Why Does the Slope Definition of $e$ Work?: A Self-Contained Exploration After Real Analysis

Abstract

Euler's number $e$ is often introduced through compound interest, an infinite series, an area, or the slope of an exponential function. The last viewpoint is especially attractive: choose the base $b\in (2,3)$ so that the graph of $y=b^x$ has tangent slope $1$ at $(0,1)$. However, a curious student may raise several questions that a brief introduction necessarily leaves implicit. What does $b^x$ mean when $x$ is irrational? Why is $b^x$ differentiable at $x=0$? How can one show that the slopes corresponding to bases $2$ and $3$ lie on opposite sides of slope $1$? Finally, why is there a unique base whose slope is exactly $1$? The paper provides an answer using tools from a first course in real analysis, including limits, continuity, derivatives, and the Intermediate Value Theorem. Its primary audience is undergraduate students familiar with standard concepts from an introductory analysis course who wish to apply what they have learned to explore questions left open in earlier courses. A secondary audience is instructors who may use selected portions as supplementary material in an introduction-to-proofs course. The mathematical ingredients are classical; our aim is to organize them into a self-contained exposition and to make explicit the logical steps that are often compressed in standard treatments.

arXiv comment19 pages, 2 figures