Concept Map

Integers

Binary System Indices & Logarithms Primes & factorisation

Encryption &
Computer Cryptography
Real Life
Applications

1.1 Introduction:

In this modern age of computers, primes play an important role to make

our communications secure. So understanding primes are very important.
In Section 1.1., we give an introduction to primes and its properties and
give its application to encryption in 1.2. The concept of binary numbers
and writing a number in binary and converting a number in binary to
decimal is presented in 1.3. The Section 1.4 introduces the concept of
complex numbers with some basic properties. In Sections 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7.
logarithms, its properties and applications to real life problems are
introduced. Finally in Section 1.8 we give a number of word problems
which we come across in everyday life.

[2]
1.2 Prime Numbers

We say integer a divides b, and write a|b in symbols, if b = ac with c ∈ Z. For

example 9|27. If a|b, we say a is a factor or a is divisor of b. And we also say b
is a multiple of a. It is easy to see that 1 and –1 are divisors of any integer and
every non-zero integer is a divisor of 0. We write a|b if a does not divide b. For
example 5|13.

Prime numbers are the building blocks of number system. A positive integer
p > 1 is called a prime if 1 and p are the only positive divisors of p. For example,
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ..... are primes. We say a positive integer n > 1 is composite if it is
not a prime. Thus a composite number n > 1 has a positive divisor different from
1 and n itself. For example, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, ..... are composites. The number 1 is
neither a prime nor a composite.

One of the important properties of positive integers for which the primes play an
important role is The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. This theorem states
that every positive integer n > 1 can be written as product of primes and it is
unique upto order of primes. Hence every n ∈ N can be written uniquely in the
form

n  P1a1 P2a 2 P3a 3 .....Pra r

where p1 < p2 < ..... < pr are distinct primes and a1, a2, ....., ar are positive integers.
This is called the unique factorization of n. For example

10 = 2 · 5

36 = 22 · 32

105 = 3 · 5 · 7

104568 = 23 · 3 · 4357.

For a prime p, the factorization of p is just p = p. Now you can answer why 1 is
not considered a prime. If 1 is a prime, then

10 = 1 · 2 · 5 = 12 · 2 · 5 = 13 · 2 · 5 = ..... = 1r · 2 · 5

for any r > 1, thereby giving a number of factorization of 10, thereby violating

[3]
the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. Also 1 cannot be a considered a
composite number. (Why?)

A consequence of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic is that every n > 1

has a prime divisor p. Clearly n itself is the unique prime divisor p if n is a prime
and 1 < p < n if n is composite. This consequence implies one of the first theorem
in Mathematics, which is well-known as Euclid’s Theorem.

Theorem 1.1.1. Euclid’s Theorem: There are infinitely many prime numbers.

Proof. Suppose there are finitely many prime numbers, viz., p1, p2, ...... , pr.
Consider the number.

N = p1p2 ..... pr + 1

Clearly N > 1. Hence by the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, it has prime

divisor p. Then p = pi for some 1 ≤ i ≤ r. However none of the primes pi|N for
each 1 ≤ i ≤ r.

Also N  pi for any i. This is a contradiction which proves that there are infinitely
many primes.

Though Euclid’s Theorem tells us that there are infinitely many primes, finding
large numbers is a challenge. In fact the largest known prime number as of
today is the 24862048 digit prime

282589933 – 1

which was discovered in 2018. This is a special kind of primes called Mersenne
Primes.

One of the ways to check whether a given number is a prime is the well-known
Sieve of Erasthosthenes. This works on the principle that n > 1 is composite if has
a prime divisor p ≤ n . We illustrate this Sieve and find all primes upto 100. We
list all positive integers upto 100. A numbers 1 < n ≤ 100 is a composite if n has a
prime divisor ≤ n = 100 = 10.

The primes upto 10 are 2, 3, 5, 7. We start by crossing 1. Since 2 is a prime, we

circle 2 and strike off all numbers divisible by 2.

[4]
3 is the first number among the remaining ones. We circle 3 now and strike off all
numbers divisible by 3. 5 is the first among the remaining numbers which we
circle and strike off all numbers divisible by 5. Next 7 is the first number left which
we circle now and strike off all numbers divisible by 7.

