Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II
February 19, 2025
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Review
Let a be a positive real number.
(i) For each real number x ,
ax = e x ln(a) .
(ii) The exponential function with base a is expa : R → R
defined by
def
expa (x ) = ax .
(iii) The function expa is differentiable, and
exp′a (x ) = ax ln(a)
for each real number x .
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Properties of General Exponential Functions
Proposition
Let a be a positive real number.
(i) If a < 1, then expa is decreasing.
(ii) If a > 1, then expa is increasing.
(iii) If a ̸= 1, then expa is injective, and the image of expa is
(0, ∞).
(iv) If a = 1, then expa (x ) = 1 for each real number x .
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Properties of General Exponential Functions
(a) a > 1 (b) a = 1 (c) 0 < a < 1
Figure: Graphs of general exponential functions
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Properties of General Exponential Functions
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Properties of General Exponential Functions
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
General Logarithmic Functions
Definition
For each positive real number a such that a ̸= 1, the logarithmic
function with base a is defined by
loga = expa−1 .
def
The domain of loga is
The image of loga is
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
General Logarithms and the Natural Logarithm
Proposition
Let a be a positive real number such that a ̸= 1. For each real
number x ,
ln(x )
loga (x ) = .
ln(a)
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
The Differentiability of Logarithmic Functions
Proposition
For each positive real number a, if a ̸= 1, then loga is
differentiable, and for each real number x ,
1
log′a (x ) = .
x ln(a)
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Review
According to the power rule, if r is a rational number, then the
function f : (0, ∞) → R defined by
def
f (x ) = x r
is differentiable, and for each positive real number x ,
f ′ (x ) = rx r −1 .
Using the definition of irrational powers of positive real numbers,
we can extend the power rule to irrational exponents.
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
The Power Rule for Real Exponents
Theorem
For each real number a, the function f : (0, ∞) → R defined by
def
f (x ) = x a
is differentiable, and for each positive real number x ,
f ′ (x ) = ax a−1 .
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
The Power Rule for Real Exponents
MATH 16200 Honors Calculus II Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
