All I know is that I can do log(number) to get log base ten and ln(number) to get log base e. How can I insert logarithms with other bases in Google Calculator? I can't seem to figure it out.
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3 Answers
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For base $b=10$ we can use log_10(n) or log(n)
For base $b=e$ we can use ln(n)
For base $b=2$ we can use log_2(n) or lg(n)
Other bases aren't implemented, so we use the Change of Base Rule, namely $\log_b(n) = \frac{\ln(n)}{\ln(b)}$ which we put into the calculator as ln(n)/ln(b). This works with any other base, so log(n)/log(b) would be the same.
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Google calculator now supports arbitrary bases. For $\log_2(16)$, for example, you may now enter log2(16).
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3$\begingroup$ This doesn't work for arbitrary bases.
log8(4)is interpreted aslog(8) * 4$\endgroup$Aaron Franke– Aaron Franke2019-10-07 04:52:14 +00:00Commented Oct 7, 2019 at 4:52 -
$\begingroup$ @aaron You are right. Apologies, I assumed this would work for any base; appears to only work for base 2. $\endgroup$silian-rail– silian-rail2019-10-08 07:29:40 +00:00Commented Oct 8, 2019 at 7:29
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$\begingroup$ google.com/search?q=google+calculator+log243%281000 apparently only for some numbers $\endgroup$Mooing Duck– Mooing Duck2022-01-14 20:16:51 +00:00Commented Jan 14, 2022 at 20:16
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You can input it into the Google search bar like this, log_base(x) would be written as:
log(x,base)
For example, log base 11 of 4 (or log_11(4) ) would look like this:
log(4,11)
As for Google calculator... not sure yet.
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$\begingroup$ This is wrong. Google treats the comma as a decimal point here. You can tell because
log(4,0)is equal tolog(4). $\endgroup$Aaron Franke– Aaron Franke2020-05-15 09:22:17 +00:00Commented May 15, 2020 at 9:22
lgfor $log_2$ is available in addition tologandln, but those are the only ones. $\endgroup$