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MAT Exam Expository Papers Math in the Middle Institute Partnership

5-2006

The Exponential Function

Shawn A. Mousel
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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 The Exponential Function
Expository Paper

Shawn A. Mousel

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters of Arts in Teaching with a
Specialization in the Teaching of Middle Level Mathematics
in the Department of Mathematics.
Jim Lewis, Advisor

May 2006
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 1

One of the basic principles studied in mathematics is the observation of

relationships between two connected quantities. A function is this connecting relationship,
typically expressed in a formula that describes how one element from the domain is related
to exactly one element located in the range (Lial & Miller, 1975). An exponential function
is a function with the basic form f (x) = a x , where a (a fixed base that is a real, positive
number) is greater than zero and not equal to 1. The exponential function is not to be
confused with the polynomial functions, such as x 2 . One way to recognize the difference
between the two functions is by the name of the function. Exponential functions are called
so because the variable lies within the exponent of the function (Allendoerfer, Oakley, &
Kerr, 1977). These functions are often recognized by the fact that their rate of growth is
proportional to their value (Bogley & Robson, 1999). This concept of exponential growth
has been around much longer than at the dawn of calculus. Evidence of this dates back
almost 4,000 years ago on a Mesopotamian clay tablet, which is now on display at the
Louvre. The question translated from the stone slab simply asks, “How long will it take for
a sum of money to double if invested at 20 percent interest rate compounded
annually?”(Aleff, 2005).
The intensity of exponential function study began in the late 17th and early 18th
centuries, when great mathematicians, such as Jacob Bernoulli, Leonard Euler, and Isaac
Newton began to delve into the depths of exponential and logarithmic functions. Their
insights brought about the creation of modern calculus, which in turn gave meaning to
many mathematical phenomenon that could only be explained through exponential (and
related) functions. Exponential functions are fascinating and widely used in everyday
applications. The intent of this paper is to exam the exponential function through research
and examples, taking careful note of the special features and distinguishing characteristics
of its properties.
Let’s begin by looking at a simple exponential function, f ( x ) = (c ) a x , where
y = f (x) . We see that a is a constant base raised to the x power, and c is some constant
number. Here is an example of this function described in the following table and graph:
Chart & Graph for f ( x ) = ca x , when c = 1 and a = 2 , or ( y = 2 x )

X f(x) Graph 1: f(x)=2^x

1 2
1200
2 4
3 8 1000
4 16 800
5 32
600
6 64
7 128 400
8 256 200
9 512
0
10 1,024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
value of x
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 12

One of the examples that I use with my own students to express this most basic of
exponential functions is to ask them the following: If you had a choice between the
following two earnings, which would you choose and why? Option 1 is to earn $100 per
day for an entire year. The second choice is to take a checkerboard and to begin on day /
square one. You begin by earning one cent on day one. On the next day, the amount in
the new checkerboard square doubles the value of the previous days value. So, for
example, on day 2 there would be 2 cents, giving you a grand total of 3 cents. This
doubling process continues until you run out of checkerboard squares (which there are
only 64). Now, which option would you choose and why? Without hesitation or any
calculations, students immediately choose option 1 because receiving $100 per day for
365 days sounds like an immediate rags-to-riches story.
My example is adapted from the famous story of the Emperor of China who
wanted to thank the inventor of the game of chess by giving him anything he wanted in
the kingdom. The inventor only wanted rice, which sounded like a simple gift, but it was
said in a particular manner: “I would like one grain of rice on the first square of the
chessboard, two grains on the second, four grains on the third and so forth. I would like
all of the grains of rice that are placed on the chessboard in this way.” To the emperor,
this didn’t sound like much, perhaps a bushel or two of rice, just as my students assuming
that placing pennies on a checkerboard in the same manner as the rice wouldn’t have a
greater value then $100 per day for 1 year. Let’s look at the growth of this exponential
function:

X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
F(x) 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024

