EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND

EQUATIONS
Tutorial Manual

MUT
Maths 2
Intended Learning Outcomes
When you have finished this handout and done the learning activities, you should
be able to
 Apply the knowledge of quadratic equations to solve exponential equations

Introduction
In this handout, we go over exponential functions and equations of base e. In
particular, we want to be able to apply the knowledge of quadratic equations to
solve exponential equations without the use of a calculator. Understanding of the
graphs of exponential logarithmic functions and their domains and ranges is
necessary to solve such equations completely as some of the solutions you get are
not feasible and must be discarded. The main purpose of this guide is to serve as
a gentle introduction to the next handout on Hyperbolic functions.

Exponential Functions
An exponential function is a function which has the unknown in the power. The
general formula of an exponential function is

f  x   ab x
a  0, b  0, b  1

The value b is the base of the exponential. Base 10 is a common base given that
counting is introduced in this base. Other important bases are base 2 which is
important in Computer Science and base e , called the natural base, which is of
particular importance in engineering and natural sciences. e is an irrational
number which has a value of e  2.718281828...

From the natural base e , we have the natural exponential function which is given
by
f  x  ex

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Laws of exponents
The natural exponential function follows the same laws of exponential functions

1) e xe y  e x y

e 
y
2) x
 ex y

ey
3) x
 e y x
e
1
4) e x 
ex
5) e0  1

In addition to the above laws, we also have the following law which is critical for
solving exponential equations:

If e x  e y , then it follows that x  y.

Logarithmic functions
A logarithmic function is the inverse of an exponential function. As we have
indicated in the earlier section, we are interested in the natural base e. We are all
familiar with log10 and depending on your background, you may also be familiar
with log 2 and perhaps have an appreciation of logarithms to other bases. Now, in
terms of the natural logarithm e , we have log e which has the notation ln. By
definition:

If y  e x , then it follows that ln y  x

Also

If ln x  ln y, it follows that x  y.

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Laws of natural logarithms
The laws of natural logarithms follow the same laws as the general laws of
logarithms:

1) ln x  ln y  ln xy

 x
2) ln x  ln y  ln  
 y
3) ln x r  r ln x
4) ln1  0
5) ln e  1
6) ln e x  x

Strictly speaking, law 6 is derived from laws 3 and 5 but it is important to state is
as we will be using it in the form given above.

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Exponential and logarithmic graphs
The figure below shows the graphs of y  e x and y  ln x on the same axis.

Certain things should be clear from the two graphs.

First, consider the function y  e x . Clearly, e x  0 for all values of x. This is a

very important result and we shall keep coming back to it.

Looking at the function y  ln x, you can easily note that the domain is x  0. In
other words, the natural logarithm of a negative number does not exist.

Solving exponential equations

Example

Solve the equation: e 2 x  e x 6  0

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Solution

e 
y
Law 2 of laws of exponents states that x
 ex y. An immediate

application of this rule is as follows: e 2 x   e x  . By applying this rule, we can

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rewrite the given exponential equation as:

e 
2
x
 ex  6  0

Clearly, this is a quadratic equation in terms of e x . Factorising, we get

e x
 3  e x  2   0

  e x 3   0 OR e x
 2  0

 ex   3 OR ex  2

We pause here for a moment and refer to the graph of the natural exponential
function e x that we covered earlier. From the graph, we know that e x  0 for all
values of x. Therefore, the following infeasible solution is discarded:

e x   3 (N/A)

That said, we are now left with the solution:

ex  2

Taking the natural logarithm on both sides, we finally have the solution:

x  ln2

Do not use a calculator, rather leave the exact solution in logarithmic form instead
of worrying about rounding off.

From this point on, the amount of explanations will be kept to a minimum unless
new information comes in.

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Example

Solve the equation: e 2 x  e x  12  0

Solution

e 2 x  e x  12  0

  e x  4  e x  3   0

 e x  4  0 OR ex  3  0

 e x   4 (N/A) OR ex  3

 e x  3 only

 x  ln3

There are two approaches to solving a quadratic equation. The first one is the
factorisation where this is possible. The second approach is the use of the
quadratic formula where factorisation is challenge or even impossible. In the next
example, we shall work out the question using these two approaches for
illustration.

Example

Solve the equation 6e 2 x  5e x  6  0.

