1. Definitions: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

by M. Bourne

Exponential Functions

Exponential functions have the form:

f(x) = b^x

where b is the base and x is the exponent (or power).

If b is positive, the function continuously increases in value. A special property of exponential functions is that the slope of the function also continuously increases as x increases.

It is common to write exponential functions using the carat (^), which means "raised to the power". Computer programing uses the ^ sign, as do some calculators.

Other calculators have a button labeled x^y which is equivalent to the ^ symbol.

Example of an Exponential Function

Consider the function f(x) = 2^x.

In this case, we have an exponential function with base 2. Some typical values for this function would be:

x	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
f(x)	1/4	1/2	1	2	4	8

Here is the graph of y = 2^x.

Notice:

That as x increases, y also increases.
That as x increases, the slope of the graph also increases.
That the curve passes through (0, 1). All exponential curves of the form f(x) = b^x pass through (0, 1), if b > 0.
The curve does not pass through the x-axis. It just gets closer and closer to the x-axis as we take smaller and smaller x-values.

Logarithmic Functions

A logarithm is simply an exponent that is written in a special way.

For example, we know that the following exponential equation is true:

3² = 9

In this case, the base is 3 and the exponent is 2. We can write this equation in logarithm form (with identical meaning) as follows:

log₃9 = 2

We say this as "the logarithm of 9 to the base 3 is 2". What we have effectively done is to move the exponent down on to the main line. This was done historically to make multiplications and divisions easier, but logarithms are still very handy in mathematics.

The logarithmic function is defined as: