Natural Logs, adding variable exponents.

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the manipulation of exponential expressions involving natural logarithms, specifically focusing on the expression e^(2x) * e^2. Participants are exploring how to properly add exponents and the implications of using logarithms in this context.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to clarify the correct way to combine exponents and questioning the use of parentheses in mathematical expressions. There is also exploration of the properties of logarithms and how they apply to the original problem.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing insights into the properties of logarithms and exponents. Some have offered guidance on the correct interpretation of expressions, while others are reflecting on their understanding and previous experiences with similar problems.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted confusion regarding the notation used in plain text versus traditional mathematical notation, which may be affecting clarity in communication. Participants are also grappling with the implications of taking logarithms of products and the associated properties.

Deagonx
Messages
22
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



e^2x * e^2

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Really, I'm just a little bit confused on how I would go about adding the exponent. None of the examples in the book cover that. Is it simply e^2x+2?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Deagonx said:

Homework Statement



e^2x * e^2
You really need more parentheses if you write this as plain text. I'm assuming that you mean
e^(2x) * e^2

You can also write exponents (click Go Advanced to open the advanced menu, and then click the X2 button).

Like this: e2x * e2
Deagonx said:

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution



Really, I'm just a little bit confused on how I would go about adding the exponent. None of the examples in the book cover that. Is it simply e^2x+2?

But there are theorems that do, I'm sure.

am * an = am + n

What you wrote is e2x + 2. What I think you meant was e2x + 2, which is correct.

If you write this as inline text, you HAVE TO USE PARENTHESES!
I.e., e^(2x + 2)
 
Lol, I think someone is getting missing parentheses fatigue.
 
e^(i Pi)+1=0 said:
Lol, I think someone is getting missing parentheses fatigue.

It is really, really, really annoying :biggrin:
I think you can easily distinguish a person who knows math from a person who doesn't know math by seeing how they handle parantheses.
 
What would happen if I did something like this here: lne^2x * lne^2? Would I be butchering math?
 
solve said:
What would happen if I did something like this here: lne^2x * lne^2? Would I be butchering math?

Not exactly butchering. But it is still unclear :-p It could mean x*ln(e^2)*ln(e^2)...

ln(e^(2x))*ln(e^2) is more appropriate, I think.

since you have options like X2 in the advanced reply text boxes, and LaTeX, I don't see why you should write such math equations in the first place!
 
Infinitum said:
Not exactly butchering. But it is still unclear :-p It could mean x*ln(e^2)*ln(e^2)...

ln(e^(2x))*ln(e^2) is more appropriate, I think.

since you have options like X2 in the advanced reply text boxes, and LaTeX, I don't see why you should write such math equations in the first place!

I mean: lne^(2x) * lne^(2). That way I'd get 4x as opposed to e^(2x+2)

Yeah, I'll check it out.
 
solve said:
I mean: lne^(2x) * lne^(2). That way I'd get 4x as opposed to e^(2x+2)

See? These are the misunderstanding problems :wink:
 
Infinitum said:
See? These are the misunderstanding problems :wink:

So,is lne^(2x) * lne^(2)= 4x acceptable just like e^(2x+2) is? Because, I am thinking I could do lne^(2x+2)=2x+2 and don't see how 2x+2 equals 4x.
 
  • #10
solve said:
So,is lne^(2x) * lne^(2)= 4x acceptable just like e^(2x+2) is? Because, I am thinking I could do lne^(2x+2)=2x+2 and don't see how 2x+2 equals 4x.
I'm not sure what you're asking here. The original problem was e2x * e2, which is equal to e2x + 2, and that's not much more you can do with it. You can't just come in an take the log of each factor in a product. Since 2x + 2 is not identically equal to 4x, it should be clear that ln(e^(2x)) * ln(e^2) ≠ ln(e^(2x + 2)).

Am I missing what you're asking?
 
  • #11
Mark44 said:
You can't just come in an take the log of each factor in a product. Since 2x + 2 is not identically equal to 4x, it should be clear that ln(e^(2x)) * ln(e^2) ≠ ln(e^(2x + 2)).

Am I missing what you're asking?

I think I have gone through something like this before. Once I had to simplify:

(x^2-y^2)^(1/2)* (x-y)^(3/2)* (x+y)^(-1/2).

