INDICES AND LOGARITHMS

What is Indices?
y
Well, indices is when a number is expressed in the form x where x is called
the base and y the index. The index, i.e. y , could also be referred to as a
power or exponent; they all essentially mean the same. Nonetheless you
probably would have found out that one of the terms (index, exponent or
power) is used more than the others. In general, power is the most
y
frequently used as such, x is read as x ‘raised to the power of y ’, ‘ x
raised to the power y ’ or simply ‘ x to the power y . What does this
imply? It means that x has been multiplied by itself y times. For example, if
x and y then one can write 53 read as ‘five to the power three’ or ‘five

cubed’. This implies 5×5×5 , which equals 125 .

Law of Indices

Undoubtedly one would need to carry out calculations in index form because
it is a useful and compact way to express numbers. There are certain laws
that govern these operations.

Fundamental laws

For all values of (where )

Law 1: Multiplication Law

This law can be written as a m×a n=am +n

Example: a×a×a×a×a=a5 or a 3 ×a2 =a3 +2 =a 5

The following should be noted about this rule:

i) The terms must have the same base otherwise the law cannot be
used.
 ii) The sign between the terms must be a multiplication and not an
addition.
iii) The power can either be same or different.
iv) The terms can be two or more.

Law 2: Quotient (or Division) Law

am
=a m−n
This law can be written as am÷a n =am−n or a n

a×a×a×a×a×a×a
a 7÷a4 = =a×a×a=a 3
Example: a×a×a×a or
7 4 7−4 3
a ÷a =a =a

The following should be noted about this rule:

i) The terms must have the same base otherwise the law cannot be
used.
ii) The sign between the terms must be a division and not a
subtraction.
iii) The power can either be the same or different.
iv) The base is any real number excluding zero.
v) The terms can be two or more.

Law 3: Power Law

This law can be written as ( a m )n =a mn

( a 4 ) 2= ( a×a×a×a )2 =( a×a×a×a )×( a×a×a×a )

Example: = a×a×a×a×a×a×a×a=a8 or ( a4 )2 =a 4×2 =a 8

Special or derived laws

Law 4: Zero Power Law

This law can be written as a 0 =1

It is simply put as ‘anything’ to the power of zero is 1. Although this rule

might look odd, it is logical and well established. This can be derived from
Quotient (or Division) Law. Given that
 am÷a n =am−n
If m=n, then

am÷a m=a m−m =a 0

But
am
a m÷a m= =1
am
∴ a0 =1

Law 5: Negative Power Law

1
a−n =
This law can be written as an

Provided thata≠0 , it implies that a number to the power of a negative index

is the reciprocal of that number to the same but with a positive index.
Sometimes one might need to carry out some operations that require a
change from a positive index to a negative index. Let us account for this and
re-state the rule as ‘whenever the reciprocal of a number with an
index is taken, the sign of the index changes’.
1
a−3=
Example: a3

Law 6: Fractional Power (or Root) Law

1
n
This law can be written as a =√ a
n

This simply means that ‘anything’ raised to the power of n-nth is equal to
the nth root of ‘the same thing’ . If it is not clear, this will shortly be put
this into context. But remember that a power is the inverse of a root just like
a whole number is the opposite of a fraction.
1 1
3
For example: 9 =√ 9
2
or 8 = √8 .
3

We know that the answers are 3 and 2 respectively. One can however obtain
the same answers using quotient and power laws.
What about a situation when the numerator of the fractional index is not 1?
Yes, there is a rule for this case which states that
m
m
a n= √ am =( √ a )
n n

2
2
32 =( √ 32 ) =22 =4
5 5
For example:

Law 7: Same Power Law

This law can be written as If am =an , then m=n

So far we have introduced rules for dealing with terms that share a common
base. We will now look at rules to be used when the bases of the terms are
not the same. In general, the operations are carried out as you would
normally do with one exception.
This exclusion is that when the index of the terms is the same then the
following rules should be applied:
n n n n
1. a ×b =( a×b ) = ( ab )
an
()
n
a
n n n n
=
2. a ÷b =( a÷b ) and b b

( )
n
ax a xn
=
3. ( ax b y )n =a xn b yn and by b yn

2 2 2 2
For example:4 ×3 =( 4×3 ) =( 12 ) =144 or 4 2 ×32 =16×9=144

NOTE: ( a+ b )n ≠a n +b n and ( a−b )n≠an −b n

Exercise: Solve for x, if

a) 32 x −1 =27

2
2x +2 x
b) 4 =8
Law 8: Rules of Surds

i)

Example: √ 12=√ 4×3=√ 4×√ 3= √22 ×√ 3=2 √ 3

ii)

Example: √ 2 2√
√16 = 16 = 8= 4×2= 4× 2=2 2
√ √ √ √ √

What is Logarithm?
Logarithm is a derived term from two Greek words, namely: logos
(expression) and arithmos (number). Thus, logarithm is a technique of
expressing numbers. In fact, it is a system of evaluating multiplication,
division, powers and roots by appropriately converting them to addition and
subtraction.

