3

Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

 Exponential Functions

 Logarithmic Functions

 Exponential Functions as
Mathematical Models
3.1
Exponential Functions

y
4
f(x) = 2x

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2
 Exponential Function

 The function defined by

f ( x)  b x (b  0, b  1)
is called an exponential function with base b
and exponent x.
 The domain of f is the set of all real numbers.
 Example

 The exponential function with base 2 is the function

f ( x)  2 x
with domain (– , ).
 The values of f(x) for selected values of x follow:

f (3)  23  8

 3
f    23/2  2  21/2  2 2
2

f (0)  20  1
 Example

 The exponential function with base 2 is the function

f ( x)  2 x
with domain (– , ).
 The values of f(x) for selected values of x follow:

1 1
f ( 1)  2 
2

 2 2/3 1 1
f     2  2/3  3
 3 2 4
 Laws of Exponents

 Let a and b be positive numbers and let x

and y be real numbers. Then,
1. b x  b y  b x  y
x
b
2. y  b x  y
b
b 
y
3. x
 b xy

 ab   a xb x
x
4.
x
 a ax
5.    x
b b
 Examples
2x – 1
 Let f(x) = 2 . Find the value of x for which f(x) = 16.
Solution
 We want to solve the equation
22x – 1 = 16 = 24
 But this equation holds if and only if
2x – 1 = 4
5
giving x = .
2
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 First, recall that the domain of this function is the set of
real numbers.
 Next, putting x = 0 gives y = 20 = 1, which is the y-intercept.
(There is no x-intercept, since there is no value of x for
which y = 0)
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 Now, consider a few values for x:

x –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
y 1/32 1/16 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 2 4 8 16 32

 Note that 2x approaches zero as x decreases without bound:

✦ There is a horizontal asymptote at y = 0.
 Furthermore, 2x increases without bound when x increases
without bound.
 Thus, the range of f is the interval (0, ).
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 Finally, sketch the graph:

y
4
f(x) = 2x

x
–2 2
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 First, recall again that the domain of this function is the
set of real numbers.
 Next, putting x = 0 gives y = (1/2)0 = 1, which is the
y-intercept.
(There is no x-intercept, since there is no value of x for
which y = 0)
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Now, consider a few values for x:

x –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
y 32 16 8 4 2 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32

 Note that (1/2)x increases without bound when x decreases

without bound.
 Furthermore, (1/2)x approaches zero as x increases without
bound: there is a horizontal asymptote at y = 0.
 As before, the range of f is the interval (0, ).
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Finally, sketch the graph:

y
4

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Note the symmetry between the two functions:

y
4
f(x) = 2x

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2
 Properties of Exponential Functions

 The exponential function y = bx (b > 0, b ≠ 1) has

the following properties:
1. Its domain is (– , ).
2. Its range is (0, ).
3. Its graph passes through the point (0, 1)
4. It is continuous on (– , ).
5. It is increasing on (– , ) if b > 1 and
decreasing on (– , ) if b < 1.
 The Base e

 Exponential functions to the base e, where e is an

irrational number whose value is 2.7182818…, play an
important role in both theoretical and applied problems.
 It can be shown that
m
 1 
e  lim  1  
m 
 m
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = ex.
Solution
 Since ex > 0 it follows that the graph of y = ex is similar to the
graph of y = 2x.
 Consider a few values for x:

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y 0.05 0.14 0.37 1 2.72 7.39 20.09
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = ex.
Solution
 Sketching the graph:

y
5 f(x) = ex

x
–3 –1 1 3
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = e–x.
Solution
 Since e–x > 0 it follows that 0 < 1/e < 1 and so
f(x) = e–x = 1/ex = (1/e)x is an exponential function with
base less than 1.
 Therefore, it has a graph similar to that of y = (1/2)x.
 Consider a few values for x:

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y 20.09 7.39 2.72 1 0.37 0.14 0.05
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = e–x.
Solution
 Sketching the graph:

y
5

1
f(x) = e–x
x
–3 –1 1 3
3.2
Logarithmic Functions

y y = ex y=x

y = ln x

1
x
1
 Logarithms

 We’ve discussed exponential equations of the form

y = bx (b > 0, b ≠ 1)
 But what about solving the same equation for y?
 You may recall that y is called the logarithm of x to the
base b, and is denoted logbx.