This is similar to the previous function of f (x) = 2 x , where a doubling process is

witnessed. However, this function is slightly different because the first number in the
range is 1, not 2. This function can be stated as f (x) = 2 x−1 . Looking at the first square on
the chessboard and placing only one grain of rice on it, signifies the starting point for this
exponential growth. This is important because these eventually large numbers will have
begun from the most natural of numbers, 1. We can see that this function holds true:
f (1) = 21−1 = 2 0 = 1, f (2) = 2 2−1 = 21 = 2, and so forth. This function allows for the previous
table’s data to be used, simply shifting the information down to the next value of x.
According to this table, we only have $20.47 (sum of f(1) through f(11)). At this
point, students (and possibly the emperor) still stick with their initial thought of $100 a
day for a year. They compare this value to the $1,100 that they could have after 11 days
and believe it to be impossible for this doubling process to overtake the linear equation of
a set rate of money per day. This exponential function, as do others, may grow slowly at
first, but there is a turning point where the exponential function will grow rapidly. Let’s
continue the previous chart out a little further:

X 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
f(x) 2048 4096 8192 16384 32768 65536 131,072 262,144 524,288
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 13

Students see that on day 15, they now have over $100 per day. According to this
table, by day 20 they would have made $5,242.88 on that day alone! Students then begin
to realize that they have only gone through less than 1/3 of the checkerboard. Another
realization is that each checkerboard square, each function of x, represents a day of
earned income. This wealth is accumulating, so they need to add up the value of each
checkerboard box! Here are two comparisons between the two graphs f (x) = 2 x−1 , the
blue line, and x = 10,000, where x represents a given day:
Graph 2: First 16 Days
12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Days

Graph 3: First 20 Days

600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Days

These visuals show students a daily correspondence (at least for the first 20 days)
between the two choices given to them. Looking at the first graph, nothing really appears
to happen until around day 12. But when looking at the second graph, a noticeable
change has occurred and now the exponential function is growing rapidly. Students
typically want to change their original answers by this point and want to continue on to
see the value of the 64th day. The value of the last checkerboard square is
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 14

2 63 ≈ 9.2233 ×1018 pennies. I often have to remind students that this is the value of only 1
square; they still have all of the other monetary values for the other 63 squares! I’m sure
that when the emperor discovered the power of this exponential growth, he realized his
own inability to comprehend the affects of doubling. Albert Bartlett makes mention of
this story, using grains of wheat rather than rice. With his calculations, he tries to put
into perspective the amount of wheat that the emperor would be presenting to the
inventor: “Since common grains of wheat have a mass of 3.4 grams per hundred, the
total mass of wheat needed to repay the debt is 6.27 ×1014 kg which is approximately 500
times the current (1976) annual world-wide harvest of wheat. This apparent modest
method…..would require an amount of wheat which is probably larger than the total
amount of wheat that has been harvested in the entire history of the earth!” (Bartlett,
Fuller, Plano, & Rogers, 2004)
Let’s now look at the basic exponential function, f ( x ) = (c ) a x , and what happens
as the constant increases. Here is a graph comparing f ( x ) = (1) • 2 x , f ( x ) = (5) • 2 x ,
f ( x ) = (10) • 2 x :

Graph 4: Changes in the Constant

6000

5000
4000
3000 y=(1)2^x
2000 y=(5)2^x
y=(10)2^x
1000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(1) • 2 x 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512
(5) • 2 x 10 20 40 80 160 320 640 1280 2560
(10) • 2 x 20 40 80 160 320 640 1280 2560 5120

We began with the exponential function from graph 1. We can see from both the
chart and graph that the constant does affect the growth of the function, but not
exponentially. The reason being is because the constant isn’t factored into the function
until after the exponential process has occurred. If we observe the values between the
three functions, we see that the values from f ( x ) = (5) • 2 x are five times greater than the
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 15

original function of f ( x ) = (1) • 2 x . Likewise, the function of f ( x ) = (10) • 2 x is only

twice as large as f ( x ) = (5) • 2 x , because the constant 10 is twice as large as 5. Finally,
the function f ( x ) = (10) • 2 x is 10 times larger then the original function of f ( x ) = 2 x .

We also have to consider the exponential function when multiplying by a negative

constant. When multiplying by a negative constant, the function transforms and “flips”

Graph A: Negative Constant (base < 1) Graph B: Negative Constant (base > 1)

16 16

12 12
8 8
4 4
-2(.5)^x
0 0 -2(2)^x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 2(.5)^x -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
-4 -4
2(2)^x

-8 -8
-12 -12
-16 -16

the graph (see the blue line in the graphs above). When a negative constant is multiplied
by a base that is greater than 0 and less than 1, we see a result similar to graph A, where
the positive x-axis (or y value) becomes the horizontal asymptote. When a negative
constant is multiplied by a base that is greater than 1, we see a result similar to graph B,
where the negative x-axis (or y value) becomes the horizontal asymptote.
Let’s now examine what happens when the constant remains the same for each
function, but the base is altered. Here are three functions of the form f ( x ) = ca x , where
c=1 for each:

X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(1) • 2 x 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512
(1) • 3 x 3 9 27 81 243 729 2,187 6,561 19,683
(1) • 4 x 4 16 64 256 1024 4,096 16,384 65,536 262,144
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 16

Graph 5: Change in Base value

18000
15000
12000
9000 2^x
3^x
6000 4^x
3000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

We witness a different type of growth with this change in the exponential

function. When the base is changed, the rate of growth is much greater than when
manipulating the constant. In the data presented with graph 4, we saw that the growth
between different functions remained a constant growth between the values of x (i.e.
f ( x ) = (10)2 x was always twice as large as f ( x ) = (5)2 x ). Now we see that the
growths between the two functions of f ( x ) = 2 x and f ( x ) = 4 x are exponential to one
another, or f (4 x ) = f (2 x ) 2 , thus the greater the growth rate between the two.
Perhaps this is one reason why Albert Bartlett considers the mathematics of the
exponential function the mathematics of growth (Bartlett, Fuller, Plano, & Rogers, 2004).
He appears to be a strong advocate for man’s understanding of the exponential function,
especially in the relevance of the real world. He wrote a series of journals in The Physics
Teacher, spanning nine parts, trying to educate others in the power and importance of the
exponential function. The theme of his first journal / presentation was “The greatest
shortcoming of the human race is man’s inability to understand the exponential function”
(Bartlett, Fuller, Plano, & Rogers, 2004).
So far, all of the examples presented have only included the natural numbers for
the exponents in the functions. What happens to the graph when negative exponents are
included?

Graph 6: Negative values of x

70

50

30 f(x)=2^x

10

-10 -5 -10 0 5
values of x
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 17

X -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
F(x) .000977 .003906 .015635 .0625 .25 1 4 16 64

When negative numbers are included in the exponential function, the value will
never reach the x-axis, although it gets extremely close. The reason that this happens is
1
because of one of the fundamental properties of exponents: a−x = x . No matter how
a
small of a negative number x is, the value of the function will continue to be a positive
real number (all-be-it, very small). This value will never reach or intersect the x-axis, no
matter what negative value is placed into the function. However, the smaller the negative
number, the closer it gets to the x-axis. The x-axis becomes the horizontal asymptote for
any function in the form f ( x ) = (c ) a x .
Other changes occur as the exponential function is manipulated. For example, the
exponential function can be shifted vertically on the coordinate plane. The graph of f(x)
= cax + y is shifted vertically by ‘y’ units from the x-axis. Taking the standard f ( x ) = 2 x
function and changing it to f ( x ) = 2 x + 10, we can see that the graph of the function
maintains its general shape, but all points of the graph are shifted up 10 units (see graph
7). This same occurrence will happen if we were to subtract from this function, only the
graph would shift down. The number that is added to the function becomes the new
horizontal asymptote for the graph.

