5

Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

 Exponential Functions
 Logarithmic Functions
 Compound Interest
 Differentiation of Exponential Functions
 Exponential Functions as Mathematical Models
5.1
Exponential Functions

y
4
f(x) = 2x

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2
 Exponential Function

 The function defined by

f ( x)  b x (b  0, b  1)
is called an exponential function with base b
and exponent x.
 The domain of f is the set of all real numbers.
 Example
 The exponential function with base 2 is the function

f ( x)  2 x
with domain (– , ).
 Find the values of f(x) for selected values of x follow:

f (3)  23  8

 3
f    23/2  2  21/2  2 2
2

f (0)  20  1
 Example
 The exponential function with base 2 is the function

f ( x)  2 x
with domain (– , ).
 Find the values of f(x) for selected values of x follow:

1 1
f ( 1)  2 
2

 2 2/3 1 1
f     2  2/3  3
 3 2 4
 Laws of Exponents

 Let a and b be positive numbers and let x

and y be real numbers. Then,
x y
1. b  b  b
x y

bx x y
2. y  b
b

3. b 
x y
 b xy

ab 
x
4.  a xb x
x
a ax
5.  b   b x
 Examples
 Let f(x) = 22x – 1. Find the value of x for which f(x) = 16.
Solution
 We want to solve the equation

22x – 1 = 16 = 24
 But this equation holds if and only if

5 2x – 1 = 4
giving x = 2 .

Example 2, page 331

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 First, recall that the domain of this function is the set of
real numbers.
 Next, putting x = 0 gives y = 20 = 1, which is the y-intercept.
(There is no x-intercept, since there is no value of x for
which y = 0)

Example 3, page 331

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 Now, consider a few values for x:

x –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
y 1/32 1/16 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 2 4 8 16 32

 Note that 2x approaches zero as x decreases without bound:

✦ There is a horizontal asymptote at y = 0.
 Furthermore, 2x increases without bound when x increases
without bound.
 Thus, the range of f is the interval (0, ).

Example 3, page 331

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = 2x.
Solution
 Finally, sketch the graph:

y
4
f (x ) = 2 x

x
–2 2

Example 3, page 331

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 First, recall again that the domain of this function is the
set of real numbers.
 Next, putting x = 0 gives y = (1/2)0 = 1, which is the
y-intercept.
(There is no x-intercept, since there is no value of x for
which y = 0)

Example 4, page 332

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Now, consider a few values for x:

x –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
y 32 16 8 4 2 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32

 Note that (1/2)x increases without bound when x decreases

without bound.
 Furthermore, (1/2)x approaches zero as x increases without
bound: there is a horizontal asymptote at y = 0.
 As before, the range of f is the interval (0, ).

Example 4, page 332

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Finally, sketch the graph:

y
4

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2

Example 4, page 332

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = (1/2)x.
Solution
 Note the symmetry between the two functions:

y
4
f (x ) = 2 x

f(x) = (1/2)x

x
–2 2

Example 4, page 332

 Properties of Exponential Functions

 The exponential function y = bx (b > 0, b ≠ 1) has

the following properties:
1. Its domain is (– , ).
2. Its range is (0, ).
3. Its graph passes through the point (0, 1)
4. It is continuous on (– , ).
5. It is increasing on (– , ) if b > 1 and
decreasing on (– , ) if b < 1.
 The Base e
 Exponential functions to the base e, where e is an
irrational number whose value is 2.7182818…, play an
important role in both theoretical and applied problems.
 It can be shown that
m
 1 
e  lim  1  
m
 m
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = ex.
Solution
 Since ex > 0 it follows that the graph of y = ex is similar to the
graph of y = 2x.
 Consider a few values for x:

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y 0.05 0.14 0.37 1 2.72 7.39 20.09

Example 5, page 333

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = ex.
Solution
 Sketching the graph:

y
5 f (x ) = e x

x
–3 –1 1 3
Example 5, page 333
 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = e–x.
Solution
 Since e–x > 0 it follows that 0 < 1/e < 1 and so
f(x) = e–x = 1/ex = (1/e)x is an exponential function with
base less than 1.
 Therefore, it has a graph similar to that of y = (1/2)x.
 Consider a few values for x:

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y 20.09 7.39 2.72 1 0.37 0.14 0.05

Example 6, page 333

 Examples
 Sketch the graph of the exponential function f(x) = e–x.
Solution
 Sketching the graph:

y
5

1 f(x) = e–x
x
–3 –1 1 3
Example 6, page 333
5.2
Logarithmic Functions

y y = ex y=x

y = ln x

1
x
1
 Logarithms
 We’ve discussed exponential equations of the form
y = bx (b > 0, b ≠ 1)
 But what about solving the same equation for y?
 You may recall that y is called the logarithm of x to the
base b, and is denoted logbx.

