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In mathematics, the logarithm to base b is the inverse function of exponentiation with base b. That means that the logarithm of a number x to the base b is the exponent to which b must be raised to produce x. For example, since 1000 = 10 3, the logarithm base of 1000 is 3, or log 10 (1000) = 3.
Logarithms can be used to make calculations easier. For example, two numbers can be multiplied just by using a logarithm table and adding. These are often known as logarithmic properties, which are documented in the table below. [2] The first three operations below assume that x = b c and/or y = b d, so that log b (x) = c and log b (y) = d.
The logarithm keys (log for base-10 and ln for base-e) on a typical scientific calculator. The advent of hand-held calculators largely eliminated the use of common logarithms as an aid to computation. The numerical value for logarithm to the base 10 can be calculated with the following identities: [5]
For example, logarithms are used to solve for the half-life, decay constant, or unknown time in exponential decay problems. They are important in many branches of mathematics and scientific disciplines, and are used to solve problems involving compound interest .
A simple arithmetic calculator was first included with Windows 1.0. [5]In Windows 3.0, a scientific mode was added, which included exponents and roots, logarithms, factorial-based functions, trigonometry (supports radian, degree and gradians angles), base conversions (2, 8, 10, 16), logic operations, statistical functions such as single variable statistics and linear regression.
A logarithmic number system (LNS) is an arithmetic system used for representing real numbers in computer and digital hardware, especially for digital signal processing. Overview [ edit ]
For example, the number 45 in scientific notation is 4.5 × 10 1, but one will call it a × 10 b. Next, find the logarithm of a, which is between 1 and 10. Start by finding the logarithm of 4, which is .60, and then the logarithm of 5, which is .70 because 4.5 is between these two.
In the base ten number system, integer powers of 10 are written as the digit 1 followed or preceded by a number of zeroes determined by the sign and magnitude of the exponent. For example, 10 3 = 1000 and 10 −4 = 0.0001. Exponentiation with base 10 is used in scientific notation to denote large or small numbers.