DIFFERENTIATION OF

Lesson 6
EXPONENTIAL and
LOGARITHMIC
FUNCTIONS
OBJECTIVES:
- to differentiate and simplify exponential and logarithmic
functions using the properties of logarithm and exponents,
and
- to apply logarithmic differentiation for complicated
functions and functions with variable base and exponent.
.

The EXPONENTIAL FUNCTION

The exponentia l function with base a, a  0 and

a  1, is defined by y  a x where x is a real number.
Since the exponentia l function is the inverse of
logarithmi c function, y  a x may also be written as
x  log a y .
Laws of Exponents
.

1. a m  a n  a m  n

a mn
8. a log a x  x
, if mn
am 

2.
an
 1 , if mn 9. if a x  a y then x  y

1
 , if mn
 a n-m


3.  a m   a mn
n

4.  ab  n  a nb n
n an
a
5.    n
b b
6. a0  1 , provided a  0
 1 n
m 1 n
7. a m n   a  
 a m 
 
   
 DIFFERENTIATION
FORMULA
Derivative of Exponential Function
The derivative of the exponential function for any
given base and any differentiable function of u.

For any given base a :

d u du
( a )  a  ln a 
u
; where u  f(x)
dx dx

For base  e :
d u du
( e )  eu ; where u  f(x)
dx dx
A. Find the derivative of each of the following natural and simplify the
result:
 The Logarithmic Functions
• A logarithmic function with the base a, a>0 and a1 is
defined by
y  log a x if and only if x  a y
Logarithmic form  y  log a x
Exponential form  x  a y

EXAMPLE
Logarithmic Form Exponential Form
1

log16 4  1 / 2 4  16 2

log 2 8  3 8  23
SOME LOGARITHMS OF KNOWN BASES:
NATURAL LOGARITHMS
Logarithms to the base e = 2.718 are called natural
logarithms (from the Latin word Logarithmic
Naturalis or Napieran logarithms).
log e x  ln x
COMMON LOGARITHMS
Logarithms to the base 10 are called common
logarithms.
log 10 x  log x
For positive numbers M , N , p, and a  1
1. log a MN  log a M  log a N
Note : log a  M  N   log a M  log a N  not distributive 
M
2. log a  log a M  log a N
N
M log a M
Note : log a   not a quotient of 2 logarithms 
N log a N
3. log a N p  plog a N
1
p 1
4. log a N  log a N  log a N
p
5. log a 1  0
p
6. log a a  1 7. log a a p  p
8. If log a x  log a y , then x y
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULA
Derivative of Logarithmic Function
The derivative of the logarithmic function for any
given base and any differentiable function of u

For any given base a :

d 1 du
(log a u )  log a e ; where u  f(x)
dx u dx

For base  e :
d 1 du
(log e u )  log e e but log e e  1 and log e u  ln u
dx u dx
d 1 du
(ln u )  ; where u  f(x)
dx u dx
A. Find the derivative of each of the following natural logarithmic functions and
simplify the result:
B. Differentiate the following logarithmic functions.
 Logarithmic Differentiation

Oftentimes, the derivatives of algebraic functions

which appear complicated in form (involving products,
quotients and powers) can be found quickly by taking
the natural logarithms of both sides and applying the
properties of logarithms before differentiation. This
method is called logarithmic differentiation.
Steps in applying logarithmic differentiation.

1. Take the natural logarithm of both sides and apply

the properties of logarithms.
2. Differentiate both sides and reduce the right side
to a single fraction.
3. Solve for y’ by multiplying the right side by y.
4. Substitute and simplify the result.
EXAMPL
E:
Logarithmic differentiation is also applicable whenever the base and its power are
both functions. (Variable to variable power.)
Example: