Logarithm Simplification Exercise 1

1. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.

(a) log 50  log 5
1
(b) log 0.5  log 0.02
2
(c) log 3  log 75  2 log 2
2. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.
log16  log 128
(a)
log 8
log 3
(b)
2 log 81  3 log 9
3. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.
log 32  log 0.25
(a)
log 5  5 log 2  1
2  log16  2 log 0.04
(b)
4 log 5  log 0.25
4. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 and y  0.

(a) log 5x 2  2 log 2 x  log12.5

2x x5
(b) 3 log  log 2  log 25x 2 y
y 5y

5. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 , x  1 and y  0.

2 log x 3  3 log x
1
2
log( xy) 6  log y 3
(a) (b)
5 log 6 x log x y  3 log y
4 2

6. If a  log 3 and b  log 5, express the following in terms of a and b.

(a) log135 (b) log 22.5 (c) log 6

7. If a  log 3 and b  log 75, express the following in terms of a and b.

(a) log 2 (b) log 12

8. If  and  are the two roots of the equation 2 x 2  50x  20  0, find the value
of log   log.

9. It is given that a = log3 where a is a constant. Express the following in terms of a.

n n 1 n2 3n  1
(a) log  log  log    log
n 1 n2 n3 3n
1 1 3 1 3 1 3
(b) log[(1  )3 (1  ) (1  ) (1  ) ]
n n 1 n2 3n  1
10. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.
(a) log125 81 log27 25
log32 3 121
(b)
2 log8 1 331
11. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.
log 1 49  log 1 7
3 9
(a)
 log9 343

(b) (log6 4)2  log6 4  log6 81  (log36 81)2

12. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 and x  1.

(a) log7 9 x 2  2 log7 21x

5
(b) log2 18x  log2 3x3  log2 6 x
2
13. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 and x  1.

log 1 x
log8 x 3 2
(a) (b)
log8 x log 1 x 3
4

14. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 , x  1 and y  0.

3 log5 ( x 2 y )  log5 ( x 2 y 3 )
(a)
log5 x 2

2 log4 ( xy)  4 log4 x 2 y

(b)
3 log4 x 4  9 log4 3 x
y2

15. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 , x  1, y  0 and y  1.

4 log3 x 2 y
(a)
log9 xy 3  52 log9 x

log3 2 x3 y  4 log 1 xy
3
(b)
y2
log3
4x2
16. Simplify the following expressions where x  0 , x  1, y  0 and y  1.

2 log x y 2  5 log x y3
(a) (b) (2 logx y 3 )(logy x )
4 log x 3
y  6 log x y
2
17. If s  loga 2 and t  loga 3 where a  0 and a  1, express the following in terms
of s and t.
(a) loga 18
(b) loga 0.75
32
(c) loga
27
18. Given that log7 2  a and log7 3  b , express the following in terms of a and b.
(a) log2 3
(b) log12 378

S4 Logarithm Simplification Exercise 2

Find the values of the following without using a calculator. (1 – 12)
1. log5 125 2. log6 36
1
3. log4 4. log 0.08 + log 125
2
log 3
5. log12 8 + 1.5 log12 3 6. log4 96 –
log 4

2 1 1 5
7. log – log + log 8. log 18 + log 0.12 – log 216
7 7 2 7

log 6 12  3 log 6 3  2 log 6 2

2
2 + log3 0.75 + log3  
2
9. 10.
3 log 6 27
25 log 2 3  log8 27
11. log5 24log 5 – log 3 + log 12.  log 4 9
2 2

Simplify the following expressions, where x > 0, x  1, y > 0 and y  1.

