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Isnit irrational to celebrate a number today?
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nLiken“Pi Day” (March 14), “e Day” celebrates one of the mostnfamous and useful irrational numbers. “Irrational” means “notnrational,” and in math it refers to numbers that cannot benexpressed as simple fractions, or ratios. n
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nThenirrational number enstartsnout 2.7182818284590452353602874713527…butnit goes on and on without stopping or repeating a pattern. Becausenthe first two numbers are 2 and 7, we celebrate enon 2/7, or February 7.
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Inbet you’re wondering how on earth such a cumbersome number can benfamous and useful! Well, this number is the base of the naturalnlogarithms, and it is also used in compounding interest, which is hownyour bank account or other investment can increase. More money =nuseful!
Inbet you’re wondering how on earth such a cumbersome number can benfamous and useful! Well, this number is the base of the naturalnlogarithms, and it is also used in compounding interest, which is hownyour bank account or other investment can increase. More money =nuseful!n
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Thenconstant enalsonshows up in such places as graphs of growth or decay, the statisticalnbell curve, and the shape of a hanging cable or a standing arch.
Thenconstant enalsonshows up in such places as graphs of growth or decay, the statisticalnbell curve, and the shape of a hanging cable or a standing arch.n
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n(Bynthe way, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which the basenmust be raised to produce that number. Logarithms are useful innscience, engineering, calculus, and computer science.)
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nFornmore about this irrational number, check out Math Is Fun.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nGrenada’s Independence Day
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AuthornCharles Dickens’s birthday
AuthornCharles Dickens’s birthdayn
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nAnniversarynof a river flowing uphill
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AuthornLaura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday
AuthornLaura Ingalls Wilder’s birthdayn
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