Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The graph of the logarithm base 2 crosses the x-axis at x = 1 and passes through the points (2, 1), (4, 2), and (8, 3), depicting, e.g., log 2 (8) = 3 and 2 3 = 8. The graph gets arbitrarily close to the y-axis, but does not meet it. Addition, multiplication, and exponentiation are three of the most fundamental arithmetic operations.
The mathematical notation for using the common logarithm is log(x), [4] log 10 (x), [5] or sometimes Log(x) with a capital L; [a] on calculators, it is printed as "log", but mathematicians usually mean natural logarithm (logarithm with base e ≈ 2.71828) rather than common logarithm when writing "log".
Equally spaced values on a logarithmic scale have exponents that increment uniformly. Examples of equally spaced values are 10, 100, 1000, 10000, and 100000 (i.e., 10 1, 10 2, 10 3, 10 4, 10 5) and 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 (i.e., 2 1, 2 2, 2 3, 2 4, 2 5). Exponential growth curves are often depicted on a logarithmic scale graph.
For example, two numbers can be multiplied just by using a logarithm table and adding. These are often known as logarithmic properties, which are documented in the table below. [2] The first three operations below assume that x = b c and/or y = b d, so that log b (x) = c and log b (y) = d. Derivations also use the log definitions x = b log b (x ...
ln – natural logarithm, log e. lnp1 – natural logarithm plus 1 function. ln1p – natural logarithm plus 1 function. log – logarithm. (If without a subscript, this may mean either log 10 or log e.) logh – natural logarithm, log e. [6] LST – language of set theory. lub – least upper bound. [1] (Also written sup.)
The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, log e x, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x. [2] [3] Parentheses are sometimes added for clarity, giving ln(x), log e (x), or log(x). This is done particularly when the argument to the logarithm is not a single symbol, so as to prevent ambiguity.
Mathematical tables containing common logarithms (base-10) were extensively used in computations prior to the advent of computers and calculators, not only because logarithms convert problems of multiplication and division into much easier addition and subtraction problems, but also for an additional property that is unique to base-10 and ...
Differences in order of magnitude can be measured on a base-10 logarithmic scale in "decades" (i.e., factors of ten). [2] For example, there is one order of magnitude between 2 and 20, and two orders of magnitude between 2 and 200. Each division or multiplication by 10 is called an order of magnitude. [3]