prove $e > \sqrt{7}$

My Solution#

When I saw this question, my first reaction was to use the series expansion of $e$, $e = \sum^{\infty}_{n=0} \frac{1}{n!}$ to answer it. Of course, I am not a math major, so the following content is not rigorous, just a train of thought.

Expanding it, we get $e = 1+1+\frac{1}{2!}+\frac{1}{3!}+\ldots+\frac{1}{n!}$,

Taking the first five terms, we calculate and get $e > 1+1+\frac{1}{2!}+\frac{1}{3!}+\frac{1}{4!} = 1+1+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{4}\approx2.7083$,

It is also easy to see that $\sqrt{7} < 2.6458$,

Since $2.7083>2.6458$, we can conclude that $e >\sqrt{7}$.

But after listing out this train of thought, I have to admit that this is not "elegant".

Elegant Solution#

I searched online and found a netizen using the proof of Maclaurin series:

According to the Maclaurin series, we know that $e^x = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{x^n}{n!} = 1 + x + \frac{x^2}{2!} + \frac{x^3}{3!} + \ldots$,

Here we take $x=2$, we get $e^2 = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{2^n}{n!} = 1 + 2 + \frac{2^2}{2!} + \frac{2^3}{3!} + \ldots$

Noting that truncating after the first four terms gives $ \sum_{n=0}^{4} \frac{2^n}{n!} = 7$,

Clearly, $e^2= \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{2^n}{n!} >\sum_{n=0}^{4} \frac{2^n}{n!} = 7$,

Q.E.D.

Solution Following Current Affairs#

Because $abcdefg\ldots z$,

thus $e>z$,

According to the Jiang Ping Equation, $\text{main}=6$,

and $z=\text{main}-\text{point}=6-0.1=5.9$,

also $5.9^2>7$,

thus $5.9>\sqrt{7}$,

Therefore $e >\sqrt{7}$,

Q.E.D.

This article is synchronized updated by Mix Space to xLog
The original link is https://ursprung.io/notes/36


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