Exponentials and

Logarithms
Mathematics Help Sheet

The University of Sydney Business School

An exponential function is a function that possesses the general form of 𝑦 = 𝑎 𝑥 where “a” is
any constant greater than one. The graph of an exponential function will increase at an
increasing rate as 𝑥 increases, and it will also have an asymptote at the 𝑥-axis, that is, it will
approach the 𝑥-axis but never touch it.

Consider the graph of an exponential function below,

30

25

20

15

10

0
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
-5 3.4

-10

The above graph represents the function 𝑦 = 𝑒 𝑥 where 𝑒 is a constant equivalent to

Other examples of exponential functions include,

𝑦 = 10𝑥

𝑦 = 53𝑥

𝑦 = 52+𝑥

1
Index Laws

The below are rules and examples for using exponentials. Note that 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑥 and 𝑦 can be any
numbers.

Rule Example

1. 𝑥 0 = 1, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑥 ≠ 0 50 = 1

2. 𝑥 𝑎 + 𝑥 𝑏 = 𝑥 𝑎+𝑏 𝑥5 + 𝑥2 = 𝑥7

𝑥𝑎 𝑥8
3. = 𝑥 𝑎−𝑏 = 𝑥5
𝑥𝑏 𝑥3

4. (𝑥 𝑎 )𝑏 = 𝑥 𝑎𝑏 (𝑥 2 )3 = 𝑥 6

5. (𝑥𝑦)𝑎 = 𝑥 𝑎 𝑦 𝑎 (𝑥𝑧)3 = 𝑥 3 𝑧 3

1 1
6. 𝑥 −1 = 𝑥 −4 =
𝑥 𝑥4
𝑎 10
7. 𝑎𝑥 −𝑏 = 10𝑥 −2 =
𝑥𝑏 𝑥2
1 1
8. 𝑎 3
𝑥 𝑎 = √𝑥 𝑥 3 = √𝑥

𝑎 𝑏 3 5
9. 𝑥 𝑏 = √𝑥 𝑎 𝑥 5 = √𝑥 3

2
Logarithms
A logarithmic function is a function that possesses the general form 𝑦 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎 (𝑥). Logarithmic
functions increase infinitely but at a decreasing rate, as 𝑥 increases. The function has an
asymptote at the vertical axis, meaning it approaches, but never touches, the y-axis. This is
because you cannot take a logarithm of a negative number, and hence the graph only exists
for positive values of 𝑥.

Consider the graph of a logarithmic function below,

0.5

0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

The function graphed above is 𝑦 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (𝑥), which can be read as “𝑦 is equal to log to the
base 10 of 𝑥.” Quite literally, the logarithm is the numerical quantity representing the number
of times a constant (the base, which is 10 here) needs to be multiplied by itself in order to
arrive at some other quantity (𝑥).

Consider for example, when 𝑥 = 100, such that,

𝑦 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (100)

The logarithm is simply the number of times 10 needs to be multiplied by itself in order to
reach 100, which is 2. Hence,
𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (100) = 2

3
The Relationship between Exponentials and Logarithms

To understand a logarithm, you can think of it as the inverse of an exponential function. While
an exponential function such as 𝑥 = 5𝑦 tells you what you get when you multiply 5 by itself
𝑦 times, the corresponding logarithm, 𝑦 = log 5 (𝑥 ), asks the opposite question: how many
times do you have to multiply 5 by itself in order to get 𝑥?

The relationship is as follows,

𝐼𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑦 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦 = loga (𝑥)

For example,
8 = 23

3 = log 2 (8)

The Natural Log

The most commonly used base for logarithms is the base 𝑒, which is a constant approximately
equal to 2.718. This is called the natural logarithm and is written using an “ln”.

That is,
log 𝑒 (𝑥) = ln(𝑥)
If you encounter a log without a base such as log(𝑥) , it is generally assumed that it is a
natural log. The name is derived from its relationship with the natural exponential function,
𝑦 = 𝑒 𝑥 , originally used to describe continuous growth in nature.

The reason that we use the base 𝑒 most commonly is because it has some practical properties
which allow for ease of calculation, in particular, with respect to differential calculus. Some of
these properties are explored in the “Differentiation” help sheet.

4
 Log Rules

Rule Example

1. log(𝑥 𝑦 ) = 𝑦𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝑥 ) log(1005 ) = 5𝑙𝑜𝑔(100)

log(𝑎𝑏𝑐 ) = log(𝑎) + log(𝑏) +

x
log ( ) = log(𝑥𝑦 −1 )
y
8
3. −1 ) log ( ) = log(8) − log(𝑤 )
= log(𝑥 ) + log(𝑦 𝑤

= log(𝑥 ) − log(𝑦)

4. log(1) = 0

log 𝑐 (𝑏) log 2 (100)

6. 𝑎 loga(𝑥) = 𝑥 𝑒 ln(𝑥) = 𝑥

Using Logarithms to Solve Exponential Functions

Logs are useful for solving equations where the unknown variable is a power rather than a
base. Consider the following,
125 = 5𝑥

You can take the log of both sides of the equation,

ln(125) = ln(5𝑥 )

ln(125) = 𝑥ln(5)

ln(125)
𝑥=
ln(5)

𝑥=3