Section 3-6 : Derivatives of Exponential and Logarithm Functions

1. Differentiate f (=
x ) 2e x − 8 x .

Solution

Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

x ) 2e x − 8 x ln ( 8 )
f ′ (=

=
2. Differentiate g ( t ) 4 log 3 ( t ) − ln ( t ) .

Solution

Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

4 1
g′ (t )
= −
t ln ( 3) t

3. Differentiate R ( w ) = 3w log ( w ) .

Solution

Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

3w
=R′ ( w ) 3w ln ( 3) log ( w ) +
w ln (10 )

Recall that log ( x ) is the common logarithm and so is really log10 ( x ) .

y z 5 − e z ln ( z ) .
4. Differentiate =

Solution
Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

ez
5 z 4 e z ln ( z ) −
y′ =−
z

y
5. Differentiate h ( y ) = .
1− ey

Solution

Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

(1) (1 − e y ) − y ( −e y ) 1− ey + y ey
=h′ ( y ) =
(1 − e y ) (1 − e y )
2 2

1 + 5t
6. Differentiate f ( t ) = .
ln ( t )

Solution

Not much to do here other than take the derivative using the formulas from class.

1
5ln ( t ) − (1 + 5t )   1
5ln ( t ) − − 5
1 + 5t t 
f (t ) =
= = t
ln ( t )
ln ( t )  ln ( t ) 
2 2

7. Find the tangent line to f ( x=

) 7 x + 4e x at x = 0 .
Solution

Step 1
We know that the derivative of the function will give us the slope of the tangent line so we’ll need the
derivative of the function.
f ′ ( x ) 7 x ln ( 7 ) + 4e x
=

Step 2
Now all we need to do is evaluate the function and the derivative at the point in question.
f (=
0) 5 f ′ (=
0 ) ln ( 7 ) +=
4 5.9459

Step 3
Now all that we need to do is write down the equation of the tangent line.
y =f ( 0 ) + f ′ ( 0 )( x − 0 ) =5 + ( ln ( 7 ) + 4 ) x =5 + 5.9459 x

8. Find the tangent line to f ( x ) = ln ( x ) log 2 ( x ) at x = 2 .

Solution

Step 1
We know that the derivative of the function will give us the slope of the tangent line so we’ll need the
derivative of the function.
log 2 ( x ) ln ( x )
f ′( x)
= +
x x ln ( 2 )

Step 2
Now all we need to do is evaluate the function and the derivative at the point in question.
log 2 ( 2 ) ln ( 2 )
f ( 2 ) = ln ( 2 ) log 2 ( 2 ) = ln ( 2 ) f ′ ( 2) = + =1
2 2 ln ( 2 )

Step 3
Now all that we need to do is write down the equation of the tangent line.
y = f ( 2 ) + f ′ ( 2 )( x − 2 ) = ln ( 2 ) + (1)( x − 2 ) = x − 2 + ln ( 2 )

t
9. Determine if V ( t ) = is increasing or decreasing at the following points.
et
(a) t = −4 (b) t = 0 (c) t = 10

Solution

(a) t = −4
We know that the derivative of the function will give us the rate of change for the function and so we’ll
need that.
(1) et − t ( et ) e t − te t 1 − t
V ′ (t )
= = =
( et ) ( et ) et
2 2
Now, all we need to do is evaluate the derivative at the point in question. So,

5
V ′ ( −4 )= = 272.991 > 0
e −4

V ′ ( −4 ) > 0 and so the function must be increasing at t = −4 .

(b) t = 0
We found the derivative of the function in the first part so here all we need to do is the evaluation.
1
V ′ ( 0 )= = 1> 0
e0

V ′ ( 0 ) > 0 and so the function must be increasing at t = 0 .

(c) t = 10
We found the derivative of the function in the first part so here all we need to do is the evaluation.
−9
V ′ (10 ) = =
−0.0004086 < 0
e10

V ′ (10 ) < 0 and so the function must be decreasing at t = 10 .

10. Determine if G ( z=
) ( z − 6 ) ln ( z ) is increasing or decreasing at the following points.
(a) z = 1 (b) z = 5 (c) z = 20

Solution

(a) z = 1
We know that the derivative of the function will give us the rate of change for the function and so we’ll
need that.
z −6
′ ( z ) ln ( z ) +
G=
z

Now, all we need to do is evaluate the derivative at the point in question. So,

G′ (1) =ln (1) − 5 =−5 < 0

G′ (1) < 0 and so the function must be decreasing at z = 1 .

(b) z = 5
We found the derivative of the function in the first part so here all we need to do is the evaluation.
 1
G′ ( 5=
) ln ( 5) −= 1.40944 > 0
5

G′ ( 5 ) > 0 and so the function must be increasing at z = 5 .

(c) z = 20
We found the derivative of the function in the first part so here all we need to do is the evaluation.
7
G′ ( 20=
) ln ( 20 ) + = 3.69573
10

G′ ( 20 ) > 0 and so the function must be increasing at z = 20 .