Logarithms explained.

Logarithms explained.

Before we understand how logarithms work, it is important to know how exponents work.

aᶜ=b (read as "a to the power of c equals b") is an exponent where a,b and c are numbers.

aᶜ=b just means that a multiplied by itself c amount of times is equal to b.

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Here are some examples:

  • 2² basically means 2 multiplied by itself 2 times which is 4
  • 2³ basically means 2 multiplied by itself 3 times which is 8

So on and so forth. 3.png

Logarithms are basically a way of representing exponents in a different format.

Let me show you what I mean, both the formulas that you see below are equal.

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logₐb = c is basically saying that "a to the power of c = b".

Dare I say, logarithms are exponents in disguise.

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Here's a small exercise for you, what is the value of c in the below equations?

I've put them in logarithmic and exponential notation to make it easy for you.

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Logarithms are used in all sorts of places, machine learning, computer science (time complexities)... you name it.

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They are also a bunch of logarithmic properties that we can use to our advantage, but that is something I'll discuss in another blog post.

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I really hope you enjoyed this blog post, you can also subscribe to my newsletter where I post bite-sized content like this.

Peace out!

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