Module M1.5 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions: Flexible Learning Approach To Physics
Module M1.5 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions: Flexible Learning Approach To Physics
Study comment Having read the introduction you may feel that you are already familiar with the material covered by this
module and that you do not need to study it. If so, try the Fast track questions given in Subsection 1.2. If not, proceed
directly to Ready to study? in Subsection 1.3.
Question F1
Plot a graph of y = x2 by evaluating y when x = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3. Estimate the gradient (i.e. slope) at x = 2 by
drawing a tangent to the curve.
Question F3
State the usual symbol for the following expression, and give its value to three decimal places:
lim (1 + 1 m )
m
m→∞
Question F4
What is the gradient of the graph of y = exp (kx) at x = 0?
1
(e) a loga ( x )
Question F6
If P = k f −0a , what are the gradient, and the intercept on the vertical axis, of the graph of log 10 (P) (0plotted
1
1 1 1
Alternatively, you may still be sufficiently comfortable with the material covered by the module to proceed directly to the
Closing items.
Question R1
Write the following expressions in their simplest form:
(a) a × a × a × K × a (b) 50 .
33
144 42444 3
m factors
Question R3
Write the following expressions in their simplest form:
(a) 16 −1/4, (b) 163/4, (c) 4 5/2, (d) 27−2/3, (e) 1/(3–2).
Question R4
If y is a function of x, given by y = F(x), what is meant by saying that G(x) is its inverse function?
If F(x) = x3, what is G(x)?
Question R6
Which of the following expressions will give a straight line when y is plotted against x? For those that will give a
straight line, state the value of its gradient. (All symbols except y and x represent non-zero constants.)
(a) y = mx + c, (b) y = ax2 + b, (c) y + x = k, (d) y/x = p, (e) y/x = qx + r.
Question R7
What is the gradient of the straight line joining the points with Cartesian coordinates (1, 5) and (3, 13)?
so on. Year after year, your total investment would increase, and so would the annual interest, since it would
grow in proportion to your total investment. Thus, on an annual basis, the rate of growth of your investment (i.e.
the interest gained per year) is proportional to your total investment.
When the electric charge Q stored in a capacitor is discharged through a resistor, the rate at which charge leaves
the capacitor and flows through the resistor is described by the electric current I through the resistor. The size of
this current is determined by the resistance R and the voltage V across the resistor: I = V/R. ☞ However, V itself
depends on the capacitance C and the charge Q remaining in the capacitor: V = Q/C. It follows that I = Q/(RC).
So, at any moment, the rate at which charge is lost from the capacitor, I, is proportional to the charge, Q,
remaining in the capacitor.
All the changes discussed above are examples of exponential changes. Such change may cause a quantity to
increase (e.g. to grow) or to decrease (e.g. to decay), and may be characterized in the following way:
If k is negative, y decreases with time — this kind of change is called exponential decay.
1 1
In our first example, the constant k was simply the interest rate, so, k = 0.05 year0−1 (i.e. 5% per year). In the third
1
example, the case of radioactive decay, the rate of change in the number of unstable nuclei was negative since
the change reduced the number of such nuclei in the sample. ☞ In such cases the constant of proportionality is
usually written as −λ, where λ is a positive quantity called the decay constant — for example, a certain isotope
1 1
of polonium has a decay constant of λ = 0.0133 s−1. Notice that the units of the decay constant reflect the units of
1
Question T2
In the second example above, what is the constant of proportionality relating the rate of discharge, I, of a
capacitor to the charge Q remaining on the capacitor? ❏ 3
There are many examples of exponential change in physics, some of which you will meet during this module.
All exponential changes have an underlying mathematical similarity, and later in this section we will develop
some powerful mathematical ideas and techniques relating to such changes. First, though, we need to have a
more careful look at the idea of a rate of change.
