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MATH 153
Activity 4.3
Logarithms and Their Properties

For x > 0, a > 0, and , the equations

and are equivalent.

 Base 10 logs are called common logs ( denoted by log x ).

So, is equivalent to .

 Base e logs are called natural logs ( denoted by ln x).

So, is equivalent to .

Example 1.
a. The equation can be rewritten as .

b. The equation can be rewritten as .

Remember : A logarithm is an exponent and the base stays the base.

Practice
Write each of the following equations in logarithmic form.

1.

2.

3.

4. ( Remember that )

5.
Example 2.
a. The equation can be rewritten as .

b. The equation can be rewritten as .

Practice
Write each of the following equations in exponential form.
6.

7.

8.

9. ln 1 = 0

Example 3
Some logs can be evaluated by changing to exponential form.
a. To evaluate , we can write and change to exponential form to get .
This gives x = 3, so we can write . As an alternative, we can evaluate by asking
ourselves, “2 to what power gives 8?” The answer is 3, so we write .

b. log 100 = 2, because (remember: logs are exponents).

Practice
Evaluate each one of the logs by either changing to exponential form or by finding the power
needed on the base.

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10.

12. log 10,000

11.
13.