Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / ia / Paper 1 / 3F / b / Solution

For $x$ sufficiently close to zero, $1+x>0$. Apply the mean value theorem to the logarithm between $1$ and $1+x$: there is a point ${\xi }_x$ between these endpoints withAs $x\to 0$ from either side, ${\xi }_x\to 1$, so this quotient tends to $1$. The exponential function is continuous, and thereforeThe hypotheses of the mean value theorem hold because $\log t$ is continuous and differentiable for $t>0$, with derivative $1/t$.