What I did was:

(x^2-y^2)^(1/2*2)* (x-y)^(3/2*2)* (x+y)^(-1/2*2)

I just couldn't understand why my "simplification" didn't produce the right answer till I re-framed what I did in this manner:

[(x^2-y^2)^(1/2)* (x-y)^(3/2)* (x+y)^(-1/2)]^2

Only then I could see I was just squaring the whole expression. It was like squaring x^(2) and not quiet getting why x^(2) doesn't equal x^(4).

Does what I wrote above sound something like me coming and taking the log of each factor in a product in e^(2x)* e^(2) ?
 
  • #12
solve said:
I think I have gone through something like this before. Once I had to simplify:

(x^2-y^2)^(1/2)* (x-y)^(3/2)* (x+y)^(-1/2).

What I did was:

(x^2-y^2)^(1/2*2)* (x-y)^(3/2*2)* (x+y)^(-1/2*2)

I just couldn't understand why my "simplification" didn't produce the right answer till I re-framed what I did in this manner:

[(x^2-y^2)^(1/2)* (x-y)^(3/2)* (x+y)^(-1/2)]^2

Only then I could see I was just squaring the whole expression. It was like squaring x^(2) and not quiet getting why x^(2) doesn't equal x^(4).

Does what I wrote above sound something like me coming and taking the log of each factor in a product in e^(2x)* e^(2) ?
Yes, it does. Here's where things break down.

e2x * e2 = e2x + 2

You can take the ln of both sides to get:
ln(e2x * e2) = ln(e2x + 2)

You cannot rewrite the left side as ln(e2x) * ln(e2). There is no property of logs that says that log(AB) = logA * logB

There is a property that says that log(AB) = logA + logB, so we can rewrite the equation above as
ln(e2x) + ln(e2) = 2x + 2

Simplifying the left side gives
2x + 2 = 2x + 2, which is identically true.
 
  • #13
Mark44 said:
Yes, it does. Here's where things break down.

e2x * e2 = e2x + 2

You can take the ln of both sides to get:
ln(e2x * e2) = ln(e2x + 2)

You cannot rewrite the left side as ln(e2x) * ln(e2). There is no property of logs that says that log(AB) = logA * logB

There is a property that says that log(AB) = logA + logB, so we can rewrite the equation above as
ln(e2x) + ln(e2) = 2x + 2

Simplifying the left side gives
2x + 2 = 2x + 2, which is identically true.

Nice breakdown.

My brain has a tendency to see equations where there aren't any. It's learning, though.

Thanks.
 
  • #14
solve said:
Nice breakdown.

My brain has a tendency to see equations where there aren't any. It's learning, though.

Thanks.

Note: [tex]X \log(B) = \log(B^X) \text{ if } B > 0.[/tex] Apply this to [itex]X = \log(A)[/itex] to get
[tex]\log(A) \cdot \log(B) = \log(B^{\log(A)}).[/tex] This also equals
[tex]\log(A^{\log(B)}),[/tex]
so, apparently we have
[tex]A^{\log(B)} = B^{\log(A)}[/tex] for all A, B > 0. Hmmm...I've never seen that before, but it does check out.

RGV
 
  • #15
Ray Vickson said:
Note: [tex]X \log(B) = \log(B^X) \text{ if } B > 0.[/tex] Apply this to [itex]X = \log(A)[/itex] to get
[tex]\log(A) \cdot \log(B) = \log(B^{\log(A)}).[/tex] This also equals
[tex]\log(A^{\log(B)}),[/tex]
so, apparently we have
[tex]A^{\log(B)} = B^{\log(A)}[/tex] for all A, B > 0. Hmmm...I've never seen that before, but it does check out.

RGV

Looks very interesting. Thanks.
 
  • #16
Sorry guys. I'm really not used to writing equations in text format. If I wanted to show that the 2x+2 was a variable on paper I would just make it higher and small. ;P
 
  • #17
Deagonx said:
Sorry guys. I'm really not used to writing equations in text format. If I wanted to show that the 2x+2 was a variable on paper I would just make it higher and small. ;P
I assume that by "variable" you really mean "exponent."
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K