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Math Review: Useful Math For Everyone: Section 3

A logarithm is the power to which a number must be raised in order to get some other number. In this course only base ten and natural logrithms will be used. A base ten log is written log and a natural logarithmic equation is usually written in the form: ln a = r.

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39 views2 pages

Math Review: Useful Math For Everyone: Section 3

A logarithm is the power to which a number must be raised in order to get some other number. In this course only base ten and natural logrithms will be used. A base ten log is written log and a natural logarithmic equation is usually written in the form: ln a = r.

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STALKERON
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9/26/2014 What is a Logarithm?

http://www.mclph.umn.edu/mathrefresh/logs.html 1/2
Ratios and
Proportions
Algebraic Expressions
Exponents
Logarithms
Glossary and Links
MATH REVIEW: USEFUL MATH FOR EVERYONE
SECTION 4. WHAT IS A LOGARITHM?
A logarithm is the power to which a number must be
raised in order to get some other number (see Section 3
of this Math Review for more about exponents). For
example, the base ten logarithm of 100 is 2, because ten
raised to the power of two is 100:
log 100 = 2
because
10
2
= 100
This is an example of a base-ten logarithm. We call it a base ten logarithm
because ten is the number that is raised to a power. The base unit is the number
being raised to a power. There are logarithms using different base units. If you
wanted, you could use two as a base unit. For instance, the base two logarithm of
eight is three, because two raised to the power of three equals eight:
log
2
8 = 3
because
2
3
= 8
In general, you write log followed by the base number as a subscript. The most
common logarithms are base 10 logarithms and natural logarithms; they have
special notations. A base ten log is written
log
and a base ten logarithmic equation is usually written in the form:
log a = r
A natural logarithm is written
ln
and a natural logarithmic equation is usually written in the form:
ln a = r
So, when you see log by itself, it means base ten log. When you see ln, it means
natural logarithm (we'll define natural logarithms below). In this course only base
ten and natural logarithms will be used.
to Logarithms, Page 2
9/26/2014 What is a Logarithm?
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