The remaining numbers are all primes. In fact all the primes upto 100 are

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89,
97

which are 25 in number. This method to find primes is not suitable when the
numbers are very large.

Suggested Project: Find all prime numbers upto 10000 by using the Sieve of
Erasthosthenes.

[5]
Srinivasa Ramanujan is one of Indian genius who is very much well-known for his
contributions to Mathematics, particularly prime numbers. Given n  1,
we define the n-th Ramanujan Prime to be the least positive integer Rn such
x
that there are at least n primes between ( ) and xx  R n . It turns out that Rn
2
are all primes. The first ten Ramanujan primes are

R1 = 2, R2 = 11, R3 = 17, R4 = 29, R5 = 41, R6 = 47, R7 = 59, R8 = 67, R9 = 71, R10 = 97.

1.3 Why prime numbers are important?: Encryptions using Prime Numbers

Primes are one of the most useful numbers nowadays as they have lots of
applications in the current digital world. In fact, prime numbers are used to
make our online communications secure. In this section, we will explain how
prime numbers are used in Cryptography.

Cryptography is the science of using mathematics to encrypt and decrypt

data. It enable us to store sensitive information or transmit it across insecure
networks (like the Internet) so that it cannot be read by anyone except the
intended recipient. Cryptanalysis is the science of analyzing and breaking
secure communication. It involves an interesting combination of analytical
reasoning, application of mathematical tools, pattern finding, patience,
determination, and luck. Basically Cryptanalysts are attackers and
Cryptographers are defenders. Cryptology is the science which involves both
Cryptography and Cryptanalysis.

In Cryptography, we have the notion of Encryption and Decryption. Encryption

is the method of disguising plaintext (or the message in Data format which can
be read and understood without any special measures) in such a way as to
hide its substance. Encrypting plaintext results in unreadable gibberish called
Cipher text. Encryption ensures that information is hidden from anyone for
whom it is not intended, even those who can see the encrypted data.
Decryption is the process of reverting cipher text to its original plaintext.

Cryptography works by using a cryptographic algorithm which is a

mathematical function used in encryption and decryption process. It works in
combination with a key (a word, number or phrase) to encrypt the plaintext.
[6]
Same plaintext encrypts to different ciphertext with different keys. The security of
encrypted data depends entirely on two things. The strength of the
cryptographic algorithm and the secrecy of the key. A Cryptosystem is a
cryptographic algorithm plus all possible keys and all the protocols that make it
work. Following are the requirements for a good cryptosystem.

(a) Authentication: Provides the assurance of some ones identity.

(b) Confidentiality : Protects against disclosure to unauthorized identities.

(c) Non-Repudiation: Protects against communications originator to later

deny it.

(d) Integrity: Protects from unauthorized data alteration.

Some of the Cryptosystems are RSA, Diffie-Hellman, ElGamal, Elliptic Curve

Cryptosystems. RSA which was invented in 1978 is one of the most popular and
widely used cryptosystem. It is named after its inventors Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir
and Richard Adleman. This cryptosystem is based on the property of primes. We
will now explain the RSA Cryptosystem and illustrate how the prime numbers are
used. For that we need some basics.

Definition: A positive integer d is the greatest common divisor or highest

common factor of two numbers a and b if d is the largest positive common
divisor of a and b, i.e.,

d|a and d|b,

If c|a and c|b, then c ≤ d.

We write d = gcd(a, b) or simply d = (a, b) if d is the greatest common divisor of

a and b. For example

gcd (10, 25) = 5

gcd (3, 17) = 1

gcd (4680, 15708) = 12.

We say a and b are relatively prime or coprime if gcd(a, b) = 1. For example, 3

[7]
and 17 are relatively prime. Note that gcd(a, b) = gcd(b, a). If a|b. then gcd(a,
b) = a.

