MATH 115: Derivative of ex Bonus Using Series

Dylan C. Beck
25 April 2018

dy
Bonus. Let y = ex . Use the following steps to fill in the details of the proof that = ex .
dx
 
n n!
1.) Recall that we have = (read “n choose k”), where we define n! (read “n
k (n − k)! · k!  
n 1 1
factorial”) by the identity n! = n · (n − 1) · (n − 2) · · · 2 · 1. Prove that lim · k = .
n→∞ k n k!
n ∞
xk x2 x3

x := x x
X
2.) Given that e lim 1 + , “prove” that e = =1+x+ + + · · ·.
n→∞ n k=0
k! 2! 3!
(Hint: Use part (1.) above in combination with the Binomial Theorem, and ignore any error
in the summation that we might accrue in the first n terms.)
dy
3.) Use the limit definition of the derivative in combination with part (2.) to find that = ex .
dx
4.) We do not have to use the limit definition to obtain the derivative of ex ; alternatively, use
dy
term-by-term differentiation of the series to find that = ex .
dx
Proof. (1.) Observe that p(n) = n! is a polynomial of degree n. Likewise, q(n) = (n − k)! is a
polynomial of degree n − k, hence nk · q(n) is a polynomial of degree . We have that
 
n 1 n! 1 p(n)
· k = k
= · k .
k n (n − k)! · k! · n k! n · q(n)

By taking the limit as n approaches infinity, we have that

 
n 1 1 p(n) 1 p(n)
lim · k = lim · k = · lim k .
n→∞ k n n→∞ k! n · q(n) k! n→∞ n · q(n)

p(n)
We note that r(n) = is a rational function such that the degree of the numerator is
nk · q(n)
the degree of the denominator. Using our knowledge of rational functions, it
follows that r(n) has a horizontal asymptote at y = 1 since the leading coefficients
  of the p(n)
n 1 1
and nk · q(n) are both 1, hence lim r(n) = . We conclude that lim · k = .
n→∞ n→∞ k n k!

1
Proof. (2.) Using the Binomial Theorem, we have that
 n X n
x
1+ =
n k=0

n  
X n 1
= · · xk
k=0
k nk

n
X
= · xk for sufficiently large n.
k=0

By taking the limit as n approaches infinity on both sides, we conclude that

n n ∞
xk X xk

x x X
e = lim 1 + = lim = .
n→∞ n n→∞
k=0
k! k=0
k!

Proof. (3.) Using the definition of the derivative, we have that

dy d x
= e = lim
dx dx h→0

∞ ∞
(x + h)k X xk
 X 
1
= lim · −
h→0 h k! k!
k=0 k=0

∞
1 X (x + h)k − xk
 
= lim · (combine the sums)
h→0 h k=0 k!

∞
1 X (x + h)k − xk
 
= lim · (k = 0 gives a zero numerator; start at k = 1)
h→0 h k=1 k!

 ∞ 
1 X
= lim · (expand (x + h)k by Binomial Theorem)
h→0 h k=1 k!

∞
1 X h[kxk−1 + q(h)]
 
= lim · (simplify; write terms with h as polynomial q(h))
h→0 h k=1 k!

∞
X h[kxk−1 + q(h)]
= lim ( h1 is constant w.r.t. k; move it inside sum)
h→0
k=1
h · k!

∞
X kxk−1 + q(h)
= lim (h cancels with h in denominator since h 6= 0)
h→0
k=1
k!

2
 ∞ ∞
X kxk−1 X q(h)
= lim + lim (split up the sums)
h→0
k=1
k! h→0
k=1
k!

∞
X xk−1
= lim + (LHS: cancel k; RHS: bring limit inside)
h→0
k=1
(k − 1)!

∞
X xk
= lim +0 (LHS: reindex the sum, starting from 0; RHS: evaluate the limit)
h→0
k=0
k!

∞
X xk
= (sum is constant w.r.t. h, so limit is itself)
k=0
k!

= ex .
We conclude as desired that the derivative of ex is itself ex .
Proof. (4.) Using the definition of the limit turned out to be quite sloppy; however, we may use
term-by-term differentiation. Recall that the derivative of a sum of differentiable functions is
equal to the . Using this fact, we have that
∞
dy d x d X xk
= e =
dx dx dx k=0 k!

x2 x3
 
d
= 1+x+ + + ··· + + ···
dx 2! 3!

d x2 d x3
     
d d d
= (1) + (x) + + + ··· + + ···
dx dx dx 2 dx 3! dx

x2
=0+1+x+ + ··· + + ···
2!

x2 x3 xk
=1+x+ + + ··· + + + ···
2! 3! k!

∞
X xk
=
k=0
k!

= ex .
We conclude as desired that the derivative of ex is itself ex .