Graph 7: Vertical Shift of Exponential Graph

70
60
50
f(x)=2^x+10
40 f(x)=2^x
30
20
10
0
-10 -5 0 5 10
values of x

Another shift of the exponential graph would be a horizontal shift. Adding or

subtracting to the exponent does this. In the example of f(x) = cax , by changing it to
f ( x ) = ca x−h the entire graph is shifted horizontally by ‘h’ units. For example, taking
f ( x ) = 2 x and altering it to f ( x ) = 2 x− 3 , the entire exponential graph is shifted to the right
by 3 units (see graph 8). When thinking about the new exponent created when
subtracting from the variable, we can now see that it is necessary to have a larger value
for x in order to produce the same data from the original function. If adding to the
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 18

exponent, the graph will shift to the left because now the value of x doesn’t need to be as
large since it is becoming larger by adding a positive number to it.

Graph 8: Horizontal Shift of Exponential Graph

60
50
40
30 f(x)=2^(x-3)
f(x)=2^x
20
10
0
-10 -5 -10 0 5 10

values of x

Even though the exponential function is considered the mathematics of growth, it

is also extremely relevant to that which decomposes, or decays. There are a couple of
different ways to express this function of exponential decay: If a > 1, then f ( x ) = (c ) a−x .
If 0 < a < 1, then f ( x ) = (c ) a x . Both are illustrations of the process of exponential decay.
In the first function, f ( x ) = (c ) a−x , since a is a base that is larger than 1, multiplying it
by a negative exponent with a value of x will decrease the value of the function (recall
the property of exponents when using a negative exponent). The second function,
f ( x ) = (c ) a x , which looks exactly like the function used for exponential growth,
decreases in value when a is a fraction or decimal less than 1, yet larger than 0. This
makes sense when you think about it; taking a number between 0 and 1, multiplying it by
itself will only decrease the end results.
One algebra level representation of exponential decay is the M&M© tossing game
(www.pbs.org). Students begin with a bag of ‘c’ M&M’s. Students then shake the bag
and pour the candy onto the top of their table. Students first remove the M&M’s that are
not showing the symbol “m”, and then record the number of M&M’s that are showing the
symbol “m” in their data table. Only the candies that were counted are placed back into
the bag and the process is repeated until there are fewer than 10 candies left. It is very
important that students have a number greater than zero in their last entry on their data
table. Students then work, through class discussion and teacher-led questioning, on how
to represent this process with an exponential function for decay. Students use the
formula y = c (1− r) x , where c represents the constant, the initial amount of M&M’s, x is
the number that represents the toss / pouring step, and r represents a decay rate (which is
often a percent in decimal form). Students use their graphing calculators to generate
scatter plots of their data. The intent is for students to recognize that the shape of the plot
appears to be exponential. Finally, students attempt to calculate an exponential model for
their data, seeing if it fits the data that was collected.
Theoretically, the rate (r) should be 50%, because each M&M has one side that is
marked with the symbol ‘m’ and one side that is not labeled. Each side has the same
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 19

probability of showing when the bags are poured onto the desks. The intent is to take the
original function of y = c (1− r) x and get to f ( x ) = c (.5) x . An example of this process is
graphed below, starting with 64 M&M’s

Graph 9: M&M exponential decay

70
64
60
50
40
32
30
20 16
8
10 4
2 1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of trials (tosses)