One of the ways to find gcd(a, b) is to compute the unique factorization of a

and b. If we know the factorizations

a  P1a1 P2a2 .....Prar and

b  P1b1 P2b2 .....Prbr

then

d = gcd (a, b) = p1min(a1, b1) p2min(a2, b2) ...... prmin(ar, br )

For example, let a = 4680 and b = 15708. Then

a = 4680 = 23 · 32 · 5 · 13 = 23 · 32 · 51 · ·70 · 110 · 131 · 170

b = 15708 = 22 · 3 · 7 · 11 · 17 = 22 · 31 · 50 · 71 · 111 · 130 · 171

so that

gcd (4680, 15708) = 2min(2, 3) · 3min(2, 1) · 5min(1, 0) · 7min(0, 1) · 11min(0, 1) · 13min(1, 0) · 17min(0, 1)

= 22 · 31 = 12.

For large numbers, finding factorization is not easy. For that we use Euclid’s GCD
Algorithm.

Given positive integers a > 0 and b, there exist unique quotient q and remainder
r with

b = aq + r, 0 ≤ r < |b|.

Note that r = 0 if and only if b|a. Also q = r = 0 when b = 0 and we have 0 = a . 0

+ 0. We use the following fact.

gcd (a, b) = gcd (a, b − aq) for any q

Now we define Euclid’s GCD Algorithm and also illustrate with an example. Let
b > a and a|b. Then

[8]
b = aq + r, 0<r<a a = 4680, b = 15708

a = rq1 + r1, 0 < r1 < r 15708 = 3 · 4680 + 1668, 0 < 1668 < 4680

r = r1q2 + r2, 0 < r2 < r1 4680 = 2 · 1668 + 1344, 0 < 1344 < 1668

r1 = r2q3 + r3, 0 < r3 < r2 1668 = 1 · 1344 + 324, 0 < 324 < 1344

r2 = r3q4 + r4, 0 < r4 < r3 1344 = 4 · 324 + 48, 0 < 48 < 324

r3 = r4q5 + r5, 0 < r5 < r4 324 = 6 · 48 + 36, 0 < 36 < 48

r4 = r5q6 + 0 48 = 1 · 36 + 12, 0 < 12 < 36

36 = 3 · 12 + 0.

Here the last non-zero remainder, namely r5 is the gcd (a, b). The novelty of this
method is that we do not need to factor a and b.

We now introduce modular arithmetic. Let m  1. We say a is congruent to b

modulo m and write a  b (mod m) if a – b is divisible by m or a = b + km for
some integer k. For example, 17  2 (mod 5) since 17 – 2 = 15 is divisible by 5. It is
easy to see that if a b (mod m), then b a (mod m). Basically a b (mod m) means
both a and b has the same remainder when divided by b. One of the properties
of modular arithmetic is the following:

If a ≡ b (mod m) and t ≥ 1, then at ≡ bt (mod m).

We can now state Euler’s Theorem.

Theorem 1.2.1. Euler’s Theorem: Let m > 1 be an integer and a be any integer
coprime to m. Then

aφ(m) ≡ 1(mod m)

where φ(m) is the Euler-totient function given by

 1
  m   m  1  
p| M
 p
p prime

 1  1
For instance, let m = 35. Then we have φ (m) = 35  1   1   = 24. Hence for
 5  7
[9]
any a coprime to 35, we have a24  1 (mod 35). In particular 324 has a remainder
1 when divided by 35. For our application in RSA, we will be considering m of the
form m = pq where p, q are distinct primes. Then φ(m) = φ (pq) = (p – 1)(q –1).
We state the RSA Cryptosystem now.

RSA Cryptosystem: Alice creates a public and private key as follow.

1. Choose two large prime numbers p and q and compute n = pq.

2. Keep p and q secret, known only to yourself, but make n public.

3. Choose an integer 1 < e < φ(n) = (p−1) (q−1) with the property that (e, φ
(n)) = 1.

4. e is called the enciphering key.

5. The pair (n, e) is the Public key and is made known to everyone.

6. Compute the deciphering key d by solving the congruence

ed ≡ 1{mod φ (n)} with 1 < d < (p − 1)(q − 1).

7. Deciphering key d must be kept private, known only to Alice

Sending a message to Alice:

1. Bob converts the message into a string of numbers M.

2. Bob uses public key (n, e) of Alice and compute C  Me(mod n). C is the
ciphertext.

3. The ciphertext C is transmitted to Alice.

4. Alice uses her private key d to get back the original message M by
computing Cd(modulo n).

This works since ed ≡ 1 (mod φ(n)) implies ed = 1 + kφ (n) for some integer k and
hence

Cd ≡ (Me)d = Med = M1+k φ(n) = M (Mφ(n))k ≡ M (mod n)

by using Euler’s Theorem.

