MATH 140: Foundations of Calculus Exponential and Logarithm Review

1. (Transformations)

• The function f (x) = 5x is an exponential function with base ; f (−2) = ,

f (0) = , f (2) = and f (6) = .
• To obtain the graph of g(x) = 2x − 1, we start with the graph of f (x) = 2x and
shift it (upward/downward) 1 unit.
• To obtain the graph of h(x) = 2x+1 , we start with the graph of f (x) = 2x and
shift it to the (left/right) 1 unit.
• The exponential function f (x) = ( 12 )x has the asymptote y = .
This means that as x → ∞, we have f (x) → .
• The exponential function g(x) = ( 12 )x + 3 has the asymptote y = .
This means that as x → ∞, we have g(x) → .
• The function f (x) = ex is called the exponential function.

2. (Graphing Exponential Functions) Graph the function by starting from the graph
of standard exponential functions. State the domain, range, and asymptote.

• g(x) = 2x − 3 • y = 5−x + 1 • y = 1 − ex
• h(x) = 4 + ( 21 )x • y = 3 − ( 15 )x • h(x) = ex+1 − 3
• f (x) = −3x • g(x) = 1 − 3−x
• y = ex−3 + 4
• f (x) = 10−x • g(x) = 2 + ex
• f (x) = 10x−3 • h(x) = e−x − 3 • g(x) = −ex−1 − 2
• g(x) = 2x+3 • f (x) = −ex • f (x) = ex−2

3. (Exponential Form) Express the following equations in exponential form.

• log3 81 = 4 • ln 5 = 3y • ln(t + 1) = −1
• log3 1 = 0 • log10 3 = 2t • ln(x − 1) = 4

4. (Logarithmic Form) Express the following equations in logarithmic form.

• 103 = 1, 000 • ex = 2 • 32x = 10

• 5−2 = 25
1
• e0.5x = t • 73 = 343

5. (Evaluating Logarithms) Evaluate the expression

• log2 2 • log6 9 + log6 24 • 1

4
log3 81
• log5 1 • log6 65 1
• log 50 + log 200 • log4 64 • log5 √
125

1
 • log5 125 • • ln(ln ee )
200
log3 100 − log3 (18 · 50)
√
• log6 36 • log3 271
• eln 3

• 3log3 5
• log2 6
+ log2 20 • eln(1/π)
15
√ • log(log 1010,000 )
• log9 3 • 5log5 27 • 10log 13
• log49 7 • eln 10 • ln(1/e)

6. (Logarithmic Equations) Use the definition of the logarithmic function to find x.

• log4 x = 3 • log7 ( 49
1
)=x • log4 2 = x
• log 0.01 = x • logx 25 = 2 • ln(1/e) = x
• log3 x = −2 • logx 8 = 3
2
• ln e2 = x
• log5 125 = x • logx 16 = 4 • logx 1000 = 3

7. (Graphing Logarithmic Functions) Sketch the graph of the function. State the
domain, range and asymptote.

• f (x) = log3 x • f (x) = log5 (−x) • y = ln |x|

• g(x) = 2 log x • f (x) = − log x • f (x) = | ln x|
• h(x) = log4 x • y = ln(x + 5)
• r(x) = log x + 1 • y = 1 + ln(−x)

8. (Domain) Find the domain of the following functions.

• f (x) = log(x + 3) • h(x) = log3 (x2 − 1) • ln x + ln(2 − x)

√
• log5 (8 − 2x) • ln(x − x2 ) • x − 2 − log5 (10 − x)

9. (Expanding Logarithmic Expressions) Use the Laws of Logarithms to expand the

expressions (Answers should be simplified).
√  
• log3 8x • log3 (x y) • ln √
x
3
 2
3x 1−x
• log6 7r • log5
y3
• log3 2xy
q
 3 4
xy • log (x2 +1)(x
x2 +4
3 −7)2
√ • log
• log t 5 5
z6
√ q p
√
• log2 (xy)10 • ln x4 + 2 • log x y z

10. (Combing Logarithmic Expressions) Combine the expressions

2
 • log4 6 + 2 log4 7 • ln(a + b) + ln(a − b) − 2 ln c
• 1
log2 5 − 2 log2 7
2 • 2(log5 x + 2 log5 y − 3 log5 z)
• 2 log x − 3 log(x + 1)
• log(x + 2) + 12 [log x4 − log(x2 − x − 6)2 ]
• 4 log x − 13 log(x2 + 1) + 2 log(x − 1)
• log5 (x2 − 1) − log5 (x − 1) • loga b + c loga d − r loga s

11. (Change of Base Formula) Express the following expression with the natural loga-
rithm.

• log2 5 • log3 16 • log4 125 • log12 2.5

• log5 2 • log6 92 • log7 2.61

12. (Solving Exponential Equations) Find the exact solution of the exponential equation,
possibly using logarithms.

• 5x−1 = 125 • 23x+1 = 3x−2

• ex = e9
2
• 7x/2 = 51−x
• 52x−3 = 1 • 50
1+e−x
=4
• 102x−3 = 1
10 • e 2x
− 3ex + 2 = 0
• 6x • 34x − 32x − 6 = 0
2 −1 2
= 61−x
• 10x = 25 • 2x − 10(2−x ) + 3 = 0
• 21−x = 3 • ex + 15(e−x ) − 8 = 0
• 2e12x = 17 • x2 2x − 2x = 0
• 300(1.025)12t = 1000 • 4x3 e−3x − 3x4 e−3x = 0

13. (Solving Logarithmic Functions) Find x for each problem. (Note: check if answers
are valid)

• log x + log(x − 1) = log(4x) • log2 (x2 − x − 2) = 2

• ln(x − 12 ) + ln 2 = 2 ln x • log x + log(x − 3) = 1
• log4 (x+2)+log4 3 = log4 5+log4 (2x− • log(x − 4) = 3
3) • log3 (2 − x) = 3
• ln x = 10 • ln(2 + x) = 1
• 4 − log(3 − x) = 3 • 22/ log5 x = 1
16
• log2 x + log2 (x − 3) = 2 • log2 (log3 x) = 4

14. (Solving Inequalities)

3
 • log(x − 2) + log(9 − x) < 1 • 2 < 10x < 5
• 3 ≤ log2 x ≤ 4 • x2 ex − 2ex < 0

15. (Inverse Functions) Find the inverse function of f .

• f (x) = 22x • f (x) = log2 (x − 1)

16. (Applications)

(a) A culture contains starts with 1500 bacteria and doubles each hour.
i. Find a function N that models the number of bacteria after t hours.
ii. Find the number of bacteria after 24 hours. (formula only)
(b) A certain breed of mouse was introduced onto a small island with an initial
population of 320 mice, and scientists estimate that the mouse population is
doubling every year.
i. Find a function N that models the number of mice after t years.
ii. Find the mouse population after 8 years (formula only)
(c) A certain strain of bacteria divides every 3 hours. If a colony is started with 50
bacteria, then the time t (in hours) required for the colony to grow to N bacteria
is given by
log(N/50)
t=3 .
log 2
Find the time required for the colony to grow to a million bacteria.
(d) The rate at which a battery charges is slower the closer the battery is to its
maximum charge C0 . The time (in hours) required to charge a fully discharged
battery to a charge C is given by
 
C
t = −k ln 1 − ,
C0
where k is a positive constant that depends on the battery. For a certain battery,
k = 0.25. If this battery is fully discharged, how long will it take to charge to 90%
of its maximum charge C0 ?
(e) A small lake is stocked with a certain species of fish. The fish population is
modeled by the function
10
P =
1 + 4e−0.8t
where P is the number of fish in thousands and t is measured in years since the
lake was stocked.
i. Find the fish population after 3 years.
ii. After how many years will the fish population reach 5,000 fish?

4
(f) Atmospheric pressure P (in kilopascals, kPa) at altitude h (in kilometers, km) is
governed by the formula
 
P h
ln =−
P0 k
where k = 7 and P0 = 100kPa are constants.
i. Solve the equation for P .
ii. Use part (a) to find the pressure P at an altitude of 4km.