The importance of not continuing this process until there are zero M&M’s left is
to understand the process of exponential decay, but using real numbers, not necessarily
whole numbers. The positive x-axis, in this example, becomes the horizontal asymptote,
where the exponential function gets closer and closer with each pouring of the M&M
bag. My example uses “nice” numbers. As I think of the function for exponential decay,
these numbers appear every March when the NCAA© basketball tournament begins.
Starting with 64 teams, after the first round only 32 are left (or half). With each round
only 50% of the teams remain (16, 8, 4,2) until after the sixth and final round, only one
team remains.
Some real-life applications of exponential decay involve the cooling of items in
relation to their environments. During this current semester, we (my cohort and I) have
been using exponential decay to describe the cooling process of a dead body. In this
course, we have spent time studying Newton’s Law of Cooling, which states that the rate
of change of the temperature of an object is proportional to the difference between the
object’s temperature and the room temperature. If we looked at this mathematically, it
would be set up as the rate of change of temperature equals some constant times the
difference between the object’s temperature and the environment’s temperature. The
decay function that we used was T(t ) = ce−rt + t(room ) . Here we are introduced to the
number e as a base for the first time, which I will discuss later. In this function, c is a
constant determined by the difference between the initial temperature of the object and
the temperature of the environment, r represents the rate of decay, and t represents the
elapsed time from the initial temperature of the object. The use of t( room ) is the
temperature of the environment (such as a room) in which the object is cooling. The
object’s temperature is cooling exponentially towards the temperature of the room, yet
not reaching the temperature of the room. Here again, we see that by adding a number to
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 20

the exponential expression part of the function, we are moving the asymptote to
something different then the x-axis.
Let’s look at an example that I did involving the cooling of a cup of hot coffee in
a room. First, temperatures are collected at 5-minute intervals for the cup of coffee,
which is cooling in an environment with room temperature 71.5  F . What we know is
that once we take the coffee and pour it into the cup, it will cool exponentially, towards
the temperature of the room. Here is the data and graph that was collected for the first 35
minutes of cooling:

Time Temp r (rate) Graph 10: Cooling of Coffee

0 190 -
5 168 .041 200

10 154 .036 150

Temp.(F)
15 142 .035 100
20 132.5 .033 50
25 124.5 .033
0
30 119 .030 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

35 114 .029 Time (minutes)

Room
Coffee

The rate, r, which is a constant for the cooling process, appears to have different
values at different cooling times. Finding r is a critical piece for understanding the
exponential decay of temperature. Here is an example of calculating r using the data
from the table (when time is at 5 minutes):
The initial function is stated as 118.5e−r(5) + 71.5 = 168. 118.5 is
calculated by taking 190 (coffee temp.) – 71.5 (room temp.). The base of e is
used, where r represents the rate. 71.5 is added to the exponential expression
because the term we find using the exponential expression needs to be elevated
above the room temperature, since the x-axis, or 0, is not the asymptote of our
graph.
Using this equation, 118.5e−r(5) + 71.5 = 168, we can simplify by
subtracting 71.5 from both sides and dividing both by 118.5. This leaves us with
e−r(5) = .8143459916 . In order to find the rate, we will need to use the inverse
function of the exponential function, or the natural logarithm. Here we see that
ln(e− r(5) ) = ln(.8143459916), which simplifies to −5 r = −.2053699522 . By
dividing both sides by –5, we finally arrive at r = .0410739904 , or about .041.
This was done for each of the time intervals. This rate should have been
consistent, but Newton’s Law of Cooling is only an approximation. Likewise,
there are other factors, such as measurement reading errors and inconsistency in
the environmental temperature that could cause this rate to fluctuate. Looking at
the different rates calculated for this data, a rate was selected that was the best
representation for this data. The rate selected was r=.033, since this number
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 21