✦ Logarithm of x to the base b

y = logbx if and only if x = by (x > 0)
 Examples
 Solve log3x = 4 for x:
Solution
 By definition, log3x = 4 implies x = 34 = 81.
 Examples
 Solve log164 = x for x:
Solution
 log164 = x is equivalent to 4 = 16x = (42)x = 42x, or 41 = 42x,
from which we deduce that
2x  1
1
x
2
 Examples
 Solve logx8 = 3 for x:
Solution
 By definition, we see that logx8 = 3 is equivalent to

8  23  x 3
x2
 Logarithmic Notation

log x = log10 x Common logarithm

ln x = loge x Natural logarithm
 Laws of Logarithms

 If m and n are positive numbers, then

1. logb mn  logb m  logb n
m
2. logb  logb m  logb n
n
3. logb mn  n logb m

4. logb 1  0

5. logb b  1
 Examples

 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,

use the laws of logarithms to find
log15  log 3  5
 log 3  log 5
 0.4771  0.6990
 1.1761
 Examples

 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,

use the laws of logarithms to find
log 7.5  log(15 / 2)
 log(3  5 / 2)
 log 3  log 5  log 2
 0.4771  0.6990  0.3010
 0.8751
 Examples

 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,

use the laws of logarithms to find
log 81  log 34
 4 log 3
 4(0.4771)
 1.9084
 Examples

 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,

use the laws of logarithms to find
log 50  log 5  10
 log 5  log10
 0.6990  1
 1.6990
 Examples

 Expand and simplify the expression:

log3 x 2 y 3  log 3 x 2  log 3 y 3

 2 log 3 x  3log 3 y
 Examples

 Expand and simplify the expression:

x2  1
log 2 x  log 2  x 2  1  log 2 2 x
2
 log 2  x 2  1  x log 2 2
 log 2  x 2  1  x
 Examples

 Expand and simplify the expression:

x2 x2  1 x 2 ( x 2  1)1/2
ln x
 ln
e ex
 ln x 2  ln( x 2  1)1/2  ln e x
1
 2 ln x  ln( x 2  1)  x ln e
2
1
 2 ln x  ln( x 2  1)  x
2
 Examples
 Use the properties of logarithms to solve the equation for x:

log3 ( x  1)  log3 ( x  1)  1
x 1
log3 1 Law 2
x 1
x 1 1
3 3 Definition of
x 1 logarithms

x  1  3( x  1)

x  1  3x  3

4  2x
x2
 Examples
 Use the properties of logarithms to solve the equation for x:

log x  log(2 x  1)  log 6

log x  log(2 x  1)  log 6  0
x (2 x  1)
log 0 Laws 1 and 2
6
x(2 x  1)
 100  1 Definition of
logarithms
6
x (2 x  1)  6
2 x2  x  6  0
(2 x  3)( x  2)  0 3
x is out of
x2 2
the domain of log x,
so it is discarded.
 Logarithmic Function

 The function defined by

f ( x)  logb x (b  0, b  1)
is called the logarithmic function with base b.
 The domain of f is the set of all positive numbers.
 Properties of Logarithmic Functions

 The logarithmic function

y = logbx (b > 0, b ≠ 1)
has the following properties:
1. Its domain is (0, ).
2. Its range is (– , ).
3. Its graph passes through the point (1, 0).
4. It is continuous on (0, ).
5. It is increasing on (0, ) if b > 1
and decreasing on (0, ) if b < 1.
 Example
 Sketch the graph of the function y = ln x.
Solution
 We first sketch the graph of y = ex.
 The required graph is
the mirror image of the y y=x
x y = ex
graph of y = e with
respect to the line y = x:

y = ln x

1
x
1
 Properties Relating
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

 Properties relating ex and ln x:

eln x = x (x > 0)
ln ex = x (for any real number x)
 Examples
 Solve the equation 2ex + 2 = 5.
Solution
 Divide both sides of the equation by 2 to obtain:
5
e x 2   2.5
2
 Take the natural logarithm of each side of the equation
and solve:
ln e x 2  ln 2.5
( x  2) ln e  ln 2.5
x  2  ln 2.5
x  2  ln 2.5
x  1.08
 Examples
 Solve the equation 5 ln x + 3 = 0.
Solution
 Add – 3 to both sides of the equation and then divide both
sides of the equation by 5 to obtain:
5ln x  3
3
ln x    0.6
5
and so:

eln x  e 0.6
x  e 0.6
x  0.55
3.3
Exponential Functions as Mathematical Models

1. Growth of bacteria
2. Radioactive decay
3. Assembly time
 Applied Example: Growth of Bacteria

 In a laboratory, the number of bacteria in a culture grows

according to
Q(t )  Q0ekt
where Q0 denotes the number of bacteria initially present
in the culture, k is a constant determined by the strain of
bacteria under consideration, and t is the elapsed time
measured in hours.
 Suppose 10,000 bacteria are present initially in the culture
and 60,000 present two hours later.
 How many bacteria will there be in the culture at the end
of four hours?
 Applied Example: Growth of Bacteria
Solution
 We are given that Q(0) = Q0 = 10,000, so Q(t) = 10,000ekt.
 At t = 2 there are 60,000 bacteria, so Q(2) = 60,000, thus:
Q (t )  Q0e kt
60,000  10,000e 2 k
e2 k  6
 Taking the natural logarithm on both sides we get:
ln e 2 k  ln 6
2k  ln 6
k  0.8959
 So, the number of bacteria present at any time t is given by:
Q(t )  10,000e0.8959t
 Applied Example: Growth of Bacteria
Solution
 At the end of four hours (t = 4), there will be
Q (4)  10,000e0.8959(4)
 360,029
or 360,029 bacteria.
 Applied Example: Radioactive Decay
 Radioactive substances decay exponentially.
 For example, the amount of radium present at any time t
obeys the law
Q(t )  Q0e kt (0  t  )
where Q0 is the initial amount present and k is a suitable
positive constant.
 The half-life of a radioactive substance is the time
required for a given amount to be reduced by one-half.
 The half-life of radium is approximately 1600 years.
 Suppose initially there are 200 milligrams of pure radium.
a. Find the amount left after t years.
b. What is the amount after 800 years?
 Applied Example: Radioactive Decay
Solution
a. Find the amount left after t years.
The initial amount is 200 milligrams, so Q(0) = Q0 = 200, so
Q(t) = 200e–kt
The half-life of radium is 1600 years, so Q(1600) = 100, thus

100  200e 1600 k

1
e 1600 k 
2
 Applied Example: Radioactive Decay
Solution
a. Find the amount left after t years.
Taking the natural logarithm on both sides yields:
1
ln e 1600 k  ln
2
1
1600k ln e  ln
2
1
1600k  ln
2
1 1
k ln  0.0004332
1600 2
Therefore, the amount of radium left after t years is:
Q(t )  200e0.0004332t
 Applied Example: Radioactive Decay
Solution
b. What is the amount after 800 years?
In particular, the amount of radium left after 800 years is:

Q (800)  200e 0.0004332(800)

 141.42

or approximately 141 milligrams.

 Applied Example: Assembly Time
 The Camera Division of Eastman Optical produces a single
lens reflex camera.
 Eastman’s training department determines that after
completing the basic training program, a new, previously
inexperienced employee will be able to assemble
Q(t )  50  30e0.5t
model F cameras per day, t months after the employee
starts work on the assembly line.
a. How many model F cameras can a new employee assemble
per day after basic training?
b. How many model F cameras can an employee with one
month of experience assemble per day?
c. How many model F cameras can the average experienced
employee assemble per day?
 Applied Example: Assembly Time
Solution
a. The number of model F cameras a new employee can
assemble is given by
Q (0)  50  30  20
b. The number of model F cameras that an employee with
1, 2, and 6 months of experience can assemble per day is
given by
Q(1)  50  30e0.5(1)  31.80
or about 32 cameras per day.
c. As t increases without bound, Q(t) approaches 50.
Hence, the average experienced employee can be expected
to assemble 50 model F cameras per day.
 End of
Chapter