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Middle School Archive

Browse Middle School Logarithms

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What is Log? [2/26/1995]

What is 4 to the half power, and what is log?

2^x = 8 [05/27/2003]

How can I solve for x in the equation 2^x = 8?

Comparing Very Large Numbers--Which Is Bigger? [12/01/2004]

How do you decide which large number is greater? For instance, how do you know whether 9!^(9!^9) is greater than 10^(10!^10)?

Decimal Exponents [03/19/1999]

Find x^y, where y is a decimal, without using a calculator.

Etymology of 'Logarithm' [03/19/1999]

How does the term 'logarithm' relate to the terms 'exponent' and 'knots', and to nautical logbooks?

John Napier [06/17/1998]

Why was John Napier's discovery of logarithms a great contribution to the field of mathematics?

A Logarithmic Equation [08/06/1998]

How do you solve A*2^(x/y) = B for x using a base 2 logarithm?

Logarithmic Problem [2/22/1995]

Can you help me solve this: log 3^x = 6 + (1/2)log 9^x?

Logarithmic Scales [12/13/1998]

Why do we use logarithmic scales and in what applications do they appear?

Logarithms [11/2/1994]

Can you explain exactly what a logarithm is?

Logarithms before 1965 [02/08/1999]

Could you tell me how logarithms were used before the year 1965?

Logarithms in Bases Other Than 10 [03/28/1998]

What methods are available for solving logarithms in a base other than 10?

Logarithms: Solving for T [01/30/1998]

3.5 = (1.12)^T. We can't remember how to solve for T

'Log' Button [01/29/1998]

We have been using the 'log' button on our calculators to solve problems involving compound interest. What does that button do?

Long Numbers and Logarithms [10/11/2002]

How many terms are there in (12)^(214)? How about (123)^214?

Measurements on a Logarithmic Scale [11/21/1998]

What kinds of measurements are done on a logarithmic scale? What physical properties make a logarithmic scale more appropriate?

Natural Logs [12/20/1997]

I need to understand natural logs. Could you please explain them in the simplest terms possible?

Origin of the Term Logarithm [10/27/1999]

Where does the term logarithm come from?

Slide Rules [03/13/1999]

Can you help me learn how to use a slide rule?

Solving Logarithms with the Quotient Rule [11/11/1998]

Can you help me solve this logarithm problem for x? I think you need to use the quotient law.

Taking the Logarithm of Zero [08/11/2004]

Why is log(0) undefined?

Why Do We Learn Logarithms? [02/28/2005]

I am currently studying logarithms in school and I was wondering what the point of them is. Will we ever use them when we grow up, and how are they used in real life?

Why Use a Logarithmic Scale to Display Data? [01/26/2008]

I read that log scales help you see data when you are looking at values that range largely. I also read that if the ear did not hear logarithmically we would only hear very loud sounds. Can you help me understand these two statements?

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