[10]
We illustrate this with an example.

An Example:

1. Choose large primes p = 71 and q = 101. Then n = 7171 and φ (n) = 70 100
= 7000.

2. Choose an enciphering key e = 37; Check that (37, 7000) = 1.

3. Compute the deciphering key d by finding a solution to 37d ≡ 1 (modulo

7000). The solution d with 1 < d < 7000 is given by d = 3973 which is the
deciphering key d = 3973.

3. (7171, 37) is the Public Key and 3973 is the private key.

Let message M = 117. The Ciphertext is

C = 11737 ≡ 227 (mod 7171).

This can be safely transmitted to me. Anyone who intercepts it will have to
factor 7171 to decrypt it. Now use the decryption key by raising C to the 3973rd
power and taking the result modulo 7171 to find

M = 2273973 ≡ 117 (mod 7171).

which is the original message M .

Suggested Project: Square and Multiply algorithm to compute ak (mod m)

faster.

1.4 Binary Numbers

Binary numbers are base 2 numbers which are made up of only 0!s and 1!s. For
example,

110100

is an example of a binary number. Like the usual numbers which are in base 10,
the binary numbers are in base 2. Let us look for an example. Consider the
number 123456. We have

[11]
23456 = 25(1 + 732) = 25 + 25 × 22(1 + 182) = 25 + 27 + 27 × 2(1 + 91)

= 25 + 27 + 28 + 28(1 + 90) = 25 + 27 + 28 + 28 × 2(1 + 44)

= 25 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 29 × 22(1 + 10) = 25 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 211 + 211 × 2(1 + 4)

= 25 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 211 + 212 + 212 × 22 = 25 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 211 + 212 + 214

Writing 23456 as

0 × (20 + 2 + 22 + 23 + 24) + 25 + 0 × 26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 0 × 210 + 211 + 212 + 0 × 213 + 214

we get the binary expansion of 23456 as

23456 = (101101110100000)2

The digits are 0 and 1 and they are written starting with the coefficient of
highest power of 2 on the right upto the coefficient of 20 on the right. The
number of 0's on the right of binary expansion gives the exact power of 2
dividing the number. For example 5 is the exact power of 2 dividing 23456, we
have five 0's on the right of the binary expansion of 23456.

Again, given a number in binary form as N = (xnxn−1 .....x1x0)2, we get the decimal
expansion of N by

N = x0 + x12 + · · · + xn−12n−1 + xn2n.

For example, N = (1010101010)2 in decimal notation is given by

N = 0 + 1 × 21 + 0 × 22 + 1 × 23 + 0 × 24 + 1 × 25 + 0 × 26 + 1 × 27 + 0 × 28 + 1 × 29

= 21 + 23 + 25 + 27 + 29 = 682.

While writing in decimal notation, we can only sum the powers of 2 for which
the corresponding coefficient is 1.

Exercises:

1. Write the following numbers in decimal notation.

(1010101100110)2, (101011000110)2, (101111100110)2, (1000000000110)2

2. Write the following numbers in decimal notation.

[12]
 654321, 1000001, 56237801, 2468097531, 963258741

3. Simplify the following and write in decimal notation.

(1000101111100)2 + (1100101000100)2 (11101100100)2

4. Simplify the following and write in binary notation.

(1111000110000)2 × 5642371

1.5 Complex Numbers (Preliminary Idea only)

Complex numbers arise from trying to find square roots of real numbers. It is
clear that the equation x2 + 1 = 0 has no solution in real numbers. In other other
words, –1 does not have a real square root. To overcome this problem, the
concept of real and imaginary components of a numbers are introduced.

Let us denote by i a square root of 1 so that i2 = 1. Then (i)2 = i2 = 1. The number i,

called iota, has the property that

i4n = 1, i4n+1 = i, i4n+2 = −1, i4n+3 = −i for all n ≥ 0.

We define the set of Complex Numbers C as follow.

