Friday, September 23, 2011

log theory reminder - pari / gp useful

When working with a scientific calculator that has log to base e and log to base 10 only, employ 'Change of Base' theory.

Change of Base - Wikipedia


Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithm#Change_of_base


Change of Base - questions rewritten:

If you know even a little about logs then you should be able to answer the following question:

What is log to base 10 of 1000?
The blindingly obvious answer is three.

Here are two additional ways of phrasing things to get an answer:
  • To what power do we raise 10 so as to obtain 1000
  • How many zeros in 1000

Assuming your calculator only does natural log (log to base e) use Change of base:

log to base 10 of 1000 is (log to base e (1000))/(log to base e (10)) = 3


Pari / GP - an example using x=1+1365*2^15

Pari / GP is a number theory program. It is designed for working Mathematicians / Number theorists, and is most useful to folks comfortable with Mathematical theory.

It is not designed, primarily, as a 'user friendly calculator replacement' for lay folks.

Now using x as given above - what is log to base 2 of x?

     Answer:






If you want that Answer as a continued fraction then Wolfram Alpha can do that.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Introduce a little Geometry into your life - morning

What is not to like about Geometry ... it surrounds us, so why not embrace it?

Patios & Pools to Steps & Walkways and beyond.

Have fun and introduce a bit of Geometry into your day!