V/litre
☞ 20
✦ What would the graph look like if the bath were emptying at a Figure 1 The volume of water in a
3
V/litre
In practice, a bath does not continue to empty,
unaided, at a constant rate. As the water level
falls, the water pressure also falls, and so the 10
rate at which water flows out of the bath
decreases. Figure 2 shows how the volume of
water in an emptying bath might change with
time. The graph drops steeply at first,
corresponding to a rapid flow, and gradually (b)
(a)
becomes shallower as the flow rate diminishes.
☞ 0 6 10 14 20 25
t/s
Figure 2 The volume of water in a bath emptying at a decreasing
rate. The lines (a) and (b) are used to estimate the flow rate at t = 10 s.
1
V/litre
rough value for the rate of change of volume at,
say, t = 10 s by finding the change in the
1
V/litre
hope that the flow rate hardly changes at all during that
interval. Instead of a line joining two well-separated
points on a curve, the situation is more like that shown in
Figure 3; there will be single straight line that just 10
touches the curve at t = 10 s, the steepness of which
1
drawing a tangent.
FLAP M1.5 Exponential and logarithmic functions
COPYRIGHT © 1998 THE OPEN UNIVERSITY S570 V1.1
So, if we have a change in volume ∆V in a time interval ∆t, the quantity ∆V/∆t will be equal to the average rate
of change of volume during the interval ∆t ☞ . But if we make ∆t and ∆V smaller and smaller we can reasonably
expect that ∆V/∆t will provide an increasingly good estimate of the gradient of the tangent. Indeed, if ∆t and ∆V
are small enough ☞, we can expect ∆V/∆t to represent the (instantaneous) rate of change of V.
In the remainder of this module we will use the notation ∆V/∆t to represent the instantaneous rate of change of V
with respect to t ☞. In other words, no matter what value of t we are discussing, we will always assume that we
can find suitable values ∆t and ∆V to ensure that ∆V/∆t provides an accurate value for the gradient of the tangent
at that value of t. From a strictly mathematical point of view this is not always justified, nor is it a particularly
good use of notation, but we shall use it none the less.
When trying to find an instantaneous rate of change from a graph you will probably have to make your best
guess at an appropriate tangent, evaluate its gradient as accurately as possible, and accept that by working
graphically you are limited to making estimates of rates of change. (Fortunately, there are algebraic techniques
that enable us to work out rates of change accurately, but these too belong to the subject of differentiation and
will not be developed in this module.)
20
V/litre
change of any quantity:
drawing a tangent.
FLAP M1.5 Exponential and logarithmic functions
COPYRIGHT © 1998 THE OPEN UNIVERSITY S570 V1.1
✦ Figure 4 is a graph of the equation y = x2. By drawing tangents to the y
curve, estimate ∆y/∆x when x = 0, x = 2, and x = −1. 10
8
4
2
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 x
x/m
in Figure 5a, where the graph shows how the position coordinate, x, of 10
an object moving along a straight line, changes with time. This is called 5
linear motion ☞. Where the graph is steep, the position changes rapidly
with time — i.e. the object moves quickly — and shallower parts of the
1 1 1 1
0 10 20 30 40
(a) t/s
graph correspond to the object moving more slowly. A negative gradient
corresponds to the object moving in the reverse direction.
5
vx /m s−1
1
0
10 20 30 40
t/s
−1
(b)
x/m
object. Figure 5b shows how the velocity, vx, of the object represented in 10
Figure 5a changes with time. 5
0 10 20 30 40
✦ Suggest a physical interpretation of the gradient of Figure 5b.
