Logarithms

Fiona and Edward

October 3, 2024

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Contents

1 Basics 2

1.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.2 Common Bases: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Logarithm Properties 3

2.1 Product Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2 Quotient Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.3 Power Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.4 Change of Base Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 Practice Problems 4

4 Group Solve Problems 6

5 Solutions to Group Solve Problems 7

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1 Basics

1.1 Definition

Understanding Logarithms

A logarithm answers the question: “To what exponent must a specific base be raised to produce a given
number?”

In mathematical terms, if by = x, then the logarithm of x with base b is y. This is written as:

logb (x) = y

Here:

• b is the base of the logarithm (it must be a positive number, not equal to 1),

• x is the number we want to find the logarithm of (it must be positive),

• y is the exponent to which the base must be raised to get x.

1.2 Common Bases:

• Base 10: log10 (x) is often written as log(x).
• Base e (approximately 2.718): loge (x) is written as ln(x), called the natural logarithm.

Example

Let’s find log2 (8).

1. Identify the Base and the Number:

• Base b = 2
• Number x = 8
2. Rephrase the Logarithm as an Exponential Equation: We need to find y such that:

2y = 8

3. Solve for y: Since 8 = 23 , we have:

2y = 23
This means y = 3.
4. Conclusion: Therefore,
log2 (8) = 3

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Why Use Logarithms?

Logarithms are useful for:

• Solving exponential equations.

• Simplifying multiplication and division into addition and subtraction.

• Understanding phenomena that grow exponentially, such as populations, investments, and certain
scientific measurements.

2 Logarithm Properties

2.1 Product Rule

The logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms:

logb (m · n) = logb (m) + logb (n)

Example:
log3 (9) + log3 (27) = log3 (9 · 27)
2 3
Since 9 = 3 and 27 = 3 , we have:
log3 (9) = 2, log3 (27) = 3
Thus,
log3 (9) + log3 (27) = 2 + 3 = 5

2.2 Quotient Rule

The logarithm of a quotient is the difference of the logarithms:

m
logb = logb (m) − logb (n)
n

Example:  
1000
log10 (1000) − log10 (10) = log10 = log10 (100)
10
Since 100 = 102 , we have:
log10 (100) = 2

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2.3 Power Rule

The logarithm of a power is the exponent times the logarithm of the base:

logb (mk ) = k · logb (m)

Example:
log2 (43 ) = 3 · log2 (4) = 3 · 2 = 6

2.4 Change of Base Formula

To change the base of a logarithm:

logk (m)
logb (m) =
logk (b)

Example:
log10 (10) 1
log2 (10) = ≈ ≈ 3.32
log10 (2) 0.3010

3 Practice Problems

Question P1
Simplify log3 (9) + log3 (27) − log3 (3).

Solution 1 (4): We apply the logarithm properties step by step:

log3 (9) = 2, log3 (27) = 3, log3 (3) = 1

log3 (9) + log3 (27) − log3 (3) = 2 + 3 − 1 = 4

Question P2
Simplify log2 (32) − log2 (8) + log2 (4).

Solution 2 (4): We calculate each logarithm:

log2 (32) = 5, log2 (8) = 3, log2 (4) = 2

So,
log2 (32) − log2 (8) + log2 (4) = 5 − 3 + 2 = 4

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Question P3
[ 23 ] Calculate log2 5(125).

Solution 3 ():
loga (x)
logb (x) =
loga (b)
Applying the change of base formula for log2 5(125):

log(125)
log2 5(125) =
log(25)

Now, simplify each logarithm:

125 = 53 so log(125) = 3 log(5)

25 = 52 so log(25) = 2 log(5)
Substitute these into the expression:

3 log(5) 3
log2 5(125) = =
2 log(5) 2

Thus, log2 5(125) = 32 .

Question P4
Points A and B lie on the graph of y = log2 x. The midpoint of AB is (6, 2). What is the positive
difference between the x-coordinates of A and B?

