Algebra - Solving Exponential Equations

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Section 6.3 : Solving Exponential Equations

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7. Solve the following equation.

\[9 = {10^{4 + 6x}}\]

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For this equation there is no way to easily get both sides with the same base. Therefore, we’ll need to take the logarithm of both sides.

We can use any logarithm and the natural logarithm and common logarithm are usually good choices since most calculators can handle them. In this case one of the bases is a 10 and so the common logarithm is probably the better choice.

Taking the logarithm (using the common logarithm) of both sides gives,

\[\log 9 = \log {10^{4 + 6x}}\] Show Step 2

Now we can use the logarithm property that says,

\[\log {10^{f\left( x \right)}} = f\left( x \right)\]

to simplify the right side of the equation. Doing this gives,

\[\log 9 = 4 + 6x\] Show Step 3

Finally, all we need to do is solve for \(x\). Recall that the equations at this step tend to look messier than we are used to dealing with. However, the logarithms in the equations at this point are just numbers and so we treat them as we treat all numbers with these kinds of equations. The work will be messier than we are used to but just keep in mind that the logarithms are just numbers!

Here is the rest of the work for this problem.

\[\begin{align*}\log 9 & = 4 + 6x\\ \log 9 - 4 & = 6x\\ x & = \frac{{\log 9 - 4}}{6} = \frac{{0.9542425094 - 4}}{6} = \require{bbox} \bbox[2pt,border:1px solid black]{{ - 0.5076262484}}\end{align*}\]

Again, the work is messier than we are used to but it is not really different from work we’ve done previously in solving equations. The answer is also going to be “messier” in the sense that it is a decimal and is liable to almost always be a decimal for most of these types of problems so don’t worry about that.

Also, be careful when evaluating the numerator in the final answer. The 4 was outside of the logarithm and so cannot be moved into the logarithm. We probably should have been a little more careful with parenthesis and written the answer as,

\[x = \frac{{\log \left( 9 \right) - 4}}{6}\]