Mathematic

Wahyuni, S.Si., M.Sc.

Exponentials and
logarithms
We will talk about
Logarithms first.
 Logarithms
In scientific applications it is common to compare numbers of greatly
varying magnitude. Direct comparison of these numbers can be
difficult. Comparison by order of magnitude using logs is much more
effective.
Time scales can vary from fractions of a second to billions of years.
You might want to compare masses that vary from the mass of an
electron to that of a star.
The common or base-10 logarithm of a number is the
power to which 10 must be raised to give the
number.
Since 100 = 102, the logarithm of 100 is equal to 2.
This is written as:
Log(100) = 2.
1,000,000 = 106 (one million),
and Log (1,000,000) = 6.
Antilogs?
● The operation that is the logical reverse of taking a
logarithm is called taking the antilogarithm of a
number. The antilog of a number is the result
obtained when you raise 10 to that number.
● The antilog of 2 is 100 because 102=100.
● The antilog of -4 is 0.0001 because 10-4 = 0.0001
The two statements: 16 = 24 and log2 16 = 4 are equivalent.

If we write either of them, we are automatically implying

the other.
In general, if a number y can be written in the form ax , then the
index x is called the ‘logarithmof y to the base of a’,
i.e. if
y = ax then x = loga y
Or
y = loga x and a = x
y

In another example, if we write down that 64 = 82 then

the equivalent statement using logarithms is: log8 64 = 2
Taking a log and raising to a power are inverse operations.
We have that:
y = loga x  ay = x
So:
𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒙 =𝒙 Also: y = loga ay
For example:
𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟕 𝟐 log3 36 = 6
𝟕 =𝟐 and
When studying indices we found the following important results:
a1 = a
This can be written in logarithmic form as:
loga a = 1

a0 = 1
This can be written in logarithmic form as:
loga 1 = 0

It is important to remember these results when manipulating logarithms.

 The laws of logarithms
The multiplication law
Let: m = loga x and n = loga y
So: x = am and y = an
 xy = am × an
Using the multiplication law for indices:
xy = am + n
Writing this in log form gives:
m + n = loga xy
But m = loga x and n = loga y so:
loga x + loga y = loga (xy)
The division law The laws of logarithms
Let: m = loga x and n = loga y
So: x = am and y = an
x am
= n
y a
Using the division law for indices: x = a m  n
y
Writing this in log form gives: m  n  loga x
y
x
But m = loga x and n = loga y so: loga x  loga y  loga
y
The power law The laws of logarithms
Let: m = loga x
So: x = am  xn =(am)n

Using the power law for indices: xn =amn

Writing this in log form gives: mn = loga xn

But m = loga x so:

n loga x = loga xn
Example
Express 2loga 3 + loga 2 – 2loga 6 as a single logarithm.

2loga 3 + loga 2  2loga 6 = loga 32 + loga 2  loga 62

= loga 9 + loga 2  loga 36

 9×2 
= loga  
 36 
1
= loga 2
Example

Example: 1
2
a b 2

Express log10 in terms of log10 a, log10 b and log10 c.

c4
1
2
Logarithms to the log10
a b 2
1
= log10 a b  log10 c 4
2 2

base 10 are usually c4 1

= log10 a + log10 b  log10 c 4
2 2

written as log or lg.

= 2log10 a + 21 log10 b  4log10 c

We can therefore write this expression as:

2log a + 21 log b  4log c
 We will talk about
Exponential functions Second.
Exponential functions
So far in this course we have looked at many functions involving terms in xn.
In an exponential function, however, the variable is in the index.
For example:
y = 2x y = 5x y = 0.1x y = 3–x y = 7x+1
The general form of an exponential function to the base a is:

y = ax where a > 0 and a ≠1.

You have probably heard of exponential increase and decrease or exponential
growth and decay.
A quantity that changes exponentially either increases or decreases increasingly
rapidly as time goes on.
When a > 1 the graph of y = ax When 0 < a < 1 the graph of
has the following shape: y = ax has the following shape:
y y

1 1 (1, a)
(1, a)
x x

In both cases the graph passes through (0, 1) and (1, a).
This is because: 0 1
a =1 and a =a
for all a > 0.
 Logarithms to the base 10 and to the base e
Although the base of a logarithm can be any positive number, there are only two
bases that are commonly used.
e approximately 2.718.
These are: Logarithms to the base 10 The functions y = ex
and y = ln x
Logarithms to the base e
Logarithms to the base 10 are useful because our number system is based on powers
of 10.
They can be found by using the log key on a calculator
Logarithms to the base e are called napierian or natural logarithms and have many
applications in maths and science.

They can be found by using the ln key on a calculator

Changing the base of a logarithm
Suppose we wish to calculate the value of log5 8.
We can’t calculate this directly using a calculator because it only find logs to the base 10
or the base e.
We can change the base of the logarithm as follows:
Let x = log5 8
So: 5x = 8
Taking the log to the base 10 of both sides:
log 5x = log 8
x log 5 = log 8
log 8 log 8
x= So: log5 8 = = 1.29
log 5 log 5
Changing the base of a logarithm
If we had used log to the base e instead we would have had:
ln 8
log5 8 = = 1.29
ln 5
In general, to find loga b:
Let x = loga b, so we can write ax = b
Taking the log to the base c of both sides gives:
logc ax = logc b
xlogc a = logc b
logc b
x= logc b
logc a So: loga b =
logc a
Example Solving equations involving logarithms
We can use the laws of logarithms to solve equations.
For example:
Solve log5 x + 2 = log5 10
To solve this equation we have to write the constant value 2 in
logarithmic form: 2 = 2 log 5 because log 5 = 1
5 5
= log5 52
= log5 25
The equation can now be written as: log5 x + log5 25 = log5 10
log5 25x = log5 10
25x = 10
x = 0.4
Solving equations of the form ax = b
We can use logarithms to solve equations of the form ax = b.
For example:

Find x to 3 significant figures if 52x = 30.

We can solve this by taking logs of both sides:
log 52x = log 30
2x log 5 = log 30
log 30
2x =
log 5
log 30
x=
2log 5
Using a calculator:
x = 1.06 (to 3 sig. figs.)
 Thank you!
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