(13 – 20)

log x 3 log 3 x 2
13. 14.
2 log x log x 3

log x3  log x
15.  log x 2 16. log6 2x + log6 3x – log6 x2
2
log 2 x  log 3 x log x 2 y  log xy 2
17. 18.
log 4 x  log 9 x log xy
1
log x log y 2  2 log y 3
19. 3
20.
1
log 4 x  log x  log x 4 log 3 y  log 3 y 2
3

Given that log 2 = a and log 7 = b, express each of the following in terms of a and b. (21 – 24)
21. log 98 22. log 35 23. log 112 24. log 3 175
Find the values of the following using a calculator. (25 – 28)
(Give the answers correct to 3 significant figures.)
25. log3 6 26. log5 135 27. log2 0.05 28. log7 14

Find the values of the following without using a calculator. (29 – 34)
log 5 125
29. 30. log3 4 27  log3 3
log 5 0.04
(log3 5)(log5 4) log 7 24.5  log 7 14
31. 32.
log 3 2 log 7 5 492
7
log 2 2 2  log 5 8 log11 4 11  log11 5 121
33. 1
34. 1

log 2 256 7 log7 10 77  log7 7 20

Simplify the following expressions, where x > 0, x  1, y > 0 and y  1.

(35 – 40)

35. (logx y3)(logy 3 x ) 36. (log x 2 y)(logy 2 x)

3
log 3
x2 log5 6 x5
37.
x
38. 5
log x x log25 x  log25 3 x  log25 6 x

y log x y y x
39. logx x 2  logx 2 x3  logx 3 x 4 40.
x log x y

Given that log 5 = a and log 9 = b, express each of the following in terms of a and b. (41 – 44)
41. log 150 42. log 4.5
43. log18 3 44. log1.5 8

45. Let x > y > 0. If log (x – y) = m and log (x2 + xy + y2) = n, express
log x 3  y 3 in terms of m and n.

log (log a )

46. Simplify a log a

, where a > 0 and a  1.

47. Find the value of (log2 3)(log3 4)(log4 5)(log5 6)…(log31 32) without using a calculator.

48. Given that log8 24 = a, express log3 2 in terms of a.

49. Without using a calculator, determine whether log4 59 is greater than log3 41. Explain
your answer.
(Hint: If a > b > 0, then logx a > logx b, where x > 1.)
50. If 5 = 10p and 3 = 2q, express log2 45 in terms of p and q.

51. If  and  are the roots of the equation x2 – 8x + 2 = 0, where  > , find the values of
the following.
1
(a) log +   + log +   (b) log3 9 + log6
36 
(Leave the answers in surd form if necessary.)

Answer Key
15
1. 3 2. 2 31. 2 32.
4
1
3.  4. 1 49
2 33. 34. 1
64
3 5
5. 6. 1
2 2 35. 1 36.
4
1
7. 8. –2 8
2 37. 38. 1
3
4
9. 1 10. 29
3 39. 40. 1
6
11. 2 12. 0
b
3 4 41. a+ +1 42. b–1+a
13. 14. 2
2 9
b 6(1  a)
15. 0 16. 1 43. 44.
2(b  1  a) 2a  b  2
17. 2 18. 3
2 12
19. 20. Level 3 (p.20)
3 5
b+1–a 1
21. a + 2b 22. 45. ( m  n) 46. log a
2
1
23. 4a + b 24. (b + 2 – 2a)
3 1
47. 5 48.
25. 1.63 26. 3.05 3(a  1)
27. –4.32 28. 1.36 p
49. no 50. + 2q
3 5 1 p
29.  30.
4 4 1
51. (a) (b) 4 14
3
S4 Mathematics Logarithm Solving Exercise 1
Solve the following exponential equations. (1 – 6)
1
1. 42x = 64 2. 73x – 2 = 343 3. 55x + 3 =
25
1
4. 81 – 4x = 512 5. 92 + 5x = 6. 253x + 1 = 125
3
Solve the following exponential equations. (7 – 20)
(Give the answers correct to 3 significant figures if necessary.)
7. 5x = 2.5 8. 0.2x = 1.6
x
 2
9. 274x + 3 = 9 10. 1  = 0.36
 3
x 1
1
11. 43x + 1 = 8x 12.   = 81x – 1
3
13. 6x + 1 = 11x 14. 7x = 32x – 1
15. 43x + 2 = 52x – 3 16. 3x + 1 – 3x = 10
2 x x
3 2 5
17. 5 x+2 x
+ 5 = 13 18.     
2 3 9
19. 1.6(5x + 1) = 10x 20. 4(63x – 4) = 122x – 2
Solve the following logarithmic equations. (21 – 26)
4
21. log (3x – 5) = 1 22. log = –1
3x  4

24. log3  4x   = –1
1
23. log (1.7 – 13x) = –2
 9
x 1
25. log2 (7x + 2) = 4 26. log5 = –1
2x  3
Solve the following logarithmic equations. (27 – 36)
27. log (7x + 3) – log 4 = log 6 28. log (2x + 9) = log 5 + log 2x
x2
29. log (x + 1) – log (2x – 8) = log 3 30. log (6x + 7) = log +2
4
31. log2 (x + 5) – log2 (3 – x) = log2 9 32. log3 x + 1 = log3 (7 – 2x)
1 1
33. log4 (x – 1) – log4 (x + 1) =  34. log9 (2x + 1) + = log9 4(x + 2)
2 2
35. log5 x3 – log5 4x = 4 36. log7 (2x + 5)2 = 2

37. Jason performs the following calculation. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

log (–2x) = log 6

log (–2x) = log [(–2)(–3)]
log (–2) + log x = log (–2) + log (–3)
log x = log (–3)
x = –3
38. Let f(x) = 3x + m, f(log8 n) = m + 1 and log f(n) = 2, where m and n are constants. Find
the values of m and n.

39. Let z = log (k2 – 7k + 11) + (6 – 3k)i, where k is a real number and
i2 = –1. If z is purely imaginary, find the value(s) of k.

Solve the following equations. (40 – 45)

(Give the answers correct to 3 significant figures if necessary.)
40. 4x32x – 1 = 7 41. logx (2x + 15) = 2
42. 2 log3 x + log9 x = –5 43. log2 (4x – 3) – 3 log8 (6x + 3) = –2
x
44. log6 (6 + 180) = x + 1 45. log (2x + 1 – 5) = x(1 – log 5)

Answer Key 8
25. 2 26.
Level 2 (p.29) 3
3 5 9
1. 2. 27. 3 28.
2 3 8
1 29. 5 30. 3
3. –1 4. 
2 11 7
31. 32.
1 1 5 5
5.  6.
2 6 5
33. 3 34.
7. 0.569 8. –0.292 2
7 35. 50 36. 1, –6
9.  10. –2
12
2 3 Level 3 (p.30)
11.  12.
3 5 37. no 38. m = 94, n = 2
13. 2.96 14. 4.37 39. 5 40. 0.850
15. –8.09 16. 1.46 41. 5 42.
1
17. –0.431 18. 2 9
19. 3 20. 2 3
43. 44. 2
21. 5 22. 12 2
1 45. 2.32
23. 0.13 24.
9
S4 Mathematics Logarithm Application Exercise
The magnitude M of an earthquake measured on the Richter Scale is given by M =
2 E
log 4.8 , where E J is the energy released by the earthquake.
3 10
The sound intensity level L, measured in decibels (dB), of a sound is given by L =
I
10 log , where I is the sound intensity and I0 = 10–12 unit.
I0

1. The energy released by an earthquake was 1012 J. Find the magnitude of the earthquake
measured on the Richter Scale.
2. Find the energy released by an earthquake which was measured 6.5 on the Richter Scale.

3. The magnitude of an earthquake in city A on the Richter scale is greater than that in city
B by 1. Let the energies released by the earthquakes in cities A and B be EA J and EB J
E
respectively. Find A .
EB
4. The Great Hanshin earthquake in Japan that occurred in 1995 was measured 7.2 on the
Richter Scale. The energy released by an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima of Japan in
World War II was 5.5  1013 J. How many times was the energy released by the Great
Hanshin earthquake to that released by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima?

5. The magnitude of an earthquake in city P was measured 5 on the Richter Scale. The
energy released by an earthquake in city Q was 10 times that released by the earthquake
in city P. Find the magnitude of the earthquake in city Q measured on the Richter Scale.
(Give the answer correct to 1 decimal place.)
6. The sound intensity of a noise generated by an engine is 10–4 unit. Find the sound
intensity level.