(a) t/s
5
Using the notation introduced above, we can rewrite the condition for
vx /m s−1
exponential change (Equation 1) as:
1
0
10 20 30 40
t/s
In an exponential change, at any time ∆y/∆t = ky −1
(2)
(b)
N/1010
proportional to N , as required. 10
When N = 10 × 1010, 6 × 1010 and 2 × 1010, the
measured gradients are −5 × 104 s−1, −3 × 104 s−1
1 1
5
Figure 6 The number of unstable nuclei in a
3
Question T4
By drawing tangents to the curve, estimate the
Q/C
2
currents when Q = 2 C, 1 C and 0.5 C, and hence
1 1 1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 x
axay = ax + y
1 1
(3)
1
a− x = (5)
ax
Also, recall that a0 = 1 and that by a1/k (for k a positive integer) we mean the kth root of a, i.e. a solution of the
equation xk = a.
x 2x x 2x 6
−3.5 0.09 0 1.00
5
−3.0 0.13 0.5 1.41
−2.5 0.18 1.0 2.00 4
−2.0 0.25 1.5 2.83
−1.5 0.35 2.0 4.00 3
−1.0 0.50 2.5 5.66
2
−0.5 0.71 3.0 8.00
1
✦ Find the gradients of tangents to the graph of y = 2x at x = –1, 0, 1
and 2. Is this function growing exponentially? −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 x
Figure 93 The graph of y(x) = 2 x.
If y(x) = ex (7) ☞
then the rate of change ∆y/∆x = y(x)
20
15
10
−1 0 1 2 3 x
If your calculator does not have such a key, you may be able to calculate ex by using the yx key with y = 2.718,
but you are probably best advised to buy a new calculator ☞.
Question T6
Evaluate e2 , e3, e1.43, e−1 and e0 . ❏
3
is equal to y(x) at any given value of x. In this subsection, we will see how exponential functions can be used to
describe exponential changes that correspond to any value of k in ∆y/∆x = ky.
For any function y(x) = exp (kx), the gradient at any value of x is k y(x), and so the rate of change
1
∆y/∆x = ky(x).
In other words, we seem to have found the function that satisfies the general condition for exponential change.
So far, though, we have looked only at examples where k is positive (i.e. exponential growth), whereas we also
need to be able to deal with exponential decay, where k is negative.
As far as units are concerned, y will have the same units as y 0 , and the product kt must be a pure number
(i.e. dimensionless), so if x is a time in seconds, say, then the units of k should be seconds–1. ☞
0.5 y0 = 1, k = −1
y0 = 2, k = −2
y0 = 1, k = −2
−0.4 −0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 x
Figure 13 3
kx
Graphs of the function y (x) = y0e for various values of y0 and k.
1
Question T7
When a capacitor discharges, ∆Q/∆t = −Q/(RC). If the initial charge is Q 0 , write an equation that describes how
Q changes with time (i.e. write a definition of Q as a function of time). ❏
3
Question T8
Radioactive decay may be described by the equation N = N0 ekt. What are the values of N 0 and k for the decay
shown in Figure 6? ❏ 3
radiation and the nature of the matter. For every additional distance 1/ µ that the beam travels through the matter,
its intensity is reduced by a factor of e–1.
one special example of the kind of function that can describe exponential change. More generally, any function
of the type y(x) = y0 akx (where a is any positive number) will describe exponential change, though it will not
1
satisfy the equation ∆y/∆x = ky. For instance, in Subsection 2.3, you saw that the gradient of the graph of
y(x) = 2x is approximately ∆y/∆x ≈ 0.7y while that of y(x) = 3x is approximately ∆y/∆x ≈ 1.1y, so in both of these
cases, where k = 1, it is certainly not the case that ∆y/∆x = ky even though ∆y/∆x is proportional to y. What really
distinguishes the function y(x) = y 0 ekx is the fact that for it alone we can assert that ∆y/∆x = ky for all values of k.
Although the functions y(x) = y0ekx and y(x) = y 0 akx are different (provided a ≠ e), there is a simple relationship
between them. Because it is always possible to find a number c such that a = ec, for any positive value of a, it is
always possible to write
y0akx = y0(ec)kx = y0eckx 3 (a > 0)
Thus, any function that describes exponential change can always be rewritten in terms of the exponential
function, all we have to do is find the value of c that satisfies the equation a = ec. We will return to this in
Subsection 3.2, where you will see how it is done.
