Recognising a limit as a derivative
Problem 2.1555 · medium
The limit \( \displaystyle \lim_{h\to 0} \frac{\ln{\left(h + e \right)} - 1}{h} \) is the derivative of some function \( \displaystyle f \) at some number \( \displaystyle a \). Find \( \displaystyle f \) and \( \displaystyle a \), and evaluate the limit.
- The limit has the shape [f(a + h) − f(a)]/h with f(x) = log(x) and a = E.
- \[ \left. \ln{\left(x \right)} \right|_{\substack{ x=e }} = 1 \]This is the term being subtracted, f(a).✓ Proved
- \[ \frac{d}{d x} \ln{\left(x \right)} = \frac{1}{x} \]So the limit is f′(a).✓ Proved
- \[ \left. \frac{1}{x} \right|_{\substack{ x=e }} = e^{-1} \]Evaluate at a.✓ Proved
Answer \( f(x) = \ln{\left(x \right)},\ a = e;\ \text{the limit is } f'(e) = e^{-1} \)
Lines: 3 proved, 1 not checked. 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.
The full receipt
| Line | Status | Checked by | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not checked | — | 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 |
| answer, a second way | ✓ Checked independently | sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0 | SymPy takes the limit in h directly, without recognising a derivative |
Reviewers
gpt-oss:20b: passqwen3.6:27b-mlx: inconclusive — reviewer response could not be parsed: { "verdict": "fail", "severity": "error", "notes": "The solution incorrectly identifies the function as f(x) = ln(x) and a = e. The term ln(h + e) corresponds to f(a + h) where f(x) = ln(x) and a = e,
Every verdict on record (4)
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: inconclusive 2026-10-04 — reviewer response could not be parsed: { "verdict": "fail", "severity": "error", "notes": "The solution incorrectly identifies the function as f(x) = ln(x) and a = e. The term ln(h + e) corresponds to f(a + h) where f(x) = ln(x) and a = e,gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-04qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (style) 2026-10-04 — The solution uses 'E' and 'log' instead of the standard mathematical constants and functions 'e' and 'ln' used in the problem statement, which is confusing and non-standard notation.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-04
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/limit_as_derivative, checked 2026-10-04 with SymPy 1.14.0.