Introduction to Logarithms | Basic rules

n mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a given number x is the exponent to which another fixed number, the base b, must be raised, to produce that number x.

Logarithm, the exponent or power to which a base must be raised to yield a given number. Expressed mathematically, x is the logarithm of n to the base b if bx = n, in which case one writes x = logb n. For example, 23 = 8; therefore, 3 is the logarithm of 8 to base 2, or 3 = log2 8. In the same fashion, since 102 = 100, then 2 = log10 100. Logarithms of the latter sort (that is, logarithms with base 10) are called common, or Briggsian, logarithms and are written simply log n.