happens to be both the mean and the median of all the rates that were calculated
(up to the first 45 minutes). So the final formula for the cooling of this cup of
coffee was determined to be: T( t ) = 118.5e−.033( t ) + 71.5 , where T( t ) is the
temperature of the coffee at a particular time after the beginning cooling process.
Knowing this exponential decay function can now help calculate the time when
the cup of coffee will reach a specific temperature. For example, if a cup of coffee is
120  F , we can determine approximately how long the coffee has been cooling, if it met
the previous conditions (room temp is 71.5  F and the initial temperature of the coffee
was 190  F ). Let’s try it!
120 = 118.5e−.033( t ) + 71.5
48.5 = 118.5e−.033( t )
.4092827004 = e−.033( t )
ln(.4092827004) = ln(e−.033( t ) )
−.8933491626 = −.033t
t ≈ 27 minutes
So with the given environmental conditions, and finding an approximate rate for
the cooling conditions, a time of 27 minutes will be needed to cool the coffee to 120  F .
This same process can be used for the natural cooling of any object, but realizing that the
rate of cooling is different and needs to be calculated for each object. Another example
of exponential decay relates to radioactive decay, or the breakdown of radioactive
elements. In each example, the exponential decay begins quickly and then levels off as it
approaches the asymptote (i.e. room temperature), never quite reaching this point.
Perhaps the most widely used real-life application for exponential growth is
compound interest. Compound interest simply means the interest that is earned over a
period of time, where previous interest is added to the principal and interest continues to
r
grow. A formula that represents this concept is V = P(1+ ) nt , where V is the value of
n
the account, P is the initial principal, r is the interest rate expressed as a fraction or
decimal, n is the number of times per year that the interest is compounded, and t is the
number of years invested. Assuming that there are no additions made to the account or
withdrawals, we can view this as an exponential growth function. Let’s look at an
example of compounding interest yearly for a couple of years at 8% interest and an initial
principal of $1000. After one year, the initial $1000 is still there, but now an additional
8% of that $1000, or $80, is included for a total account value of $1,080! Looking back
r
at the original formula, V = P(1+ ) nt , the value of the account equals the initial principal
n
times 1.08. This number accounts for the initial principal and the 8% additional interest.
If this is left in the account for another year, the new principal of $1,080 will still be
there, but now there is an additional 8% of this, or 1,080+(.08x1,080). The new value of
the account after 2 years is $1,166.40. Looking at it exponentially, we see that
V = 1,000(1.08) + 1,000(1.08)(.08), which the first term (1,000 x 1.08) is the amount after
the first year and the second term that is added on to this (1,000 x 1.08 x .08) is the
interest for the second year. This is also written as 1000(1.08)(1.08) or 1000(1.08) 2 .
After t years, the value of the account, compounded annually, could be expressed as
V = 1000(1.08) t . The growth of the account is exponential because interest becomes
principal and then the interest is earning interest.
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 22

If an account earns interest quarterly (4 times per year), then the same account
mentioned above will see a value increase in their account. Let’s look at this example.
r .08
For quarter 1, we use the formula V = P(1+ ) nt , or 1000(1+ ) , which equals $1,020.
n 4
This seems to be right on track with the annual compounding. However, after the first
quarter, this interest is placed into the account and becomes principal. When calculating
.08
the second quarter we now use 1020(1+ ) , which is $1,040.40. After the third quarter
4
there is $1,061.21 and after one year the accounts value is $1,082.43! By compounding
quarterly the value earned an additional $2.43.
If the same account was compounded monthly, we would use the following
.08 12
formula to calculate its value after one year: 1000(1+ ) , or $1,083.00. Compounded
12
.08 365
daily for an entire year would be 1000(1+ ) , or approximately $1,083.28. To
365
calculate at a continuous rate the following equation is used: Value = Pe rt .
Again, this value of e appears. What is it and why is it used so frequently as a
base in the exponential function? Let’s use the example of compound interest to
understand the number e a little better. Assume that the initial principal of the account is
$1 and the interest rate (r) is also equal to 1 (which is 100%). Let’s look at the value of
the account after 1 year for different compounding methods.

