Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions

Lesson Notes
Solve each equation by (i) finding a
Example 7 common base (if possible), (ii) using
Exponential Equations
(solve multiple ways)
logarithms, and (iii) graphing.
a)
i) Common Base ii) Solve with Logarithms iii) Solve Graphically

b)
i) Common Base ii) Solve with Logarithms iii) Solve Graphically

c)
i) Common Base ii) Solve with Logarithms iii) Solve Graphically

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes
Solve each equation by (i) using
Example 8 logarithm laws, and (ii) graphing.
Logarithmic Equations
(solve multiple ways)

a)
i) Solve with Logarithm Laws ii) Solve Graphically

b)
i) Solve with Logarithm Laws ii) Solve Graphically

c)
i) Solve with Logarithm Laws ii) Solve Graphically

www.math30.ca
 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions
Lesson Notes

Example 9 Answer the following questions. Assorted Mix I

a) The graph of y = logbx passes through the point (8, 2). What is the value of b?

b) What are the x- and y-intercepts of y = log2(x + 4)?

c) What is the equation of the asymptote for y = log3(3x – 8)?

d) The point (27, 3) lies on the graph of y = logbx. If the point (4, k)
exists on the graph of y = bx, then what is the value of k?

e) What is the domain of f(x) = logx(6 – x)?

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes

Example 10 Answer the following questions. Assorted Mix II

a) The graph of y = log3x can be transformed to the graph of y = log3(9x) by

either a stretch or a translation. What are the two transformation equations?

b) If the point (4, 1) exists on the graph of y = log4x, what is the point after
the transformation y = log4(2x + 6)?

c) A vertical translation is applied to the graph of y = log3x so the image has

an x-intercept of (9, 0). What is the transformation equation?

d) What is the point of intersection of f(x) = log2x and g(x) = log2(x + 3) - 2?

e) What is the x-intercept of y = alogb(kx)?

www.math30.ca
 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions
Lesson Notes

Example 11 Answer the following questions. Assorted Mix III

a) What is the equation of the reflection line for the graphs of f(x) = bx and ?

b) If the point (a, 0) exists on the graph of f(x), and the point (0, a) exists on the graph
of g(x), what is the transformation equation?

c) What is the inverse of f(x) = 3x + 4?

d) If the graph of f(x) = log4x is transformed by the equation y = f(3x – 12) + 2, what is the
new domain of the graph?

e) The point (k, 3) exists on the inverse of y = 2x. What is the value of k?

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes

Example 12
The strength of an earthquake is calculated
using Richter’s formula:

where M is the magnitude of the earthquake

(unitless), A is the seismograph amplitude of
the earthquake being measured (m), and A0
is the seismograph amplitude of a threshold
earthquake (10-6 m).

a) An earthquake has a seismograph amplitude of 10-2 m.

What is the magnitude of the earthquake?

b) The magnitude of an earthquake is 5.0 on the Richter scale.

What is the seismograph amplitude of this earthquake?

c) Two earthquakes have magnitudes of 4.0 and 5.5.

Calculate the seismograph amplitude ratio for the two earthquakes.

www.math30.ca
 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions
Lesson Notes
d) The calculation in part (c) required multiple steps because we are comparing each amplitude
with A0, instead of comparing the two amplitudes to each other. It is possible to derive the formula:
which compares two amplitudes directly without requiring A0.
Derive this formula.

e) What is the ratio of seismograph amplitudes for earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0 and 6.0?

f) Show that an equivalent form of the equation is:

g) What is the magnitude of an earthquake with triple the seismograph amplitude

of a magnitude 5.0 earthquake?

h) What is the magnitude of an earthquake with one-fourth the seismograph amplitude

of a magnitude 6.0 earthquake?

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes

Example 13
The loudness of a sound is measured in decibels,
and can be calculated using the formula:

where L is the perceived loudness of the sound (dB),

I is the intensity of the sound being measured (W/m2),
and I0 is the intensity of sound at the threshold of
human hearing (10-12 W/m2).

a) The sound intensity of a person speaking in a conversation is 10-6 W/m2.

What is the perceived loudness?

b) A rock concert has a loudness of 110 dB. What is the sound intensity?

c) Two sounds have decibel measurements of 85 dB and 105 dB.

Calculate the intensity ratio for the two sounds.

www.math30.ca
 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions
Lesson Notes
d) The calculation in part (c) required multiple steps because we are comparing each sound with I0,
instead of comparing the two sounds to each other. It is possible to derive the formula:
which compares two sounds directly without requiring I0. Derive this formula.

e) How many times more intense is 40 dB than 20 dB?

f) Show that an equivalent form of the equation is:

g) What is the loudness of a sound twice as intense as 20 dB?

h) What is the loudness of a sound half as intense as 40 dB?

