Assignment 3b Laws of Logarithms

Recall that logarithms are exponents. Therefore just as there are exponent laws, there are log laws.

Recall the product law for exponents:
m n m n
x x x
+
=

Exponent Rule: When two power term with the same base are multiplied, we ________ the exponents.

- Now investigate the corresponding law for logarithms:
Example :
2 2
log 8 log 32 + You Try:
4 4
log 64 log 4 +











Recall the quotient law for exponents:
m n m n
x x x

=

Exponent Rule: When two power term with the same base are divided, we ________ the exponents.

- Now investigate the corresponding law for logarithms:
Example :
2 2
log 32 log 4 You Try:
3 3
log 243 log 9












Exponent Rule: When a power term is raised to some other exponent, we __________the exponents.

- Now investigate the corresponding law for logarithms:
Example :
2
3
log 9 You Try:
3
2
log 4








= ____ + ____

= ____ But

, so



Since ___________ = _______

= ____ + ____

= ____ But

, so



Since ___________ = _______

= ____ - ____

= ____ But

, so

= ___________

Since ___________ = _______

= ____ - ____

= ____ But

, so

= ___________

Since ___________ = _______

= ______, or ______ .

But, = _____, which when
multiplied by the exp is also _____.
= ______, or ______ .

But, = _____, which when
multiplied by the exp is also _____.
The log laws, which are based on the same principles as the exponent laws, can be summarized in this table:
Log Law Example
Sum Law log log log ( )
b b b
M N MN + =
3 3 3
log 27 log 9 log 243 + =
Difference Law
log log log ( )
b b b
M
M N
N
=
log1000 log100 log10 =
Power Law
log log
n
b b
M n M =
3
2 2
log 8 3log 8 =

1) Write as a single log to evaluate each expression:
Worked Example You Try
1.
5 5
1
log 1000 log
8
+




(a)
3 3
1
log 324 log
4
+ (b) log25 log40 +
2.
2 2
log 384 log 12





(a)
2 2
log 320 log 5 (b)
5 5
log 375 log 3
3.
4
3
log 27





(a)
5
7
log 49 (b)
1
2
log(10000)
4.
5
3
log 27





(a)
4
2
log 32 (b)
3
5
log 25



5.
8 8 8
log 6 log 3 log 2 +






(a)
5 5 5
log 15 log 70 log 42 + (c)
2 2 2
log 7 log 24 log 21 +
6.
3 3 3
1
log 144 2log 2 2log 3
2
+






(a)
3 3 3
1
2log 12 2log 4 log 9
2
+ (b)
5 5
log 375 log 3
7. Simplify each expression, then evaluate:
(a)
3 3 3 3
log 3 log 2 log 27 log 6 + (b)
2
8
2 2
1
log (2 ) log
8
| |
+
|
\ .










(c)
3
2
log 16 (d)
3
log 27








8. Simplify each expression.
(a) log
x
a
a , where 0, 1 a a > = (b) log 1
a
, where 0, 1 a a > = (c) log
a
a, where 0 a > , 1 a = .






9. Write each expression as a single logarithm:
(a) log( ) log( ) x y x y + + (b)
3
log 6log 2log A B C +








(d)
5
log 3log 5log A B C +










10. If log8 x = , determine an expression for each of the following:
(a) log512 (b) log6400 (c)
8
log
1000










11. If
2
log 3 x = , evaluate each of the following:
(a)
2
log 16x (b)
2
2
log
32
x
(c)
2
64
log
x











12. Given
2
log 5 = x and
2
log 4 = y , express
2
log 20 in terms of x and y.










13. Given log2 x = and log3 y = , express log216 in
terms of x and y.











14. If , then solve for