Editing Interest (section)

===In the history of mathematics===
It is thought that [[Jacob Bernoulli]] discovered the mathematical constant ''[[E (mathematical constant)|e]]'' by studying a question about [[compound interest]].<ref name="OConnor">{{cite web|url=http://www.gap-system.org/~history/PrintHT/e.html|title=The number ''e''|publisher=MacTutor History of Mathematics|first1=J J|last1=O'Connor|first2=E F|last2=Robertson|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828163224/http://www.gap-system.org/~history/PrintHT/e.html|archive-date=2008-08-28}}</ref> He realized that if an account that starts with $1.00 and pays say 100% interest per year, at the end of the year, the value is $2.00; but if the interest is computed and added twice in the year, the $1 is multiplied by 1.5 twice, yielding $1.00&times;1.5<sup>2</sup>&nbsp;=&nbsp;$2.25.

Bernoulli noticed that if the frequency of compounding is increased without limit, this sequence can be modeled as follows:

: <math>\lim_{n \rightarrow \infty} \left( 1 + \dfrac{1}{n} \right)^n = e,</math>

where ''n'' is the number of times the interest is to be compounded in a year.