p is sometimes called the exponent of q ☞. Correspondingly, some authors use the term ‘exponential function’
to mean all functions of the type y(x) = ax. Those authors still use exp (x) to represent ex, but they sometimes call
1
it the natural exponential function (since it arises from descriptions of naturally-occurring processes) in order
to distinguish it from other functions of the type a x . However, in FLAP the term exponential function is
generally used to mean a function of the form y(x) = ex or y(x) = ekx. Variables related by functions of the form
y(x) = y 0 ekx are generally said to satisfy exponential laws. Such laws arise in many areas of physics.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 t
0 10.000 10.000
1 11.000
2 12.100
3 13.310
4 14.641
5 15.000 16.105
6 17.716
Table 3 Values of N calculated using
3 7 19.487
(a) ∆t = 5 s, and (b) ∆t = 1 s.
1 1
Combining Equations 9 and 10, we find the time t into small intervals. The curve
2 represents the actual variation of N with t.
N2 = N0 1 +
kt
(11)
2
e = lim (1 + 1 m ) ☞
m
(14)
m→∞
Given that a = (1 + 1/m)m, complete Table 4 (using a calculator) and thus confirm m a
that (1 + 1/m) m provides an increasingly good approximation to e as m becomes
larger and larger. ❏3 2 2.2500
5 2.4883
10 2.5937
102 2.7048
103
104
105
section our main aim is to investigate the inverse function, that tells us the value of t corresponding to any given
value of y. However, we begin our investigation by examining a slightly different question: given that x = 10y,
what is the value of y that corresponds to a given value of x? In other words, given that x = 10y, we want to know
the inverse function that will enable us to write y as a function of x.
This shows that we can, in principle, find y for any positive the x-axis vertical and the y-axis horizontal.
value of x.
dealing with a function, but the brackets are often omitted in −1.0
practice. Note, too, that log10 (x) is sometimes written as log (x).
1 1 −1.2
log10 = −1 since 10 −1 =
1 1
10 10
Question T10
(f) log10 (10), (g) log10 (1), and (h) log10 (101.52). ❏
1 1 1 3
Use the x0y key on your calculator to find 100.397 94 and 10–2.301 03, and hence find values for log10 (2.5) and
1 1
1
be read from graphs such as that in Figure 16b, or found using the ‘log’ key on a calculator. For example, to find
log10 (3.7), key in 3.7 then press the ‘log’ function key — you should obtain the answer 0.568 2017.
1 1 1 1
✦ Use your calculator to find log10 (100), log10 (10), log10 (1), log10 (0.001), log10 (2) and log10 (3.16).
1 1 1 1 1 1
Question T11
Use the log function key on your calculator to find x when (a) 10x = 6.8, (b) 10x = 537, (c) 10x = 0.34.
(Give your answers to four significant figures.) ❏ 3
Question T12
Use your calculator to find (a) log10 (4.725), (b) log10 (47.25) and (c) log10 (472.5). (d) Without further use of the
1 1 1
10log10 (x) = x
1
The function 10x is sometimes called the antilog or antilogarithmic function. Antilogs can be found on a
calculator using the ‘inverse’ and ‘log’ function keys. ☞
✦ Use the function keys on your calculator to find antilog (x) for x = 2, x = –1, x = 0.397 94 and
1 1
Just as the functions 10x and log10 (x) are the inverse of each other, so the functions ax and loga (x) are the inverse
1 1
of each other. This can be expressed by eliminating y from Equation 17 to obtain x = a loga ( x ) , or alternatively by
eliminating x to obtain y = loga (ay). Replacing y by x throughout the second of these results (which we are free
1
to do since we can always rename a variable) we see that for any base a:
if a loga ( x ) = x
then loga (ax) = x
1 (18)
The most widely-used logarithms and logarithmic functions are those based on powers of 10 or on powers of the
number e.
if x = ey
then y = loge (x)
1 (19)
and hence
exp [loge (x)] = x
1 1
denoted by ln (x) ☞. Note that loge (x) can be found on a calculator, in the same way as finding log10 (x), the key
1 1
1
is usually marked loge (x) or ln (x). (You may have to press ‘inv’ followed by ‘ex’ if your calculator doesn’t have
1 1
✦ Given that e = 2.718 (to three decimal places), use the yx key on a calculator to find e1.5041, and hence write
down an approximate value for loge (4.5). 1
Question T13
Without using your calculator, what are the values of loge (1) and loge (e)?
