Introduction to Logarithms
This page introduces the concept of logarithms and their basic properties. Logarithms are presented as the inverse operation of exponentiation, helping to solve equations where the exponent is unknown.
Definition: A logarithm is the exponent to which a base must be raised to produce a given number.
The general form of a logarithm is expressed as:
log_ay = x, which is equivalent to a^x = y
Example: log_216 = 4 because 2^4 = 16
The page also covers the components of a logarithmic expression:
- Base a
- Argument y
- Result x
Highlight: The most commonly used logarithmic bases are 10 commonlogarithm and e naturallogarithm,denotedasln.
Key properties of logarithms are introduced:
- log_a1 = 0
- log_aa = 1
- log_axn = n * log_ax
- log_ax∗y = log_ax + log_ay
- log_ax/y = log_ax - log_ay
Vocabulary: The base of a logarithm must be positive and not equal to 1.