What is e? (VIDEO!)

There are essentially two ways to construct the number e: one through the study of compound interest and one through the study of basic derivatives in calclulus. (And it is not at all obvious these two numbers that result are the same number e!!)

In this video I describe the calculus approach and briefly show why “e” is the most natural and eeeeasy number to use in calculus. (That it connects to compound interest is for another video.)

Full details of all this work appears in volume 5 of THINKING MATHEMATICS.

What is e?

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  Written for educators - and their students too! - this website, slowly growing, takes all the content Tanton has developed in his books, videos, and workshops, and organizes it into short, self-contained, and complete, curriculum units proving that mathematics, at all points of the school curriculum, can be joyous, fresh, innovative, rich, deep-thinking, and devoid of any rote doing! Let's teach generations of students to be self-reliant thinkers, willing to flail and to use their common sense to "nut their way" through challenges, to assess and judge results, and to adjust actions to find success. (Great life skills!)

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• Books

  • Thinking Mathematics! (TEN VOLUMES)
  • Solve This: Mathematical Activities for Students and Clubs
  • Encyclopedia of Mathematics
  • Geometry I & II

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  Email: tanton.math@gmail.com