OK, here goes.
Exercise: Show that [tex]\[\frac{n}{{\sqrt[n]{{n!}}}} < \left( {1 + \frac{1}{n}} \right)^n \][/tex] for all natural numbers n.
Solution: We use without proof the following inequalities:
[tex](1 + \frac{1}{k})^k \leq e \leq (1 + \frac{1}{k})^{k + 1} \right {(*)}[/tex]
(where e is Euler's number) for all natural numbers k. A proof may be found in many calculus and real analysis books. (I couldn't find a good online reference for these inequalities. Does anyone know of one?)
For k = 1, 2, ..., n - 1, multiply together the inequalities on the left side of (*):[tex]\prod_{k=1}^{n-1}(1 + \frac{1}{k})^{k} \leq e^{n -1}[/tex]The left side of this inequality equals [tex]\frac{n^n}{n!}[/tex] (To see this, rewrite [tex](1 + \frac{1}{k})[/tex] as
[tex]\frac{k + 1}{k}[/tex], simplify the product to [tex]\[\frac{n^{n-1}}{(n-1)!}[/tex] and multiply by [tex]\frac{n}{n})[/tex].
Therefore[tex]\frac{n^n}{n!} \leq e^{n-1}[/tex]or,[tex]\[\frac{n}{{\sqrt[n]{{n!}}}} \leq e^{\frac{n-1}{n}} = e^{1-\frac{1}{n}}[/tex]Now, in (*), raise the right inequality to the power [tex]1 - \frac{1}{n}:[/tex][tex]e^{1-\frac{1}{n}} \leq (1 + \frac{1}{n})^{(n+1)(1-\frac{1}{n})} = (1 + \frac{1}{n})^{n-\frac{1}{n}}[/tex], which is strictly less than [tex](1 + <br />
<br />
\frac{1}{n})^{n}[/tex].
Therefore, [tex]\[\frac{n}{{\sqrt[n]{{n!}}}} \leq e^{1-\frac{1}{n}} < (1 + \frac{1}{n})^{n}[/tex], as required.