Which is bigger, or ?
is bigger: = 387420489 and = 5832.
How to work it out
- 1
Compute both exactly: = 387420489 and = 5832.
- 2
So is bigger.
- 3
The reason: taking logs, against is the same as against . The function rises until and falls afterwards. Both 3 and 18 are past e, where the function is decreasing, so the larger exponent loses and > .
LaTeX source of the formulas on this page
\[ 3^{18} = 387420489\ >\ 18^{3} = 5832 \]
\[ \frac{\ln 3}{3}\ >\ \frac{\ln 18}{18} \]Questions
Which is bigger, or ?
is bigger: = 387420489 and = 5832.