✦ Logarithm of x to the base b

y = logbx if and only if x = by (x > 0)
 Examples
 Solve log3x = 4 for x:
Solution
 By definition, log3x = 4 implies x = 34 = 81.

Example 2, page 338

 Examples
 Solve log164 = x for x:
Solution
 log164 = x is equivalent to 4 = 16x = (42)x = 42x, or 41 = 42x,
from which we deduce that
2x  1
1
x
2

Example 2, page 338

 Examples
 Solve logx8 = 3 for x:
Solution
 By definition, we see that logx8 = 3 is equivalent to

8  23  x 3
x2

Example 2, page 338

 Logarithmic Notation

log x = log10 x Common logarithm

ln x = loge x Natural logarithm

 Laws of Logarithms

 If m and n are positive numbers, then

log b mn  log b m  log b n

1. m
log b  logb m  logb n
n
2.
log b m n  n log b m
3.
log b 1  0
4.
log b b  1
5.
 Examples
 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,
use the laws of logarithms to find
log15  log 3  5
 log 3  log 5
 0.4771  0.6990
 1.1761

Example 4, page 339

 Examples
 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,
use the laws of logarithms to find
log 7.5  log(15 / 2)
 log(3  5 / 2)
 log 3  log 5  log 2
 0.4771  0.6990  0.3010
 0.8751

Example 4, page 339

 Examples
 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,
use the laws of logarithms to find
log81  log 34
 4 log 3
 4(0.4771)
 1.9084

Example 4, page 339

 Examples
 Given that log 2 ≈ 0.3010, log 3 ≈ 0.4771, and log 5 ≈ 0.6990,
use the laws of logarithms to find
log 50  log 5  10
 log 5  log10
 0.6990  1
 1.6990

Example 4, page 339

 Examples
 Expand and simplify the expression:

log 3 x 2 y 3  log 3 x 2  log 3 y 3

 2 log 3 x  3log 3 y

Example 5, page 340

 Examples
 Expand and simplify the expression:

x2  1
log 2 x  log 2  x 2  1  log 2 2 x
2
 log 2  x 2  1  x log 2 2
 log 2  x 2  1  x

Example 5, page 340

 Examples
 Expand and simplify the expression:

x2 x2  1 x 2 ( x 2  1)1/2
ln x
 ln
e ex
 ln x 2  ln( x 2  1)1/2  ln e x
1
 2 ln x  ln( x 2  1)  x ln e
2
1
 2 ln x  ln( x 2  1)  x
2

Example 5, page 340

 Logarithmic Function

 The function defined by

f ( x)  log b x (b  0), b  1)

is called the logarithmic function with base b.

 The domain of f is the set of all positive numbers.
 Properties of Logarithmic Functions

 The logarithmic function

y = logbx (b > 0, b ≠ 1)
has the following properties:
1. Its domain is (0, ).
2. Its range is (– , ).
3. Its graph passes through the point (1, 0).
4. It is continuous on (0, ).
5. It is increasing on (0, ) if b > 1
and decreasing on (0, ) if b < 1.
 Example
 Sketch the graph of the function y = ln x.
Solution
 We first sketch the graph of y = ex.
 The required graph is
the mirror image of the y y=x
y = ex
graph of y = e with
x

respect to the line y = x:

y = ln x

1
x
1

Example 6, page 341

 Properties Relating
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

 Properties relating ex and ln x:

eln x = x (x > 0)
ln ex = x (for any real number x)
 Examples
 Solve the equation 2ex + 2 = 5.
Solution
 Divide both sides of the equation by 2 to obtain:
5
e x  2   2.5
2
 Take the natural logarithm of each side of the equation
and solve:
ln e x  2  ln 2.5
( x  2) ln e  ln 2.5
x  2  ln 2.5
x  2  ln 2.5
x  1.08

Example 7, page 342

 Examples
 Solve the equation 5 ln x + 3 = 0.
Solution
 Add – 3 to both sides of the equation and then divide both
sides of the equation by 5 to obtain:
5ln x  3
3
ln x    0.6
5
and so:

eln x  e 0.6
x  e 0.6
x  0.55

Example 8, page 343