EXPONENTIAL & LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS

LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS

Logarithms were invented by John Napier because of his interest in reducing complex
computations in astronomical research. Computations using logarithms were usually done
using the table of logarithms. As a computational device, logarithms have lost much of their
importance with the advent of the scientific calculators. The logarithmic function, however,
has been very useful because of its wide use in both the theoretical and applied sciences.

Since exponential functions are one-to-one function, then they are inverse functions. In
this section, we will study the inverses of the exponential functions. The inverse function is
called the logarithmic function.

The logarithmic function is defined by y = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒙 if and only if x = 𝒂𝒚 . The domain of

this function is the set of all positive real numbers whereas the range is the set of all real
numbers.

From this definition,

34 = 81 implies that 𝑙𝑜𝑔3 81 = 4

62 = 36 implies that 𝑙𝑜𝑔6 36 = 2

1
1
273 = 3 implies that 𝑙𝑜𝑔27 3 = 3

Thus, the logarithm of x to base a is the power to which a must be raised that will result
in the number x.

For any positive real numbers a > 0 and a ≠ 1, logarithmic function to the base a, denoted by
𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒙 is defined as:

y = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒙 if and only if 𝒂𝒚 = x.

The definition of logarithm to the base a says that the logarithmic equation

𝑦 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥 and the exponential equation 𝑎𝑦 = x are equivalent.

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Examples:

 Write each logarithmic equation as an exponential equation and each exponential

equation as a logarithmic equation.

Logarithmic to Exponential

1.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 𝟗 = 2

Solution: 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑𝟗 = 2 means that 2 is the exponent of 3 that produces 9. So, 32 = 9.

𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 𝟗 = 2 32 = 9

2.) 3 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝒙
𝟓

1 𝟏
Solution: 3 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝒙 means that 3 is the exponent of 5 that produces x. So, (𝟓)3 = x.
𝟓

𝟏
3 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝒙 (𝟓)3 = x
𝟓

Exponential to Logarithmic

𝟏 𝒚
1.) (𝟒) = 64

𝟏 𝒚
Solution: (𝟒) = 64 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝟔𝟒 = y
𝟒

2.) 27 = 𝟐𝒛

Solution: 27 = 𝟐𝒛 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 𝟐𝟕 = z

 Evaluate the following logarithms

1.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 𝟔𝟐𝟓

Solution: The number 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 𝟔𝟐𝟓 is the exponent that is used on the base 5 to obtain
625. Since, 625 = 𝟓𝟒 , then we have 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 𝟔𝟐𝟓 = 4

2.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝟒
𝟐

𝟏 −𝟐
Solution: The number 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝟒 is the power that produces 4. Since, 4 = (𝟐) , then we
𝟐
have 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 𝟒 = -2
𝟐

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 Solve the following equations for x.

𝟑
1.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟒 𝒙 = 𝟐

𝟑
𝟑 𝟐 𝟐
Solution: 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟒 𝒙 = 𝟒𝟐 = x √𝟒𝟑 = √𝟔𝟒 = 8
𝟐

Then, x = 8.

𝟏
2.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 = -2
𝒙+𝟏

𝟏 𝟏
Solution: 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 = −𝟐 𝟓−𝟐 = 𝒙+𝟏
𝒙+𝟏

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝟓−𝟐 = 𝟓𝟐 = 𝟐𝟓, then we have 𝟐𝟓 = 𝒙+𝟏

𝟏 𝟏
= 𝒙+𝟏
𝟐𝟓

25 = x + 1

25 -1 = x

x = 24

3.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏𝟎 (𝒙 + 𝟑) = 𝟐

Solution: 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏𝟎 (𝒙 + 𝟑) = 𝟐 𝟏𝟎𝟐 = x + 3

𝟏𝟎𝟐 = x + 3

100 = x + 3

100 – 3 = x

x = 97

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PROPERTIES OF LOGARITHM

The logarithm of a function has many properties that allow us to simplify complicated
algebraic expressions or algebraic computations. These properties are verifiable using the
properties of exponents.

We recall that if a is a real number such that a > 0 and a ≠ 1, then

1. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 (𝑎𝑥 ) = x

2. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 1 = 0

3. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 (𝑥 • 𝑦) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑦

𝑥
4. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 (𝑦) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥 - 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑦

5. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥 𝑛 = n 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥

6. 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑥 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑦 if and only if x = y

Examples: Write each expression as a single logarithm.