1 1 ❏
3
Question T14
Using your answers to Question T13, and the value of log e (10) found using your calculator, sketch an
1
approximate graph of the function loge (x) on the same axes as a graph (such as that in Figure 16b) of
1
log10 (x). ❏
1 3
✦ Suggest how to find exp (x) on a calculator using the ‘inv’ (i.e. inverse) and ‘log’ keys
1 ☞.
Use this method to find e1.5041.
We are now able to solve the problem posed at the start of Section 3 — namely, to write t as a function of y
1 1
given that y(t) = y0 exp (kt). If we divide both sides of this equation by y 0 we obtain y/y 0 = exp (kt) = ekt. We can
1 1 1
then use Equation 21 (or take loge of both sides) to deduce that:
if y = y 0 exp (kt)
1 1
both sides by Q 0 to obtain Q/Q0 = exp (−t0/RC0), and then take log e of both sides to see that loge (Q/Q0) = −t/RC.
1 1
We can also now solve the problem encountered at the end of Subsection 2.4, where we wanted to find a number
c such that akt = exp (ckt). In other words, since eckt = (ec)kt, we wanted to find the value of c such that a = ec.
1
If we take loge of both sides of this equation we find c = loge (a). You will recall that this is an important result
1
since it enables us to rewrite any function of the form y(t) = y 0 a kt in terms of the exponential function
y(t) = y0eckt.
Question T15
Use your calculator to find x when (a) ex = 4.8, (b) ex = 10, (c) ex = 0.56. ❏
3
If N0 = 1000, how long does it take for the population to double, i.e. what is t when N = 2000? Without doing
any further calculation, write down the time taken for N to increase from 2000 to 4000. ❏
3
Question T17
In a sample of radioactive material, the number, N, of polonium nuclei decays exponentially: N = N0 exp (–λt)
1 1
where λ = 0.0133 s−1. How long does it take for the number of polonium nuclei to halve? ❏
1 3
Question T18
By finding a suitable value of k, rewrite the function y(x) = 3x in the form y(x) = ekx . Check your answer by
finding 3x and exp (kx) when x = 2. ❏
1 3
Of course, instead of working to base 10, we could equally well have written x and y as powers of some other
number a, and then taken logs to base a. If we had done so we would have found the following general result:
log10 (21) = 1.322 (all to three decimal places), i.e. log10 (21) = log10 (3) + log10 (7).
1 1 1 1
You have in fact already met another example of this rule. In Question T12, you saw that
log10 (4.725 × 10n ) = n + log10 (4.725) — which follows from Equation 22 because log 10 (10n) = n.
1 1 1 1 1
The next example demonstrates some properties of logs of quotients and reciprocals. ☞
✦ (a) By writing x = 100p and y = 10 q , find an expression for log10 (x/y) in terms of log10 (x) and log10 (y).
1 1 1
(b) Use your answer to express log10 (1/x) in terms of log10 (x).
1 1
✦ Check Equations 23 and 24 with the aid of your calculator. For example, try x = 24, y = 8, using
(a) logs to base 10, and (b) logs to base e.
This is indicative of a more general result that applies to any power of x, not just integer powers:
☞
✦ By taking logs to base 10 of both sides of the equation, find the value of x when 2x = 3 × 5x.
verify that Equation 28 describes the relationships between loge (x) and log10 (x) for various values of x. But if
1 1
you look at the answer to Question T14 you will see that the graph of loge (x) can be obtained from the graph of
1
log10 (x) by re-scaling the y-axis by a factor of loge (10), just as Equation 28 implies.
