Intro to Logarithms – Audio Transcript

Music Intro

In this lesson, I will introduce you to logarithmic functions and how to set them
up. In the last lesson we learned how to solve exponential equations by finding a
common base. Today, you will learn how to use logarithms – or “logs” for short –
to solve for an exponential equation when there isn’t a common base. A
logarithm answers the question of, “How many of one number do we multiply to
get another number?” To set up a logarithm, let letters “b” and “y” be positive
numbers with b ≠ 1 such that these parameters satisfy the equation yx = b. The
logarithm of “y” with base “b” is denoted by logby = x. This is written as “l o g”
subscript “b” base “y” equal sign “x.” A logarithm function is a function of the
form 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑏 𝑥. An example with number would be, if we had 53 = 125, the
logarithm is log5125 = 3.

Music Outro