SOLUTIONS:
Since, the logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms,
we can write the logarithms in a single logarithm as follows.
 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 (𝟕) + 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 (𝟒)  𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (7) + 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (4) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (7 • 4)= 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (28)

 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 √𝟑 + 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 √𝟒  𝑙𝑜𝑔𝟑 √𝟑 + 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝟑 √𝟒 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝟑 (√𝟑) (√𝟒) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔3 √12

 ln 4 + ln 2  ln 4 + ln 2 = ln (4) (2) = ln 8
Since the logarithm of a quotient is equal to the difference of
the logarithms, then we can write the expression as:
 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 (𝟒) + 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟑 (𝟓)  𝑙𝑜𝑔3 (4) + 𝑙𝑜𝑔3 (5) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔3 (5)
4

10
 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 (𝟏𝟎) + 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 (𝟐)  𝑙𝑜𝑔5 (10) + 𝑙𝑜𝑔5 (2) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔5 ( 2 ) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔5 (5) = 1
√𝟐 𝟐
 ln √2 – ln √3 = ln = ln √𝟑
 ln √𝟐 – ln √𝟑 √𝟑
Since the logarithm of a power of a number is the power times
the logarithm of the number, then we have:
 log (𝟐𝟔 )  log (26 ) = 6 log 2

𝟏
 log √𝟐 𝟏
 log √2 = log (𝟐𝟐 ) = 𝟐 log 2

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 log 𝟐
𝟏  log 2−1 = -1 log 2 = -log 2

𝟐
 ln √𝟑 2
𝟏
𝟐 𝟐 𝟏 𝟐
 ln √3 = ln (𝟑) = 𝟐 ln 𝟑

Since the exponential and the logarithmic functions are

inverses, then we have:
 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟒 𝟒𝟔  𝑙𝑜𝑔4 46 = 6

 2 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 5  2 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 5 = 5

GRAPHS AND PROPERTIES OF LOGARITHM FUNCTIONS

Recall that we defined the logarithmic function g by g(x) = logax, the logarithmic
function with base b, is the inverse function of the exponential function defined by f(x) = bx,
where b>0, and b≠1.
The domain of g is the range of f which is the set of positive real numbers, while the
range of g is the domain of f which is the set of all real numbers.

Example: Draw the graph of y = log2 x.

Solution: To sketch the graph of the function y = log2 x, we express this to its equivalent
exponential function, that is:

y = log2 x 2y = x

y
Thus, from its equivalent exponential function, notice that the domain of x = 2 is the set of real
numbers. So, we have the corresponding table of values and graph below.

y -2 -1 0 1 2
𝟏 𝟏
2y 1 2 4
𝟒 𝟐

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Consequently, we said earlier that logarithmic functions are the inverse of exponential
functions. From the example above, let us compare it with its inverse function.
 Compare the graph of y = log2 x to the graph of its inverse function y = 2x.

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𝟏 𝒙
Solution: Since we have seen the graph of y = (𝟐) in the section of exponential function, then
𝟏 𝒚
we only need to make the table of values of x = (𝟐) . Note that:

𝟏 𝒚
y = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 x x = (𝟐)
𝟐
Thus, we have:
y -2 -1 0 1 2
𝟏 𝒚
( ) 𝟏 𝟏
𝟐 4 2 1
𝟐 𝟒

So, the graphs are shown below.

𝟏 𝒙
Both graphs of the functions y = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 x and y = ( ) where 0<a<1 are decreasing. Also, the
𝟐
𝟐
𝟏 𝒙
graph of y = 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏 x is just a reflection of the graph of y = (𝟐) with respect to the line y = x.
𝟐

 Some of the fundamental properties of the function y = loga x are given below.
1. The function is positive for all values of x greater than 1, but negative for all values of x less
than 1.
2. The domain is the set of positive real numbers while the range is the set of all real
numbers.
3. If a>1, the graph is the reflection of the graph of y = ax, a>1 about the line y = x.
4. If 0<a<1, the graph is the reflection of the graph y = a x, 0<a<1 about the line y = x.

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A C T I V I T Y
LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS

A. Express the following in logarithmic form.

1.) 25 = 32
2.) 34 = 81
𝟏
3.) 4-3 = 𝟔𝟒
4.) by = x
5.) z = cy

B. Solve the following for x.

1.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟗 𝒙 = 𝟑
2.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒙 𝟗 = 𝟑
3.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 𝟏𝟔 = 𝒙
4.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟒 𝒙 = 𝟖
5.) 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟓 (𝒙 + 𝟏) = 𝟐

C. Write each of the following expressions as a single logarithm.

1.) log (5)n + log (8)
2.) log2 √𝟑 + log2 √𝒙𝟑
3.) ln a2 - ln b3
4.) ln (x2 + x + 6) – ln (x + 3)
5.) log (x) + log (x + 3)

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