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes

Example 14
The pH of a solution can be measured with the formula

where [H+] is the concentration of hydrogen ions in the

solution (mol/L). Solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic,
and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic.

a) What is the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion concentration of 10-4 mol/L?

Is this solution acidic or basic?

b) What is the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution with a pH of 11?

c) Two acids have pH values of 3.0 and 6.0. Calculate the hydrogen ion ratio for the two acids.

www.math30.ca
 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
y = logbx LESSON THREE - Logarithmic Functions
Lesson Notes
d) The calculation in part (c) required multiple
steps. Derive the formulae (on right) that can
and
be used to compare the two acids directly.

e) What is the pH of a solution 1000 times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 5?

f) What is the pH of a solution with one-tenth the acidity of a solution with a pH of 4?

g) How many times more acidic is a solution with a pH of 2 than a solution with a pH of 4?

www.math30.ca
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
LESSON THREE- Logarithmic Functions y = logbx
Lesson Notes

Example 15 ♯
♯ ♯
♯ ♯
In music, a chromatic scale divides an octave into
12 equally-spaced pitches. An octave contains
1200 cents (a unit of measure for musical intervals),
and each pitch in the chromatic scale is 100 cents apart.
The relationship between cents and note frequency is
given by the formula:

a) How many cents are in the interval between A (440 Hz) and B (494 Hz)?

b) There are 100 cents between F# and G. If the frequency of F# is 740 Hz,
what is the frequency of G?

c) How many cents separate two notes, where one note is double the frequency
of the other note?

For more practice solving

logarithmic equations,
return to Exponential
Functions and solve the
word problems using
logarithms.

www.math30.ca
 Answer Key
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Lesson One: Exponential Functions
Example 1: a) b) c) d) Parts (a-d):
Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞)
Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞)
x-intercept: None
y-intercept: (0, 1)
Asymptote: y = 0

An exponential function is defined as y = bx, where b > 0 and b ≠ 1. When b > 1, we get exponential growth. When 0 < b < 1, we get
exponential decay. Other b-values, such as -1, 0, and 1, will not form exponential functions.

Example 2: a) ; b) ; c) ; d) ;

Example 3: a) 10 b) 10 c) 10 d) 10

5 5 5 5

-5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 5

-5 -5 -5 -5

Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞)

Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞) Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞) Range: y > 3 or (3, ∞) Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞)
Asymptote: y = 0 Asymptote: y = 0 Asymptote: y = 3 Asymptote: y = 0

Example 4: a) 10 b) 10 c) 10 d) 10

5 5 5 5

-5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 5

-5 -5 -5 -5

Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞) Domain: x ε R or (-∞, ∞)

Range: y > -4 or (-4, ∞) Range: y > -2 or (-2, ∞) Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞) Range: y > 0 or (0, ∞)
Asymptote: y = -4 Asymptote: y = -2 Asymptote: y = 0 Asymptote: y = 0

Example 5: a) b)

Example 6: a) b) c) d) e) V.S. of 9 f) See Video

equals H.T.
2 units left.

www.math30.ca
Answer Key
Example 7: Example 8: Example 9: Example 10: Example 11: Example 12: Example 13: Example 14:
a) a) a) a) a) a) a) a)
b) b) b) b) b) infinite b) no solution
c) c) c) solutions b)
c) b) c)
d) d) c) c)
d) d)
d) c)
d) e) d)
d)
f)

Example 15: m
Example 15c
m
Example 15d
100 1

a)

b) 84 g

c) See Graph 50 0.5

d) 49 years
(49, 0.1)

10 20 t 10 20 30 40 50 60 t

Example 16: B
Example 16c
B
Example 16d
100000 1000

a)
800
Watch Out! The graph requires hours
b) 32254 bacteria on the t-axis, so we can rewrite the
600
exponential function as:
50000
c) See Graph
400

d) 6 hours ago
200 (-6, 50)

5 10 t -8 0 2 t

Example 17: a) ; 69 MHz b) ; $600

Example 18: P%
Example 18b P% Example 18d
5 1

a) 853,370
4 0.8

b) 54 years (76.7, 0.5)

3 0.6
(53.7, 2)
c) 21406
2 0.4

d) 77 years
1 0.2

20 40 60 80 100 t 20 40 60 80 100 t

$
Example 19: Example 19c
P%
Example 19d
1000 5
a) A (t ) = 500 (1.025 )
t

b) $565.70
3
Interest: $65.70
500 (28, 2)

c) See graph 2

d) 28 years 1

e) $566.14; $566.50; $566.57 10 20 t 10 20 30 40 50 t

As the compounding frequency
increases, there is less and less
of a monetary increase.