Technically, the logarithm of a number to a given base is the value of the

power to which the base must be raised in order to produce the number. Let
x (for x >0 ) and y be the number and its associated base respectively and a

equals to ‘the logarithm to

base of ’ or ‘the logarithm of to base ’, then we can write this as
log a y=x

y =a x ⇔ log a y= x

Types of logarithms
 A. Common Logarithm: This is a logarithm to the base of 10, i.e. . In
general, when the base is 10, it is usually omitted. In other words, is
simply written as log N

B. Natural Logarithm: This is logarithm to the base of an irrational

number denoted as e=2 .71828 . .. . . ,. In other words, is simply written as
ln N or log e N

Laws of Logarithms

Like indices, there are certain laws governing the operation of logarithms

Fundamental laws
Essentially, there are three main laws of logarithms.
Law 1: Addition-Product Law
This rule can be written as

In other words, the sum of logs of numbers to the same base is equal to the
log of their products and vice versa.
The following should be noted about the rule:
i) The logs must have the same base otherwise the law cannot be used.
For example:
log 5 2+ log 3 8≠log 5 16≠log 3 16

ii) The sign between the terms must be addition and not multiplication.

For example: log 2 5+ log 2 10=log 2 50 but log 2 5×log 2 10≠log 2 50

Law 2: Subtraction-Quotient Law

This rule can be written as

The following should be noted about the rule:

i) The logs must have the same base otherwise the law cannot be used.
For example: 5 log 32−log 8≠log 4≠log 4
3 5 3
ii) The sign between the terms must be subtraction and not division.

For example:
log 2 50−log 2 10=log 2 (5010 )=log 5
2
but
log 2 50÷log 2 10≠log 2 5
Law 3: Power Law
This rule can be written as

Special or derived laws

Other laws of logarithms include
Law 4: Unity Law (or Log of Unity Law)
This rule can be written as

This rule states that the logarithm of unity (1) to any base is zero. Yes, it is
true because the power that any number can be raised to produce one is
actually a zero. This is in accordance with the power of zero law in indices.

Law 5: (Logarithm to the) Same Base Law

This rule can be written as

1
The logarithm of any number to the same base is 1. This is because a =a .

Law 6: Change of Base Law

log a x
log m x=
This law can be written as log a m
log 125
log 5 125= 2
Example: log 2 5
The logarithm of a number to a certain base is the same as the logarithm of
the number divided by the logarithm of the base such that both are given a
new but same base.

1
log m x=
Note: (i) log x m

(ii)
log m x=log m y , then x = y

On your calculator you should find a button labeled log with the 2nd
function

Example: Find the value of x if

Solution:
 4 x=3 x + 1
x log 10 4=( x+1 ) log 10 3
¿ x log 10 3+ log 10 3
x log 10 4− x log 10 3= log 10 3
x ( log 10 4−log 10 3 ) =log 10 3
log 10 3
x= =3 . 8188. .
log 10 4− log 10 3

Exercises:

1. Solve the equation 32 x =56

2. Solve the equation 7 ( 3 ) = 2 ( 5 2 x+1 )
x−1

3. Solve the equations

a) 3x = 6
b) 5x = 4
c) 22 x = 5
d) 3 y−1 = 7
e) 4 2 a+1 = 3
f) 6 2 p+1 = 51+3 p
s
g) ( 23 ) =5

h) ( 2r +1 ) ( 23 r−2)= 128
i) 53−2 s = 33 s−4
j) 5 ( 95 x−2 ) = 7 ( 45−3 x )

Example:

If Tshs 2500 is invested at an interest rate of 6:5%, compounded monthly,

how long will it take for the investment to reach Tshs 7500?

Solution:
Here, P = 2500; r = :065; n = 12 and we want to find t so that A(t) = 7500.
Substituting into the compound interest formula, we get

( )
nt
r
A ( t )=P 1+
n
 ( )
12t
0 . 065
7 500=2500 1+
12

3=( 1. 00541667 )12t

log 3=log ( 1. 00541667 )12t

log 3=12t log ( 1. 00541667 )

log 3
∴ t= =16 . 94746078
12 log ( 1. 00541667 )