Exponentials and Logarithms Cheat Sheet Pure Year 1

Exponential functions Example 2: c. 2log " 3 + 3log " 2

Functions of the form 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑎 ! , where 𝑎 is a constant, are called exponential functions. You should The density of a pesticide in a given section of field, P mg/m2 , can be modelled by the equation 2log " 3 = log " (3% ) = log " 9
become familiar with these functions and the shapes of their graphs. 𝑃 = 160𝑒 #'.'')* 3log " 2 = log " (20 ) = log " 8
For instance, table below shows an example of values for 𝑦 = 2! . log " 9 + log " 8 = log " 72
where t is the time in days since the pesticide was first applied.
a. Use this model to estimate the density of pesticide after 15 days. 1
𝑥 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 d. log&' 3 − 4log&' F G
1 1 1 After 15 days, 𝑡 = 15. 2
𝑦 1 2 4 8
8 4 2 𝑃 = 160𝑒 #'.'')×&" 1 1 $ 1
4log&' F G = log&' F G = log&' F G
𝑃 = 146.2 mg/m2 2 2 16
b. Interpret the meaning of the value 160 in this model. 1 1
The graph of 𝑦 = 2! is a smooth curve that looks like this: log&' 3 − log&' F G = log&' F3 ÷ G = log&' 48
When 𝑡 = 0, 𝑃 = 160𝑒 , = 160, so 160 mg/m2 is the initial density of pesticide in the 16 16
𝑦
field. Solving equations using logarithms
-.
c. Show that -* = 𝑘𝑃, where 𝑘 is a constant, and state the value of 𝑘. You can use logarithms and your calculator to solve equations of the form 𝑎 ! = 𝑏. You
can also solve more complicated equations by ‘taking logs’ of both sides.
𝑃 = 160𝑒 #'.'')* -1
-. If 𝑦 = 𝑒 2! then = 𝑘𝑒 2! • Whenever 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑔(𝑥), log / 𝑓(𝑥) = log / 𝑔(𝑥)
= −0.96𝑒 #'.'')* , so 𝑘 = −0.96 -!
-*
𝑥 d. Interpret the significance of the sign of your answer to part c. Example 5: Solve the following equations, giving your answers to 3 decimal places.
As 𝑘 is negative, the density of the pesticide is decreasing (there is exponential decay) a. 3! = 20
So 𝑥 = log 0 20 = 2.727 Use the log button on your calculator
𝒚 = 𝒆𝒙 e. Sketch the graph of P against t.
!
𝑃
Exponential functions of the form 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑎 have a special property. The graphs of their gradient b. 5$!#& = 61
functions are a similar shape to the graphs of the function themselves. When the value of a is So 4𝑥 − 1 = log " 61
approximately equal to 2.71878, the gradient function is exactly the same as the original function. 160 4𝑥 = log " 61 + 1
The exact value of this is represented by the letter e.
4,5# )&6&
𝑥 = = 0.889
For all real values of 𝒙: $
• If 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝒆𝒙 then 𝒇′(𝒙) = 𝒆𝒙 𝑡
𝒅𝒚
0 Working with natural logarithms
• If 𝒚 = 𝒆𝒙 then 𝒅𝒙 = 𝒆𝒙
• The graph of 𝑦 = ln 𝑥 is a reflection of the graph 𝑦 = 𝑒 ! in the line 𝑦 = 𝑥.
!
Logarithms The graph of 𝑦 = ln 𝑥 passes through (1,0) and does not cross the y-axis.
A similar result holds for functions such as 𝑒 "! , 𝑒 #! and 𝑒 "! . The inverses of exponential functions are called logarithms. The y-axis is an asymptote of the graph 𝑦 = ln 𝑥. This means that ln 𝑥 is only defined for
• log / 𝑛 = 𝑥 is equivalent to 𝑎 ! = 𝑛 (𝑎 ≠ 1) positive values of x.
For all real values of 𝒙 and for any constant 𝒌:
Logarithms are the inverses of exponential functions. This rule can be used to solve
• If 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝒆𝒌𝒙 then 𝒇′(𝒙) = 𝒌𝒆𝒌𝒙 Example 3: Write each statement as a logarithm.
𝒅𝒚 ! equations involving powers and logarithms.
• If 𝒚 = 𝒆𝒌𝒙 then 𝒅𝒙 = 𝒌𝒆𝒌𝒙 a. 3! = 9 b. 2" = 128 c. 64" = 8
• 𝑒 78 ! = ln(𝑒 ! ) = 𝑥
• ln 𝑥 = log 9 𝑥
a. 3! = 9, so log 0 9 = 2
Example 1: Differentiate with respect to 𝑥. b. 2" = 128, so log % 128 = 7
! & Example 6: Solve these equations, giving your answers in exact form.
!
c. 64" = 8, so log )$ 8 = Logarithms can take fractional or negative values a. 𝑒 ! = 5
a. 𝑒 $! b. 𝑒 #"! c. 3𝑒 %! %
When 𝑒 ! = 5
ln(𝑒 ! ) = ln 5 You can write the natural logarithm on both sides
a. 𝑦 = 𝑒 $! Laws of logarithms
Use the rule for differentiating 𝑒 2! with 𝑘 = 4 𝑥 = ln 5
𝑑𝑦 Expressions involving more than one logarithm can be rearranged or simplified.
= 4𝑒 $!
𝑑𝑥 The laws of logarithms: b. ln 𝑥 = 3
• log / 𝑥 + log / 𝑦 = log / 𝑥𝑦 (the multiplication law) When ln 𝑥 = 3
! !
b. 𝑦 = 𝑒 #"! • log / 𝑥 − log / 𝑦 = log / 1 (the division law) 𝑒 78 ! = 𝑒 0
𝑑𝑦 1 & • log / (𝑥 2 ) = 𝑘log / 𝑥 (the power law) 𝑥 = 𝑒0
= − 𝑒 #%!
𝑑𝑥 2
You should also recognise the following special cases: Logarithms and non-linear data
%! To differentiate 𝑎𝑒 2! , multiply the whole & Logarithms can also be used to manage and explore non-linear trends in data.
c. 𝑦 = 3𝑒 • log / = log / (𝑥 #& ) = −log / 𝑥 (the power law when 𝑘 = −1 )
!
𝑑𝑦 function by 𝑘. The derivate is 𝑘𝑎𝑒 2! .
= 2 × 3𝑒 %! = 6𝑒 %! • log / 𝑎 = 1 (𝑎 > 0, 𝑎 ≠ 1) If 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 : then the graph of log 𝑦 against log 𝑥 will be a straight line with gradient 𝑛 and
𝑑𝑥 • log / 1 = 0 (𝑎 > 0, 𝑎 ≠ 1) vertical intercept log 𝑎.
log 𝑦
Exponential modelling Example 4: Write as a single logarithm.
𝑒 ! can be used to model situations such as population growth, where the rate of increase is a. log 0 6 + log 0 7
proportional to the size of the population at any given moment. Similarly, 𝑒 #! can be used to model = log 0 (6 × 7)
radioactive decay, where the rate of decrease is proportional to the number of atoms remaining. = 42 log 𝑎

b. log % 15 − log % 3
= log % (15 ÷ 3) 0
= log % 5 log 𝑥

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