Algebra - Exponential and Logarithm Functions

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Chapter 6 : Exponential and Logarithm Functions

In this chapter we are going to look at exponential and logarithm functions. Both of these functions are very important and need to be understood by anyone who is going on to later math courses. These functions also have applications in science, engineering, and business to name a few areas. In fact, these functions can show up in just about any field that uses even a small degree of mathematics.

Many students find both of these functions, especially logarithm functions, difficult to deal with. This is probably because they are so different from any of the other functions that they’ve looked at to this point and logarithms use a notation that will be new to almost everyone in an algebra class. However, you will find that once you get past the notation and start to understand some of their properties they really aren’t too bad.

Here is a listing of the topics covered in this chapter.

Exponential Functions – In this section we will introduce exponential functions. We will give some of the basic properties and graphs of exponential functions. We will also discuss what many people consider to be the exponential function, \(f(x) = {\bf e}^{x}\).

Logarithm Functions – In this section we will introduce logarithm functions. We give the basic properties and graphs of logarithm functions. In addition, we discuss how to evaluate some basic logarithms including the use of the change of base formula. We will also discuss the common logarithm, \(\log(x)\), and the natural logarithm, \(\ln(x)\).

Solving Exponential Equations – In this section we will discuss a couple of methods for solving equations that contain exponentials.

Solving Logarithm Equations – In this section we will discuss a couple of methods for solving equations that contain logarithms. Also, as we’ll see, with one of the methods we will need to be careful of the results of the method as it is always possible that the method gives values that are, in fact, not solutions to the equation.

Applications – In this section we will look at a couple of applications of exponential functions and an application of logarithms. We look at compound interest, exponential growth and decay and earthquake intensity.