√
Solution 4 (4 5): Let A(6 + m, 2 + n) and B(6 − m, 2 − n), since (6, 2) is their midpoint. Thus,
we must find 2m. We find two equations due to A,B both lying on the function y = log2 x. The two
equations are then log2 (6 + m) = 2 + n and log2 (6 − m) = 2 − n. Now add these two equations to
obtain log2 (6 + m) + log2 (6 − m) = 4. By logarithm rules, we get log2 ((6 + m)(6 − m)) = 4. By
raising 2 to the power of both sides, we obtain (6 + m)(6 − m) = 16. We then get
√
36 − m2 = 16 → m2 = 20 → m = 2 5
√ √
. Since we’re looking for 2m, we obtain (2)(2 5) = 4 5.

Question P5
What is the product of all the solutions to the equation

log7x 2023 · log289x 2023 = log2023x 2023?

Solution 5 (1): We apply the logarithm properties step by step:

log7x 2023 · log289x 2023 = log2023x 2023

Rearranging it gives us:

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log2023 7x − log2023 289x = log2023 2023x

(log2023 7 + log2023 x)(log2023 289 + log2023 x) = (log2023 2023 + log2023 x)

Let log2023 x be a, we get:

(log2023 7 + a)(log2023 289 + a) = 1 + a

a2 + (log2023 7 + log2023 289)a + log2023 7 log2023 289 = 1 + a

a2 + log2023 7 log2023 289 − 1 = 0

By Vieta’s Formulas,

a1 + a2 = −(log2023 7 + log2023 289) = 0

log2023 x1 + log2023 x2 = 0

x1 · x2 = 1

4 Group Solve Problems

These problems are designed to be solved collaboratively in groups.

Solve for x ∈ Z:
2x + 3x−1 = 17

Determine all points (x, y) where the two curves y = log10 x4 and y = (log10 x)3

Suppose x and y are positive real numbers such that

xy = 264 and (log2 x)log2 y = 27 .

What is the greatest possible value of log2 y?

Simplify the following expression:

log2 (80) log2 (160)
−
log40 (2) log20 (2)

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5 Solutions to Group Solve Problems

Solution to Problem 1
We are given:
2x + 3x−1 = 17
Test small integer values of x:
x=2: 22 + 31 = 4 + 3 = 7
x=3: 23 + 32 = 8 + 9 = 17
Since exponential functions are strictly increasing, the graph of the function 2x + 3x−1 has only one
intersection with y = 17
Thus, x = 3 is the solution and it is the only solution.

Solution to Problem 2
y = log10 (x4 ) = 4log10 x
Let log10 x = a.
Therefore, 4a = a3 , which gives a · (a + 2) · (a − 2) = 0
a = −2, 0, 2
1
Finally, (x, y) = ( 100 , −8), (1, 0), (100, 8)

Solution to Problem 3
Take the base-two logarithm of both equations to get

y log2 x = 64 and (log2 y)(log2 log2 x) = 7.

Now taking the base-two logarithm of the first equation again yields

log2 y + log2 log2 x = 6.

It follows that the real numbers r := log2 y and s := log2 log2 x satisfy r + s = 6 and rs = 7. Solving
this system yields
√ √
{log2 y, log2 log2 x} ∈ {3 − 2, 3 + 2}.
√
Thus the largest possible value of log2 y is 3 + 2

Solution to Problem 4
We need to simplify:
log2 (80) log2 (160)
−
log40 (2) log20 (2)
Using the change of base formula, we have:
1 1
log40 (2) = , log20 (2) =
log2 (40) log2 (20)
Thus, we can rewrite the expression as:
log2 (80) · log2 (40) − log2 (160) · log2 (20)

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Next, we calculate each logarithm:

log2 (80) = log2 (24 · 5) = 4 + log2 (5)

log2 (160) = log2 (25 · 5) = 5 + log2 (5)

log2 (40) = log2 (23 · 5) = 3 + log2 (5)
log2 (20) = log2 (22 · 5) = 2 + log2 (5)
Substituting these values back into our expression:

(4 + log2 (5)) · (3 + log2 (5)) − (5 + log2 (5)) · (2 + log2 (5))

Expanding both products:

= (12 + 4 log2 (5) + 3 log2 (5) + (log2 (5))2 ) − (10 + 5 log2 (5) + 2 log2 (5) + (log2 (5))2 )

= (12 + 7 log2 (5) + (log2 (5))2 ) − (10 + 7 log2 (5) + (log2 (5))2 )
Now, we can simplify:
= 12 − 10 = 2
Thus, the final result is:
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