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Irrationality of e

The document provides an elementary proof that e is irrational. It assumes e can be represented as a fraction m/n, and derives a contradiction by showing this would require n+1 to be less than or equal to 1, which is impossible. The usual proof uses the formula for the sum of a geometric series, but this proof compares the two series term by term to reach a contradiction.

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21 views

Irrationality of e

The document provides an elementary proof that e is irrational. It assumes e can be represented as a fraction m/n, and derives a contradiction by showing this would require n+1 to be less than or equal to 1, which is impossible. The usual proof uses the formula for the sum of a geometric series, but this proof compares the two series term by term to reach a contradiction.

Uploaded by

thonguyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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71.

24 An Elementary Proof That e Is Irrational


Author(s): A. R. G. Macdivitt and Yukio Yanagisawa
Source: The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 71, No. 457 (Oct., 1987), p. 217
Published by: Mathematical Association
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NOTES 217

Notes
71.24 An elementaryproof that e is irrational
Suppose that
1 1 1 m
e= 1 +-- + + ??? = -
1! 2! 3! n
for some positive integers m and n. Then
I
n! l+I-+-I.+.+ + + n!
(1! 2! n! ) +n + 1 (n + l1)(n+ 2) n
so that
1 1
n+l (n+l1)(n+2)+
is a positive integer, and hence nS > 1 or (n + 1)S - 1 > S;
1 1 1 I1
i.e. + +...> +
n + 2 (n+ 2)(n+3) n+ (n+ l)(n + 2)
which is a contradiction,as can be seen by comparingthe two series term by
term.
(The usualproofof this result,as given in [I], uses the formulafor the sum of
a geometric series to show that S < 1/n.)

Reference
1. G. H. Hardy and E. M. Wright, An introductionto the theoryof numbers,Oxford (1938).
A. R. G. MACDIVITTand YUKIO YANAGISAWA
Paisley Collegeof Technology,High Street, Paisley PA] 2BE

71.25 The magic hexagon: an historicalnote


This is a magic hexagon. It contains all the numbersfrom 1 to 19 arranged
in such a way that every one of the fifteen possible straightlines (of either 3 or

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