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The logarithm is denoted "log b x" (pronounced as "the logarithm of x to base b", "the base-b logarithm of x", or most commonly "the log, base b, of x "). An equivalent and more succinct definition is that the function log b is the inverse function to the function x ↦ b x {\displaystyle x\mapsto b^{x}} .
Logarithms can be used to make calculations easier. 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.
Many properties of the real logarithm also apply to the logarithmic derivative, even when the function does not take values in the positive reals. For example, since the logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms of the factors, we have () ′ = ( + ) ′ = () ′ + () ′.
The natural logarithm function, if considered as a real-valued function of a positive real variable, is the inverse function of the exponential function, leading to the identities: = + = Like all logarithms, the natural logarithm maps multiplication of positive numbers into addition: [ 5 ] ln ( x ⋅ y ) = ln x + ln y ...
It can also be useful when applied to functions raised to the power of variables or functions. Logarithmic differentiation relies on the chain rule as well as properties of logarithms (in particular, the natural logarithm, or the logarithm to the base e) to transform products into sums and divisions into subtractions.
The following is a list of integrals (antiderivative functions) of logarithmic functions. For a complete list of integral functions, see list of integrals. Note: x > 0 is assumed throughout this article, and the constant of integration is omitted for simplicity.
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An important property of base-10 logarithms, which makes them so useful in calculations, is that the logarithm of numbers greater than 1 that differ by a factor of a power of 10 all have the same fractional part. The fractional part is known as the mantissa. [b] Thus, log tables need only show the fractional part. Tables of common logarithms ...