April 2020
Intermediate to advanced
536 pages
16h 55m
English
Logarithms, or logs, are mathematical functions that are the opposite of exponentiation. For example, if 25 = 32, then log2(32) = 5. In this example, the base of the logarithm is 2. In other words, the result of log2(32) is the exponent to which 2 must be raised to get 32. Logarithms can have any base we like, depending on our reasons for wanting to use a logarithmic function. The three most common choices are logs with bases 2, 10, and Euler’s number (e), which is an important constant with a value of approximately 2.718. The base of a logarithm is usually denoted as a subscript after the log symbol (for example, log2 or log10); but when the base is e, the log is called the natural logarithm and is usually denoted as ln.