1 1
Question T19
Question T20
By finding log10 (5) and log10 (2) on a calculator, calculate log2 (5).
1 1 1 ❏
3
form of the equation of a straight line (0y = mx + c), so if we plot loge (0y) against t, we should expect to get a
1
straight line with gradient k that intersects the vertical axis at loge (0y0). If the results do not follow an exponential
1
log10(y)
log10(y)
value of k in that case? ❏3
1 1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
t t
(a) (b)
Plotting a graph using logarithms thus enables you: to test the data to see whether they follow the expected
exponential law, and to find the value of the constant k. Note that you do not have to use logs to base 10, since
Equations 22–25 apply to logs to any base a. This technique can be summarized as follows:
if y = kx0p
log10 (R)? What would be the gradient if log to base e was used rather than base 10? ❏
1 3
Question T23
An experimenter measures the period of oscillation, T, of various masses m supported by a spring and suggests,
on theoretical grounds, that T ∝ m . How could the experimental data be tested to see whether T ∝ m ? ❏3
kt is a dimensionless quantity.
4 The following relationships are a consequence of the general properties of powers:
exey = e0x + y
1 1
(ex)y = exy
1
e− x = x
e
ex/y = (e1/y)x
(with k such that kx is dimensionless) could describe how a quantity varies with position or any other
quantity.
6 The constant, e, is given in terms of a limit by:
e = lim (1 + 1 m) = 2.718 (to three decimal places)
m
m →∞
7 The logarithm to base a of x is the power to which we must raise a to obtain x. So, if x = a y , then
y = loga (x). The function loga (x) is thus the inverse of the function ax, hence a loga ( x ) = x and loga (ax) = x.
1 1 1
10 The following relationships arise from the definition of a logarithmic function and the rules for combining
indices:
loga (xy) = loga (x) + loga (0y)
1 1 1 (Eqn 22)
loga (x/y) = loga (x) − loga (0y)
1 1 1 (Eqn 23)
loga (1/x) = −loga (x)
1 1 (Eqn 24)
loga (xb) = b loga (x)
1 1 1 (Eqn 25)
12 If y = y0 exp (kt), then loge (0y) = loge (0y0) + kt, and a graph of log e (0y) against t has gradient k and intercept
1 1 1 1 1
loge (0y0).
1
A5 Write down an expression for the rate of change of y, where y = y0 exp (kt), for any given value of t or y.
1 1
A6 Recognize and interpret the common expression for the number e written in terms of a limit.
A7 Explain the relationships between the functions loga (x), ax and antilog (x) and know that many common
1 1
A12 Use a calculator to evaluate exponential functions, and logarithmic functions in base e and base 10.
A13 Use logarithmic functions to test whether experimental data obey an exponential law or a power law, and
to find the values of unknown constants in such relationships.
Study comment You may now wish to take the Exit test for this module which tests these Achievements.
If you prefer to study the module further before taking this test then return to the Module contents to review some of the
topics.
Question E1
60
(A2 and A3) Figure 19 shows how a certain
3
−1 0 1 2 x
gradient of the graph at any value of t, (b) calculate the gradient of the graph when t = 0 and when t = 2, and
(c) sketch a graph of the function.
Question E3
(A9) 3 Rewrite the equation y = 10bx in terms of the exponential function exp (x).
1
Question E4
(A10) Given that log10 (3) = 0.477 and log10 (2) = 0.301, evaluate the following without using a calculator: (a)
3 1 1
Question E5
(a) exp [loge (π)], (b) loge (eπ), and (c) log π π 2 .
1 1 1 ( )
log2 (π).
1
Question E7
(A12 and A13) The results of an (hypothetical) experiment are given in Table 5.
3 Table 5 See Question E7.
Suppose the data obey a law of the form T = kA α . Find k and α by plotting a A T
suitable graph.
1 0.70
3 1.46
6 2.31
10 3.25
20 5.16
30 6.76
45 8.86
If you have completed both the Fast track questions and the Exit test, then you have finished the module and may leave it
here.