Intermediate Value Theorem: locating a root
Problem 1.679 · medium
Show that \( \displaystyle x + e^{x} - 3 = 0 \) has a solution in \( \displaystyle [0, 1] \), then use two steps of bisection to find an interval of length \( \displaystyle \tfrac14 \) containing it.
- f is continuous on [0, 1] (it is built from continuous functions), so the IVT applies.Reviewed
- \[ \left. x + e^{x} - 3 \right|_{\substack{ x=0 }} = -2 \]f(0).✓ Proved
- \[ \left. x + e^{x} - 3 \right|_{\substack{ x=1 }} = -2 + e \]f(1): the opposite sign, so a root lies between.✓ Proved
- \[ \left. x + e^{x} - 3 \right|_{\substack{ x=1 \cdot \frac{1}{2} }} = - \frac{5}{2} + e^{\frac{1}{2}} \]f(1/2) ≈ -0.8513.✓ Proved
- \[ \left. x + e^{x} - 3 \right|_{\substack{ x=\frac{3}{4} }} = - \frac{9}{4} + e^{\frac{3}{4}} \]f(3/4) ≈ -0.1330.✓ Proved
- The sign changes on [3/4, 1], so a root lies there.Reviewed
Answer \( \left[\frac{3}{4}, 1\right] \)
Lines: 4 proved, 2 reviewed. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt. How we verify
The full receipt
| Line | Status | Checked by | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reviewed | reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx | a sentence; read, not computed |
| 2 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 3 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 4 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 5 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 6 | Reviewed | reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx | a sentence; read, not computed |
| answer, a second way | ✓ Checked independently | sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0 | mpmath's bisection finds the root inside the claimed interval |
Reviewers
gpt-oss:20b: passqwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass — The solution correctly applies the Intermediate Value Theorem and performs two steps of bisection to isolate the root in the interval [3/4, 1]. The logic and calculations are sound.
Every verdict on record (6)
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-18 — The solution correctly applies the Intermediate Value Theorem and performs two steps of bisection to isolate the root in the interval [3/4, 1]. The logic and calculations are sound.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-18qwen3.6:27b-mlx: inconclusive 2026-10-16 — reviewer returned a non-objectgpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-16qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-15 — The solution correctly applies the Intermediate Value Theorem and performs two steps of bisection to isolate the root in the interval [3/4, 1].gpt-oss:20b: fail (style) 2026-10-15 — The solution skips the first bisection step (midpoint 0.5) and does not explicitly state that f(1)>0, so the reasoning is incomplete and could mislead a student about the proper application of the bisection method.
Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate
method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence,
not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by
generator:structured/ivt_root, checked 2026-10-18 with SymPy 1.14.0.