Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Exponential Functions
Exponential functions are mathematical expressions of the form f(x) = a^x, where 'a' is a constant base and 'x' is the exponent. These functions grow rapidly as 'x' increases, and their growth rate is determined by the base. In this case, e^x and 3^x are both exponential functions, with 'e' being approximately 2.718 and '3' being the base of the second function.
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Growth Rate Comparison
To compare the growth rates of two functions, we often analyze their limits as x approaches infinity. If one function grows significantly faster than the other, we can conclude that it dominates in terms of growth. In this scenario, we will evaluate the limit of the ratio of e^x to 3^x as x approaches infinity to determine which function grows faster.
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L'Hôpital's Rule
L'Hôpital's Rule is a method used to evaluate limits of indeterminate forms, such as 0/0 or ∞/∞. It states that if the limit of f(x)/g(x) results in an indeterminate form, we can take the derivative of the numerator and the denominator separately and then re-evaluate the limit. This rule can be applied to the functions e^x and 3^x to analyze their growth rates effectively.
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