EXPONENTIAL AND

LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS

JAN NOEL B. LUMOTAN

Marcos National High School – Agunit Campus
SHS Teacher II
 Outline of Presentation

A. Inverse Functions
 Representing inverse function
 Domain, Range and Graphs
B. Exponential Functions
 Exponential Functions, Equations and Inequalities
 Characteristics
 Solving Problems
C. Logarithmic Functions
 Logarithmic Functions, Equations and Inequalities
 Characteristics
 Solving Problems
 Inverse Functions

Some Definitions:
1. One-to-one functions
A function is one-to-one if every number in its range corresponds to exactly one number in its
domain, i.e,  in the domain of f, if then

2. Test for one-to-one function: Horizontal line test

If a horizontal line meets the graph of a function in only one point, the function
represented by the graph is a one-one function.

3. Inverse of a function
If f is a one-to-one function, then the inverse of f denoted by is the function formed by
reversing all the ordered pairs in f.
Thus, the domain of f is the range of and the range of f is the domain of
By a flowchart, the inverse looks this way:
Some Examples:

Find the inverse of each function, if it exists:

1. f(x) = + x – 1
Soln: Check whether f is one-to-one.
 The function is a quadratic function, its graph is a parabola
which opens up. Thus by the horizontal line test, it is not one-
to-one, hence, its inverse does not exist.

2. f(x) = { (2,3), (3,4), (4,5), (5,6)}

Soln:
3. f(x) = - 2

Soln : :x= -2
-2= -2 x+2=
= =y
 =
 f(x) is 1-1
Determining the inverse of a function, if it exists:

1. Determine if f is one-to-one.
2. In the equation for f(x), replace f(x) by y.
3. Interchange x and y and solve for y.
4. Replace y by (x) in the new equation
5. Verify results, i.e. f((f(x)) = x, x in the domain of and f, respectively.
The graph of inverse functions:

Example:
Some Applications:
1. Let f(A) = , where f(A) is the number of gallons of paint and A is the area
to be painted in square meter. Interpret and evaluate f(100) and
2. Find a formula for the inverse function of the volume (V) of a sphere of
radius r, giving r as a function of V.
3. You and your friend are playing a number guessing game. You asked your
friend to think of a positive number, square the number, multiply the result
by 2, then add 3. her final answer is 53. Decode her original number using
the inverse concept.
4. Given that the formula to convert F to Celsius is
Derive the formula to convert C back to F.
 Exponential Functions

Some Definitions

The exponential function f with base a is denoted by f(x) = , where a > 0, a  1, x

∈ R.

An exponential equation is an equation containing exponential expressions.

Example: = 25

An exponential inequality is a mathematical statement that relates an

exponential expression as either less than or greater than another.
Steps in Solving Exponential Equations:
1. Separate the exponential expression.
2. Rewrite both sides either with the same base or with the same exponent.
3. Solve for the variable.

Example: = 25
=
2x + 1 = 2 2x = 1
x = 1/2
Solutions of Exponential Inequality

1. Write the inequality in standard form, i.e, one side is zero while the other is an
exponential expression.
2. Find the critical values.
3. Apply the table of signs test.
Example: (-, 4) (4, )
i) TP 0 5
ii) - +

x = 4 (CP) SS = { x  x 4 }
 The graph of an exponential function:

Graph the following functions: f(x) = ; f(x) = ; f(x) =

X -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
f(x) = 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 2 4 8

x -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
f(x) = 1/27 1/9 1/3 1 3 9 27

x -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
f(x)= 1/1000 1/100 1/10 1 10 100 1000
Characteristics of Exponential Functions

 If 0<a<1, as the value of x increases, the value of y decreases.

 f(1) = a
 If a > 1, as the value of x increases, the value of y also decreases.
Some Applications:

A. Exponential Growth
y = k, where a>1, a = 1 + r,
r – the rate of increase
k – original amount.

Population growth

 The growth of an investment under compound interest

B. Exponential Decay
y = k, where 0 < a < 1, a = 1 - r, r – the rate of decrease.

The mass xof a radioactive substance decreases

f(g(x))
exponentially with time.
 The temperature of a cup of coffee decreases
exponentially as it approaches room
temperature.

C. Continuous Growth
y = k, where , e 2.72
 Some applications
1. Suppose P10,000.00 is invested at 8.2% for 5 years. Find the account balance if it is compounded annually,
quarterly, monthly, and daily.

2. A certain material has a half life of 25 years, and there are grams
remaining after t years. Find the the amount left after 80 years.

3. If you had P55,000.00 to invest for 4 years with the goal of greatest return on your investment, would you
rather invest in an account paying
(a) 7.2% compounded annually;
(b) 7.15% compounded semi-annually or
(c) 7.1% compounded quarterly?

4. A certain radioactive substance has a half-life of 1200 years. If a sample of the substance
is 1000 grams, how much of the substance will be left in 10,000 years?

5. The half-life of uranium-235 is approximately 710,000,000 years. Of a 10-gram sample,

how much will remain after 2000 years?
Logarithmic Functions
Using the above definition:
Example:
Examples:

Solve for x in each expression:

1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
Graphing Logarithmic Functions
Characteristics of Logarithmic Functions
Change - of – Base Formula
 Application

A. Human Memory Model

Students participating in a Psychology experiment attended several lectures on a
subject and were given an examination.
Every month for a year after the exam, the students were retested to see how
much of the material they remembered.
The average scores for the group are given by the human memory model f(t) = 75
– 6 ln (t + 1), 0  t  12, where t in months.
a. What was the average score on the original exam?
b. What was the average score at the end of 2 months?
c. What was the average score at the end of 6 months?