![]() So the log base 2 of 16 is 4 because if you start with 1 and double it four times (2, 4, 8, and 16) the result is 16. The base 2 logarithm is the number of doublings it takes to reach a value. Despite that name, use of logarithms with base e does not seem natural to most scientists who tend to be far more comfortable with base 10 logarithms.īiologists sometimes use base 2 logarithms, often without realizing it. Mathematicians prefer natural logarithms, using base e (2.7183…). You can compute logarithms for any power. The logarithms shown in the previous section are called base 10 logarithms, because the computations take 10 to some power. The logarithms of zero and all negative numbers are undefined there is no power of 10 that gives a negative number or zero. The logarithm of values between zero and one are negative the logarithms of values greater than one are positive. You can take the logarithm of any positive number. Ten to the zero power equals 1, so the logarithm of 1.0 is 0.0. ![]() Ten to the 1/2 power equals the square root of 10, which is 3.163. The logarithm of 0.001 is the power of 10 that equals 0.001, which is -3. For example, taking 10 to the -3 power is the same as taking the reciprocal of 10 3. If you multiply 10 by itself 3 times, you get 1000. The logarithm (base 10) of 1000 is the power of 10 that gives the answer 1000. The logarithm is the inverse of that power function. If you take 10 to the third power (10 x 10 x 10) the result is 1000. The best way to understand logarithms is through an example. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |