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MATH 115: Lecture XX Notes

The document discusses logarithmic functions and their properties. It defines logarithms as the inverse functions of exponential functions. The three main points are: 1) Logarithmic functions have domains of positive real numbers and ranges of all real numbers. They are continuous and either increasing or decreasing depending on the base. 2) Logarithms follow laws like logarithm addition being equal to multiplication of the terms and logarithm subtraction being equal to division. 3) Exponential and logarithmic functions are inverses of each other, so composing them results in the original input.

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Dylan C. Beck
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59 views

MATH 115: Lecture XX Notes

The document discusses logarithmic functions and their properties. It defines logarithms as the inverse functions of exponential functions. The three main points are: 1) Logarithmic functions have domains of positive real numbers and ranges of all real numbers. They are continuous and either increasing or decreasing depending on the base. 2) Logarithms follow laws like logarithm addition being equal to multiplication of the terms and logarithm subtraction being equal to division. 3) Exponential and logarithmic functions are inverses of each other, so composing them results in the original input.

Uploaded by

Dylan C. Beck
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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5.

2 Logarithmic Functions and Graphs


We are already familiar with the notion of exponential equations of the form by = x for some
positive real number b �= 1. Of course, we can write x = f (y) as the exponential function of y
given above. Considering that f (y) is a continuous and increasing (or decreasing) function, we
can find the inverse of f (y). We call this inverse function the logarithm of x to the base b.

Logarithm of x to the Base b. Given an exponential function f (y) = by = x, we have that


f −1 (x) = logb x = y is the unique inverse function called the logarithm of x to the base b. We note
that y can be interpreted as the power to which the base b must be raised to obtain x.

Often, we distinguish between the two most natural bases for logarithms, and we abbreviate
log10 x = log x (read “log of x”) and loge x = ln x (read “lawn of x” or “natural log of x”); how-
ever, sometimes, we use log x and ln x interchangeably. Context is therefore important to aid us
in distinguishing between these two common logarithms. Like with exponents, computations in-
volving logarithms are facilitated by the following familiar logarithm laws.

Laws of Logarithms. Let b �= 1 be a positive real number. Let m and n be any two positive
real numbers.

1.) Logarithm addition with like bases is equal to multiplication of the numbers inside the loga-
rithm, i.e., logb m + logb n = logb mn.

2.) Logarithm subtraction with like bases is equal to division of the numbers inside the loga-
rithm, i.e., logb m − logb n = logb m
n
.

3.) Constant multiplication by a real number n of the logarithm of a number is equal to the
logarithm of the nth power of the number, i.e., n · logb m = logb mn .

4.) The logarithm of 1 to the base b is zero, i.e., logb 1 = 0.

5.) The logarithm of b to the base b is one, i.e., logb b = 1.

Like we mentioned earlier, the logarithm of x to the base b is the unique inverse function of the
exponential function f (y) = by = x. Using the properties of inverses of functions, we have the
following properties of the logarithmic function f (x) = logb x.

Properties of Logarithmic Functions. Given an arbitrary logarithmic function f (x) = logb x


(b > 0 and b �= 1) with domain Df and range Rf , we have the following properties.

1.) Df is all positive real numbers, i.e., Df = (0, ∞).

2.) Rf is all real numbers, i.e., Rf = R.

3.) We have that x-intercept (1, 0) of f (x).

4.) We have that f (x) is continuous on (0, ∞).

5.) We have that f (x) is increasing when b > 1, and f (x) is decreasing when 0 < b < 1.

Compare and contrast the properties of f (x) = logb x and f (x) = bx .

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Graphing Logarithmic Functions. Sketch the graph of the logarithmic function f (y) = log2 y.

Solution. Observe that f (y) = log2 y = x has the inverse function f −1 (x) = 2x — an exponential
function. We have previously graphed the latter function, hence it suffices to mirror all points of
f −1 (x) across the line y = x to obtain the graph of f (y). �

Graphing Logarithmic Functions. Sketch the graph of the logarithmic function g(y) = log1/2 y.

Solution. Observe that g(y) = log1/2 y = x has the inverse function g −1 (x) = 2−x — an exponen-
tial function. We have previously graphed the latter function, hence it suffices to mirror all points
of g −1 (x) across the line y = x to obtain the graph of g(y). �
We have already exploited the fact that the function f (x) = logb x and g(x) = bx are inverse
functions, but let us now formalize this idea in a convenient way.

Properties Relating ex and ln x. Given any logarithmic function f (x) = logb x and its corre-
sponding exponential function g(x) = bx , we have that

1.) (f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x)) = logb bx = x for any x ∈ R and

2.) (g ◦ f )(x) = g(f (x)) = blogb x = x for any x > 0.

In particular, given that f (x) = ln x and g(x) = ex , we have that

3.) (f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x)) = ln ex = x for any x ∈ R and

4.) (g ◦ f )(x) = g(f (x)) = eln x = x for any x > 0.

5.3 Differentiation of Exponential Functions


Like we mentioned earlier, exponential functions have many very nice characteristics that are
readily observed — especially the exponential with base e. One of the most miraculous and in-
teresting properties of the exponential function f (x) = ex is that it is equal to its derivative.

Derivative of the Exponential Function. Given that f (x) = ex , we have that f � (x) = ex .

Proof. We naı̈vely attempt to use the limit definition of the derivative. We have that

f (x + h) − f (x) ex+h − ex
f � (x) = lim = lim
h→0 h h→0 h

ex (eh − 1)
= lim
h→0 h

eh − 1
= lim ex · lim .
h→0 h→0 h
Certainly, it follows that the limit on the left-hand side of the product is simply ex ; however, we
claim that the limit on the right-hand side of the product is 1. Unfortunately, this is unclear. Us-
ing a table of values, it appears that this result holds, so we conclude the proof here.

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