7. The sound intensity level of a sound produced by a vacuum cleaner is 82 dB. Find the
sound intensity of the sound.

8. The sound intensity level in a disco is greater than that in a fast food shop by 30 dB .
Find the ratio of the sound intensity in the disco to that in the fast food shop.
9. (a) The sound intensity in an office is 10–8 unit. Find the sound intensity level.
(b) The sound intensity level of a noise in a street is greater than the result of (a) by 37
dB. Find the sound intensity of the noise in the street.

10. The population of a city is 60 000 at present. The population increases at a constant rate
of 3% each year.
(a) Find the population 4 years later.
(b) How many years later will the population be 80 000?
(Give the answers correct to the nearest integer.)

11. Steven bought a car in 2009. The value of the car ($V) t years after 2009 is given by the
following formula:
V = 200 000(0.8)t
(a) Find the original value of the car.
 (b) Steven will sell the car if the value of the car drops to 30% of the original value. In
which year will he sell the car?

12. Connie wants to buy a piano which costs $50 000. She deposits
$40 000 in a bank for x months at an annual interest rate of 15% compounded monthly.
Find the minimum value of x such that the amount obtained is enough to buy the piano.
(Give the answer correct to the nearest integer.)
13. The sales ($S) of a drink in the xth month after the broadcast of an advertisement is given
by the following formula:
S = 20 000 + 10 000 log3 (4x + 1)
(a) Find the sales of the drink in the third month after the broadcast of the
advertisement.
(b) The sales of the drink in the kth month after the broadcast of the advertisement are $60
000. Find the value of k.

14. The population of a country was 1 000 000 in 2006 and 1 061 208 in 2009. If the
population increases at a constant rate each year, find the population in 2019.

15. The following table shows two scales P and Q defined by a scientist to represent the
magnitude of an explosion. E is the relative energy released by an explosion. M and N are
the magnitudes of the explosion on Scale P and Scale Q respectively. If the magnitude of
an explosion is 7.9 on Scale P, find the magnitude of the explosion on Scale Q, correct to
1 decimal place.

Scale Formula

P M = log3 E

Q N = log6 E

16. A new game is introduced in a theme park. The weekly number (N) of visitors to the
park is given by
N = 15 000 + 4000 logk (6t + 1),
where t (t  0) is the number of weeks since the introduction of the new game and k is a
constant greater than 1. After the new game has been introduced for 4 weeks, the weekly
number of visitors is 23 000.
(a) Find the value of k.
(b) After the new game has been introduced for 8 weeks, does the weekly number of
visitors exceed 25 000? Explain your answer.

Answer Key
Level 2 (p.34) 10. (a) 67 531 (b) 10 years
1. 4.8 2. 3.55  1014 J 11. (a) $200 000 (b) 2015
3. 31.6 4. 72.4 12. 18
5. 5.7 6. 80 dB 13. (a) $43 300 (b) 20
7. 1.58  10–4
unit
8. 1000 : 1 Level 3 (p.36)
9. (a) 40 dB 14. 1 290 000 15. 4.8
(b) 5.01  10–5 unit 16. (a) 5 (b) no
S4 M2 Logarithm Solving Extra Exercise (Difficult)

1. Without using a calculator, find the values of the following expressions.

(a) 104 log 3 (b) 10log 4  10log 3 (c) (102 log 2 )(102 log 5 )

2. Solve the equation log8 (2 x  7)  log8 3x  log8 3. (Give your answer correct to 3
significant figures if necessary.)

3. Solve the equation log4 ( x 2  3)  log4 x  1. (Give your answer correct to 3

significant figures if necessary.)

4. Solve the equation log5 ( x  2)  log5 ( x  4)  log5 (8x  43) . (Give your answer
correct to 3 significant figures if necessary.)

5. Solve the equation log x  25  log100 ( x  10)  1. (Give your answer correct to 3
significant figures if necessary.)

6. Solve the equation log5 x  log25 27x  3. (Give your answer correct to 3
significant figures if necessary.)

7. Solve the equation log4 4 x  log8 2 x  log16 x 2 . (Give your answer correct to 3

significant figures if necessary.)

8. Solve the equation log5 (5x  2  600)  x . (Give your answer correct to 3

significant figures if necessary.)

9. Solve the equation log2 (4 x  2  36)  2 x  3. (Give your answer correct to 3

significant figures if necessary.)