THE LOGARITHMIC FUNCTION WITH BASE b is the

function
y = logb x.
b is normally a number greater than 1 (although it need
only be greater than 0 and not equal to 1). The function is
defined for all x > 0. Here is its graph for any base b.

Note the following:

For any base, the x-intercept is 1. Why?
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The logarithm of 1 is 0. y = logb1
= 0.
The graph passes through the point (b, 1). Why?
The logarithm of the base is 1.
logbb = 1.

The graph is below the x-axis -- the logarithm is

negative -- for

0 < x < 1.
Which numbers are those that have negative
logarithms?

Proper fractions.

The function is defined only for positive values of x.

logb(4), for example, makes no sense. Since b is always

positive, no power of b can produce a negative number.
The range of the function is all real numbers.
The negative y-axis is a vertical asymptote (Topic
18).
Example 1. Translation of axes. Here is the graph of
the natural logarithm, y = ln x (Topic 20).

And here is the graph of y = ln (x 2) -- which is

its translation 2 units to the right.

The x-intercept has moved from 1 to 3. And the

vertical asymptote has moved from 0 to 2.
Problem 1. Sketch the graph of y = ln (x + 3).

This is a translation 3 units to the left. The xintercept has moved from 1 to 2. And the vertical
asymptote has moved from 0 to 3.
Exponential functions

By definition:
logby = x means bx = y.
In other words, corresponding to every logarithm
function with base bthere is an exponential function with
base b:
y = bx.

It is defined for every real number x. Here is its

graph:

There are two important things to note:

The y-intercept is at (0, 1). For, b0 = 1.
The negative x-axis is a horizontal asymptote. For,
when x is a large negative number -- e.g. b10,000 -- then y is a
very small positive number.
Problem 2.
a) Let f(x) = ex. Write the function f(x).
f(x
) =
ex
The argument x is replaced by
x.
b) What is the relationship between the graph of y = ex
and the graph
b) of y = ex ?
y = ex is the reflection about the yaxis of y = ex.
c) Sketch the graph of y = ex.

Inverse relations

Exponential functions and logarithmic functions with

base b are inverses.
The functions logbx and bx are inverses.
For in any base b:
i) blogbx = x,
and
ii) logbbx = x.
Rule i) embodies the definition of a logarithm: logbx is
the exponentto which b must be raised to produce x.
Rule ii) we have seen in the previous Topic.
Now, let
f(x) = bx and g(x) = logbx.
Then Rule i) is f(g(x)) = x.
And Rule ii) is g(f(x)) = x.
These rules satisfy the definition of a pair
of inverse functions (Topic 19). Therefore for any base b,
the functions
f(x) = bx and g(x) = logbx

are inverses.
Problem 3. Evaluate the following.
b) log
a)
=5
= 6.2
106.2
log225
d) 2

log 5
2

=5

e) 10

log 100

= 10
0

c) ln ex + = x +
1

5)

f) eln (x = x
5

Problem 4.
a) What function is the inverse of y = ln x?
y=
e x.
b) Let f(x) = ln x and g(x) = ex, and show
that f and g satisfy the
b) inverse relations.
f(g(x)) = ln
ex = x,
g(f(x)) = eln
x
= x.
Here are the graphs of y = ex and y = ln x :

As with all pairs of inverse functions, their graphs

are symmetrical with respect to the line y = x. (See Topic
19.)
Problem 5. Evaluate ln earccos (1).
ln earccos (1) = arccos (1) = .
"The angle whose cosine is 1
is ."
See Topic 19 of Trigonometry.
Exponential and logarithmic equations

Example 2. Solve this equation for x :

5x + 1 = 625
Solution. To "release" x + 1 from the exponent, take the
inverse function -- the logarithm with base 5 -- of both
sides. Equivalently, write the logarithmic form (Topic 20).
log55>x + 1 =

log5625

x+1 =

log5625

x+1 =

x =

3.

Example 3. Solve for x :

2x 4 = 3x
Solution. We may take the log of both sides either with
the base 2 or the base 3. Let us use base 2:
log22x 4

x4

x x log23

x(1 log23)

log23x

= x log23, according to the 3rd

Law
=

4
1 log23
log23 is some number. The equation is solved.
x

Problem 6. Solve for x :

2x 5 =
log22x 5 =
x5 =

32
log232
5

x =

10

Problem 7. Solve for x. The solution may be expressed

as a logarithm.
103x 1 = 22x + 1
log 103x 1 =

log 22x + 1

3x 1 =

(2x + 1) log 2

3x 1 =

2x log 2 + log 2

3x 2x log 2 =

1 + log 2

x(3 2 log 2) =

1 + log 2

x =

1 + log 2
3 2 log 2

Problem 8. Solve for x :

esin x =
ln esin x =
sin x =

1
ln 1
0

x is the radian angle whose sine is 0:

x =

0.

Example 4. Solve for x:

log5(2x + 3) = 3
Solution. To "free" the argument of the logarithm, take
the inverse function -- 5x -- of both sides. That is, let each
side be the exponent with base 5. Equivalently, write
the exponential form.
2x + 3 =
53

2x =

125 3

2x =

122

x =

61

Problem 9. Solve for x :

log4(3x 5) = 0
If we let each side be the exponent with base 4,
then
3x 5
3x
x
Problem 10. Solve for x :
log2(x + 7) =
x + 7 =
x =
x =

=
=
=

40 = 1
6
2
4
24 = 16
16 7 = 9
3

Example 5. Solve for x:

log (2x + 1) = log 11
Solution. If we let each side be the exponent with 10 as
the base, then according to the inverse relations:
2x + 1= 11.
That implies

x= 5.
Problem 11. Solve for x:
ln (5x 1) = ln (2x + 8).
If we let each side be the exponent with base e,
then
5x 1 =

2x + 8

3x =

x =

3.

Skill in Algebra, Lesson 9.

Creating one logarithm from a sum

Example 6. Use the laws of logarithms (Topic 20) to

write the following as one logarithm.
log x + log y 2 log z.
Solution.

log x + log y 2 log z

= log xy log z
= log

xy
z

Problem 12. Write as one logarithm:

k log x + m log y n log z

Problem 13. Write as one logarithm:

log (2x 8) log (x 16).
log (2x 8) log (x 16) =

log

log

2x 8
x 16
2(x 4)

(x 4)(x + 4)
=

log

2
x+4

Example 7. By means of Rule i above -n = logbbn,

-- we can write any number as a logarithm in any base.
For example,
7 =
log227
5.9 =

log335.9

t =

ln et

3 =

log 1000

Problem 14.
a)

2 = ln e

b)

1 = ln e

Example 8. Write the following as one logarithm:

logbx + n
Solution.

logbx + n = logbx + logbbn

= logbxbn

Problem 15. Write as one logarithm:

log 2 + 3
log 2 + 3 =

log 2 + log 103

log 2 103

log 2000

Problem 16. Write as one logarithm:

ln A t

ln A t =

ln A ln et

ln A + ln et

ln Aet

Problem 17. Solve for x:

log2x + log2(x + 2)

log2[x(x + 2)]

3.

3.

If we now let each side be the exponent with base 2,

then
x(x + 2)
x + 2x 8
(x 2)(x + 4)
x

=
=
=
=

23 = 8.
0
0
2 or 4.

See Skill in Algebra, Lesson 37.

We must reject the solution x = 4, however, because
the negative number 4 is not in the domain of log2x.
Problem 18. Solve for x.
ln (1 + x) ln (1 x)

1.

1.

If we now let each side be the exponent with base e,

then
=

1+x

ex + x
(e + 1)x

=
=
=
=

e
e ex
e1
e1