One method for accurate determination of values on a logarithmic axis is as follows:

1. Measure the distance from the point on the scale to the closest decade line with lower
value with a ruler.
2. Divide this distance by the length of a decade (the length between two decade lines).
3. The value of your chosen point is now the value of the nearest decade line with lower
value times 10a where a is the value found in step 2.

Example: What is the value that lies halfway between the 10 and 100 decades on a logarithmic
axis? Since it is the halfway point that is of interest, the quotient of steps 1 and 2 is 0.5. The
nearest decade line with lower value is 10, so the halfway point's value is
(100.5) × 10 = 101.5 ≈ 31.62.

To estimate where a value lies within a decade on a logarithmic axis, use the following method:

1. Measure the distance between consecutive decades with a ruler. You can use any units
provided that you are consistent.
2. Take the log (value of interest/nearest lower value decade) multiplied by the number
determined in step one.
3. Using the same units as in step 1, count as many units as resulted from step 2, starting at
the lower decade.

Example: To determine where 17 is located on a logarithmic axis, first use a ruler to measure the
distance between 10 and 100. If the measurement is 30mm on a ruler (it can vary — ensure that
the same scale is used throughout the rest of the process).

[log (17/10)] × 30 = 6.9

x = 17 is then 6.9mm after x = 10 (along the x-axis).

[edit] Logarithmic interpolation

Interpolating logarithmic values is very similar to interpolating linear values. In linear

interpolation, values are determined through equal ratios. For example, in linear interpolation, a
line that increases one ordinate (y-value) for every two abscissa (x-value) has a ratio (also known
as slope or rise-over-run) of 1/2. In order to determine the ordinate or abscissa of a particular
point, you must know the other value. The calculation of the ordinate corresponding to an
abscissa of 12 in the example below is as follows:

1/2 = Y/12

Y is the unknown ordinate. Using cross-multiplication, Y can be calculated and is equal to 6.

In logarithmic interpolation, a ratio of logarithmic values is set equal to a ratio of linear values.
For example, consider a log base 10 scale graph of paper reams sold per day measuring 19 1/32
inches from 1 to 10. How many reams were sold in a day if the value on the graph is 11 1/32
between 1 and 10? In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to use a basic logarithmic
definition:

log(A) − log(B) = log(A/B)

Decade lines, those values that denote powers of the log base, are also important in logarithmic
interpolation. Locate the lower decade line. It is the closest decade line to the number you are
evaluating that is lower than that number. Decade lines begin at 1. The next decade line is the
first power of your log base. For log base 10, the first decade line is 1, the second is 10, the third
is 100, and so on.

The ratio of linear values is the number of units from the lower decade line to the value of
interest (11 1/32 in this example, since the lower decade line in this example is 1) divided by the
total number of units between the lower decade line and the upper decade line (the upper decade
line is 10 in this example). Therefore, the linear ratio is:

11/19

Notice that the units (1/32 inch) are removed from the equation because both measurements are
in the same units. Conversion to a single unit before calculating the ratio is required if the
measurements were made in different units.

The logarithmic ratio uses the same graphical measurements as the linear ratio. The difference
between the log of the upper decade line (10) and the log of the lower decade line (1) represents
the same graphical distance as the total number of units between the two decade lines in the
linear ratio (19 1/32nds of an inch). Therefore, the lower part of the logarithmic ratio (the bottom
part of the fraction) is:

log(10) − log(1)

The upper part of the logarithmic ratio (the top part of the fraction) represents the same graphical
distance as the number of units between the value of interest (number of reams of paper sold)
and the lower decade line in linear ratio (11 1/32nds of an inch). The unknown in this ratio is the
value of interest, which we will call X. Therefore, the top part of the fraction is:

log(X) − log(1)

The logarithmic ratio is:

[log(X) − log(1)]/[log(10) − log(1)]

The linear ratio is equal to the logarithmic ratio. Therefore, the equation required to determine
the number of paper reams sold in a particular day is:

11/19 = [log(X) − log(1)]/[log(10) − log(1)]

This equation can be rewritten using the logarithmic definition mentioned above:

11/19 = log(X/1)/log(10)

log(10) = 1, therefore:

11/19 = log(X/1)

In order to remove the "log" from the right side of the equation, both sides must be used as
exponents for the number 10, meaning 10 to the power of 11/19 and 10 to the power of log(X/1).
The "log" function and the "10 to the power of" function are reciprocal and cancel each other
out, leaving:

1011/19 = X/1

Now both sides must be multiplied by 1. While the 1 drops out of this equation, it is important to
note that the number X is divided by is the value of the lower decade line. If this example
involved values between 10 and 100, the equation would include X/10 instead of X/1.

1011/19 = X

X = 3.793 reams of paper.