www.math30.ca
 Answer Key
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Lesson Two: Laws of Logarithms
Example 1: Example 3: Example 4: Example 5: Example 6:
a) The base of the logarithm is b, a) a) a) a)
a is called the argument of the logarithm,
and E is the result of the logarithm. b) b) b) b)

In the exponential form, a is the result, c) c) c)

c)
b is the base, and E is the exponent.
d) d) d)
b) i. 0; 1; 2; 3 ii. 0; 1; 2; 3 d)
e) e)
e)
c) i. log42 ii. e)
f) f)
f)
Example 2: f) g) g)
g)
a) g) h) h)
h)
h)
b)

c)
Example 11: Example 12:

a) a)
Example 7: Example 8: Example 9: Example 10:
b)
a) a) a) a) b)
c)
b) b) b) b)
c)
c) c) c) c) d)

d) d) d) d) d)

e) e) e) e)

f) f) f) f) Example 13: Example 14: Example 15:

g) g) g) g) a) a) a)

b) b) b)
h) h) h) h)
c) c) c)

d) d) ±
d)

Example 16: Example 17: Example 18: Example 19: Example 20:
a) a) a) a) a)

b) b) b) b) b)
c) c)
c) c)
d) c)
d)
d) d)
e) d)
e)
e) e)
f) e)
f)
f) f)
f)
g) g) g) see video g)
g)
h) h) h) h)
h)

www.math30.ca
Answer Key
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Lesson Three: Logarithmic Functions
Example 1:
a) See Graph b) See Graph c) See Video d) e) f)
i) -1, y = log1x, y = log0x,
10 y=2 x
y = log2x
f(x) = 2x ii) 0, and y = log-2x are
iii) 1, not functions.
Domain xεR x>0
iv) 2.8 is a function.
5
f (x) = log2x
-1
Range y>0 yεR
10

g) The logarithmic function y = logbx

x-intercept none (1, 0) is the inverse of the exponential
function y = bx. It is defined for all
-5 5
y-intercept (0, 1) none real numbers such that b>0 and x>0.

Asymptote h) Graph log2x using logx/log2

y=0 x=0
-5 Equation

Example 2:
a) b) c) d)
D: x > 0 D: x > 0 D: x > 0 D: x > 0
or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞)

R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R
or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞)

A: x = 0 A: x = 0 A: x = 0 A: x = 0

Example 3:
a) b) c) d)
D: x > 0 D: x > 0 D: x > 0 D: x > 0
or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞) or (0, ∞)

R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R
or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞)

A: x = 0 A: x = 0 A: x = 0 A: x = 0

Example 4:
a) b) c) d)
D: x > 0 D: x > -2 D: x > 3 D: x > -4
or (0, ∞) or (-2, ∞) or (3, ∞) or (-4, ∞)

R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R
or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞)

A: x = 0 A: x = -2 A: x = 3 A: x = -4

Example 5:
a) b) c) d)
D: x > -3 D: x > 0 D: x > -3 D: x > -2
or (-3, ∞) or (0, ∞) or (-3, ∞) or (-2, ∞)

R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y ε R
or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞)

A: x = -3 A: x = 0 A: x = -3 A: x = -2

www.math30.ca
 Answer Key
Example 6:
a) b) c) d)
D: x > 0 D: x > 1 D: x > 2 D: x > 0
or (0, ∞) or (1, ∞) or (2, ∞) or (0, ∞)

R: y ε R R: y ε R R: y > log34 R: y ε R
or (-∞, ∞) or (-∞, ∞) or (log34, ∞) or (-∞, ∞)

A: x = 0 A: x = 1 A: none A: x = 0

Example 7:
a) x = 8 b) c) No Solution
(8, 262144)
No Solution

(-0.60, 0.72)

Example 8:
(25, 12)
a) x = 8 b) x = 25 c) x = 4
(8, 2) (4, 3)

Example 9: Example 10: Example 11:

a) a) a) (y-axis)

b) (-3, 0) and (0, 2) b) b)

c) c) c)

d) d) d)

e) e) e)

Example 12: Example 13: Example 14: Example 15:

a) 4 a) 60 dB a) pH = 4 a) 200 cents

b) 0.1 m b) 0.1 W/m2 b) 10-11 mol/L b) 784 Hz

c) 31.6 times stronger c) 100 times more intense c) 1000 times stronger c) 1200 cents separate
the two notes
d) See Video d) See Video d) See Video

e) 10 times stronger e) 100 times more intense e) pH = 2

f) See Video f) See Video f) pH = 5

g) 5.5 g) 23 dB g) 100 times more acidic

h) 5.4 h) 37 dB

www.math30.ca