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Solution (Factorisation)

To factorise 6e 2 x  5e x  6, we start by multiplying 6 and -6 to get -36. Now, we

look for two factors of -36 whose sum gives us +5. Through trial and error, we
get the two factors as +9 and -4. We therefore rewrite the equation and solve as:

6e 2 x  5e x  6  0

 6e 2 x  9e x  4e x  6  0

 3e x  2e x  3   2  2e x  3   0

  2e x  3  3e x  2   0

 2e x  3  0 OR 3e x  2  0

3 2
 ex  OR ex 
2 3

 2
 x  ln  
 3

Solution (Quadratic formula)

The general form of a quadratic equation is ax 2  bx  c  0. To solve this

quadratic equation, we can use the quadratic formula as

 b  b 2  4ac
x
2a

Now, consider the equation 6e 2 x  5e x  6  0. The equation is a quadratic

equation in e x with a  6, b  5, and c  6. Substituting into the above
equation gives

7
5  52  4  6  6 
e x

12
5  13

12

3 2
 ex   OR ex 
2 3

 2
 x  ln  
 3

The solution is the same as the one we obtained before. Both methods are
equivalent and there’s no preference between the two unless the instruction
specifically says otherwise.

Solving exponential equations with negative exponents

Consider the following equation:

e x  12e  x  1  0

To solve this equation, we first need to take care of the e  x term. To do so, we
multiply throughout by its inverse, that is, e x . This gives

e 2 x  12  e x  0
 e 2 x  e x  12  0

The equation is now transformed to the form which we are now familiar with.
You should go ahead and show that the solution is x  ln4.

Solving exponential equations with e as a constant

The symbol e represents a constant, which is just a number. There are some
exponential equations in which you will encounter this constant and it should be

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treated like any other constant. The final answer you get will be in terms of e and
you should not use your calculator to evaluate the value of the given constant.
Let’s illustrate what we mean here by means of an example.

Example

Solve e x  e  x  2e.

Solution

This is an exponential equation with a negative exponential term, e x . To solve,

we start by multiplying throughout by e x , put all terms to the LHS and solve the
resulting quadratic equation using the quadratic formula.

e x  e  x  2e
 e 2 x  1  2e  e x
 e 2 x  2e  e x  1  0

The term e  e x must never be simplified to e x 1 , it makes the question impossible

to solve using the techniques for quadratic equations unless you factorise again.
Applying the quadratic formula, we now have

 2e   4  1 1
2
2e 
e 
x

2
2e  4e 2  4

2
2e  2 e 2  1

2
 e  e 2  1

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Therefore, e x   e  e 2  1 or e x   e  e 2  1. But  e  e 2  1  0 (check
using a calculator) and therefore is discarded. This leaves us with

e x  e  e 2  1


 x  ln  e  e 2  1 

Solving exponential equations containing a fraction

We have already indicated that if an exponential equation contains a negative
exponent term, that term should be clear by multiplying by its inverse. At the top
of the order, an exponential equation with a fraction term requires that the fraction
be cleared first by multiplying throughout the equation.

Example

e x  e x 2
Solve the equation:  .
e x  e x 3

Solution

e x  e x 2

ex  e x 3

Cross multiplying the left and right hand side to get rid of the fraction terms, we
get

3e x  3e  x  2e x  2e  x

Multiplying throughout by e x to get rid of the negative exponent term, we get

3e 2 x  3  2e 2 x  2

10
 e2 x  5
 2 x  ln 5
1
 x  ln 5
2

Tutorial Exercise

Solve the following exponential equations

1) 3e x  2e  x  1
e x  e x 1
2) x

e e
x
2e

3)
5

3 x
e  e x   2
4
3e
4) 6e x  35e  x 11  0

5)
3

5 x
e  e x
 2

7e 2

e x  e x 3e 2
6)  
e x  e x 35

Solutions

 2
1) x  ln  
 3

2e  1
2) x  ln
2e  1

 10  100  81e 4 
3) x  ln  
 9e 2 
 

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Summary and Conclusion
In this handout, we have covered the laws of exponents and laws of logarithms.
We have applied the laws of exponents to solve exponential equations and
discarded the infeasible solution where applicable.

At this stage, you are now ready to advance to the next handout on hyperbolic
equations.

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