GUIDED NOTES –

Introduction to Logarithms Name: ______________________ Period: ___

OBJECTIVE: I can write a logarithmic equation as an exponential equation and an exponential equation as a
logarithmic equation.

A logarithmic function is another way to write an exponential function

y=log a x  y
a =x

y is the logarithm, a is the base, x is the

3 y  27  log3 27  y number

EXAMPLES: Rewrite in exponential form.

a. log 3 5=c b. log 4 16=2 c. log 8 512=3

3
d. log 16 8=
4 e. log 3 729=6

EXAMPLES: Rewrite in logarithmic form.

3
a. 2 x =8 b. 4 3=64 c. 16 4 =8

1
d. 125 3 =5 e. 113 =1331
To find the exact value of (or evaluate) a logarithm, we can change the equation to an
exponential one, then solve.

Example: Evaluate the logarithm.

a. log 2 16 b. log 3 81 c. log 13 169

d. log 12 256 e. log 2 128