1
If compounded annually 1(1+ )1 , or 2
1
1
If compounded quarterly 1(1+ ) 4 , or 2.44140625
4
1 365
If compounded daily 1(1+ ) , or 2.714567482
365
1
If compounded by the minute 1(1+ ) 525,600 , or 2.718279215
525,600
1
If compounded by the second 1(1+ ) 31,536,000 , or 2.718282473
31,536,000
It appears that as we compound more frequently, we are reaching a value that is close to
2.71828… Actually, as we observe what is happening in each of the previous compound
1
equations, even though the value inside of the parentheses, 1+ , is getting smaller, it is
n
1
being raised to a larger power of n. The formula (1+ ) n , as n → ∞ , becomes one of the
n
definitions for the number e.
The number e is named in honor of Leonhard Euler, who spent great amounts of
time exploring its properties, although John Napier used it to develop his conceptual
understanding and development of logarithms almost a century before Euler. Some
believe that e received its notation simply because it stood for “exponential”, while others
believe that the letters a-d had already been given mathematical meanings, so e was the
next obvious choice (Aleff, 2005). Whatever, or whoever, this interesting irrational
number is named for, it plays an important role as a base value for the exponential
function. The value of e is often used as a base in economic analysis and other situations
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 23

involving natural growth and decay. It is perhaps the most important irrational number in
mathematics, with the exception of π .
While researching the exponential function, other topics appeared numerous
times, such as the number e. Another one of these topics is the logarithmic function, also
known as the inverse function of the exponential function. Let’s look at the graph of
f ( x ) = 2 x and its reflection across the line made by y=x.

Looking at this graph, the line y=x is a mirror line for the graph of y = 2 x , an
exponential function. The line created across this reflection is the inverse function of the
exponential function, or the logarithm. This logarithm is y = log2 x . We can see that
with the log function, the vertical asymptote is located at the y-axis, and its x-intercept is
at (1,0). In contrast, the exponential function of 2 x has a horizontal asymptote of the x-
axis and a y-intercept at (0,1). The line y=x is also considered the perpendicular bisector
of the line segments created by joining inverse points from the logarithmic and
exponential functions (Allendoerfer, Oakley, & Kerr, 1977). For example, the line
segment created by connecting point (0,1) which is located on the exponential line graph
and point (1,0) which is located on the logarithm line graph, is bisected by the line y=x.
This is true for the other inverse points: (1,2) & (2,1), (2,4) & (4, 2), (3,8) & (8,3), as
well as any reflected points found on the lines. Comparing the two functions, we could
say that a logarithm is an exponent (Larson & Hostetler, 1979). Some examples that
show the relationship between exponents and logarithms are:

Logarithmic Form Exponential Form

log2 8 = 3 23 = 8
log10 1000 = 3 10 3 = 1000
loga x = b a b = x (If a > 0 and a ≠ 1)
(Larson & Hostetler, 1979)

Here, the number e appears again because of its limit concept (as it approaches
infinity) and its convenience as a universal base. A logarithm with a base of e is defined
as the natural logarithm of a number, with notation as such: loge x = ln x . Both the
exponential and the logarithmic functions are the foundation for the study of calculus.
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 24

There appears to be much to study and understand in the world of exponential

functions and its applications to our world. I can now look back and recognize that the
Math in the Middle courses have always had topics related to the exponential function. It
seems intriguing that such a concept appears so frequently in different topics within
mathematics. I look forward to understanding their properties and relationships more
intimately during my summer courses in the Math in the Middle program.
 Mousel – MAT Expository Paper - 25

References

Aleff, H.P. (2005). www.rediscoveredscience.com/constanteofgrowth.htm

Allendoerfer, C., Oakley, C., & Kerr, D. Jr. (1977). Elementary functions. McGraw-
Hill, Inc.

Bartlett, A., Fuller, R., Plano, V., & Rogers, J. (2004). The essential exponential! For
the future of our planet. Lincoln, NE.: Center for Science, Mathematics &
Computer Education.

Bogley, W. & Robson, Robby. (1999).

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/mth251/cq/FieldGuide/exponential/lesson.html

Larson, R. & Hostetler, R. (1979). Calculus with analytic geometry. Lexington, MA.:
D.C. Heath and Company.

Lial, M. & Miller, C. (1975). Essential calculus with applications in business, biology
and behavioral sciences. Glenview, Il.: Scott, Foresman and Company.

www.pbs.org/mathline