Scribd
Upload
54 views2 pages

What Is A Logarithm

A logarithm is an exponent that indicates the power to which a base number must be raised to equal another number. For example, the logarithm of 8 with base 2 is 3, written as log2 8 = 3, because 23 = 8. Logarithms were connected to exponential functions by Leonhard Euler in the 18th century. Logarithms can be found graphically by plotting the logarithmic function and reading the corresponding value, or numerically by determining the exponent to which the base must be raised to equal the given number, such as log3 27 = 3 because 33 = 27.

Uploaded by

commuteman2
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
54 views2 pages

What Is A Logarithm

A logarithm is an exponent that indicates the power to which a base number must be raised to equal another number. For example, the logarithm of 8 with base 2 is 3, written as log2 8 = 3, because 23 = 8. Logarithms were connected to exponential functions by Leonhard Euler in the 18th century. Logarithms can be found graphically by plotting the logarithmic function and reading the corresponding value, or numerically by determining the exponent to which the base must be raised to equal the given number, such as log3 27 = 3 because 33 = 27.

Uploaded by

commuteman2
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

What is a Logarithm?

Introduction
This serves as an exemplar for students to follow. Please use it as a guide. It does not provide a definition of a limit but holds the same categories as your document. You may present your examples within the videos or slideshows you develop for the project.

Where did the Logarithm come from?


The present-day notion of logarithms comes from Leonhard Euler, who connected them to the exponential function in the 18th century.

Definition:
A logarithm is the power to which a number must be raised in order to get some other number. For example the base 2 logarithm of 8 is 3:

log 2 8 3
Because

23 8
This definition was taken from http://www.mclph.umn.edu/mathrefresh/logs.html

How to find a Logarithm Graphically:


To find a logarithm graphically, you must first graph the function. For example, This is the graph of y log x . With this graph you can read the value of the log at some values, but your answers would not be as accurate. For instance, if I wanted to know log(2) it appears as if the answer should be around 0.25. However, it would be better to use the table for the graph in your calculator to find
F IGURE 1: L EONHARD E ULER TAKEN
FROM HTTP :// EN . WIKIPEDIA . ORG / WIKI /F ILE :L EONHARD _E ULER _2. JPG

the exact value. As you can see from the table, log(2)=0.0103. In mathematics, accuracy is important so using a tabular representation of the graph would yield a more accurate answer. This video explains ow to read and graph logarithmic functions: http://youtu.be/q9DhlR43P7A. For students, this should be a self-created video not one taken from YouTube.

How to find a Logarithm Numerically:


This part can be simple once you understand that the answer to a logarithmic expression is an exponent. You have to ask the question, to what exponent would I raise the base in order to get the provided number? For example

log 3 27
Would equal 3, because that is the value to which you would raise the base to get the number, 33 27 . This process is explained in a video from Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/logarithmstutorial/logarithm_basics/v/logarithms. For students, this should be a self-created video not one taken from YouTube. The videos include all examples required for this project.

You might also like