C = {z = a + bi : a, b ∈ R}

For z = a + bi ∈ C, we say a is the real part of z, denoted by Re(z), and b is the

imaginary part of z, denoted by Im(z). For example, 1 + i is a Complex number
with both real and imaginary parts equal to 1. Writing every real number r ∈ R as
r = r + oi, we see that the set of Real numbers is a subset of the set of Complex
numbers.

We can view z = a + bi as a polynomial a + bx computed at x = i. Using the

properties of powers of i, given two complex numbers z1 = a1 + b1i and z2 = a2 +
b2i, we can define the sum z1 + z2 and product z1z2 as

z1 + z2 = (a1 + b1i) + (a2 + b2i) = (a1 + a2) + (b1 + b2)i

and

z1z2 = (a1 + b1i) (a2 + b2i) = a1a2 + a1b2i + b1a2i + b1b2i2

[13]
 = a1a2 + (a1b2 + a2b1)i − b1b2 = (a1a2 − b1b2) + (a1b2 + a2b1)i

For example, (1 + i) + (2 + 3i) = 3 + 4i and (1 + i)(2 + 3i) = 2 + 3i + 2i + 3i2 =

(2 - 3) + (3 + 2)i = -1 + 5i

Given a complex number z = a + bi, we define the complex conjugate

z = a - bi. This is the complex number whose imaginary part is negative of the
imaginary part of z. For example, 2 – 5i = 2 + 5i. For z = r  R, we have z = z = r
as the Im(z) = 0 in that case.

For complex numbers z1 and z2, we have

z1  z 2  z1  z2 and z1 z2  z1 z2

Also for z = a + bi, we have

z z = (a + bi)(a − bi) = a2 + b2 ≥ 0

since a, b are reals. Define the absolute value or modulus of z = a + bi, denoted
by |z|, as

zz  a2  b2

where we take the non-negative square root a2 + b2. For example, |1 + i| =

12  12  2 .

Following are some properties of the absolute value of complex numbers. Here
z, z1, z2 are complex numbers.

1. |z| = | − z| = | z | ≥ 0 for all z ∈ C.

2. |z| = 0 if and only if z = 0 = 0 + 0i.

3. |z1z2| = |z1||z2| for all z1, z2 ∈ C.

4. Triangle inequality: |z1 + z2| ≤ |z1| + |z2| for all z1, z2 ∈ C.

For z = a + bi  0, we have

1 z a  bi a bi
z 1    2 2 2 2 2 2
z zz a  b a b a b

[14]
 2 3i
For example, (2 + 3i)−1 =  . For z1 − 1, z2 ∈ C with z2  0, we have
13 13

z1 z z2
 z1 z 21  1 2
z2 z2

As an example, we have

2  3i  2  3i  4  5i  7  22i 7 22i
   
4  5i 42  52 41 41 41

Given z ∈ C, z  0, we have

z a  bi a bi
 2 2
 2  2
z a b a  b a  b2
2

b a
Let 0 ≤ θ < 2π be such that sin θ = 2 2
and cos θ = 2 2 . The angle θ is called
a b a b
the argument of z and we have

z = |z|(cos θ + sin θ i) = |z|eθi

which is called the Euler formula for the complex number z. For example,

  i      4
i
1 i  2     z  cos  sin i   2 e
 2 2  4 4 

Exercises:

1. Find the complex conjugates and modulus of the following complex

numbers.

2  7i
1 − i, 10 + 4i, (3 + 5i)(4 + 6i),
5  4i

2. Compute z, z2, z3, z−1 for the following z:

9  2i
1–i, 3 + i, 4 + 6i, , 1 + πi, 3  6i
2  9i

[15]
1.6 Indices, Logarithm and Antilogarithm

Indices

A power of a number is the product of a certain number of factors, all of which

are the same. For example, 59 is a power, in which the number 5 is called the
base and the number 9 is called the index or exponent. In fact, for any a, we
have

a1 = a

a2 = a · a

a3 = a · a · a

.....

an = a · a · a · a · a..... n times

for any n. We have 24 = [Link] = 16 for example.

Let a and b be real numbers and m and n be integers. The Indices satisfy the
following rules:

1. A Zero power is given by a0 = 1 for a  0. For example 40 = 1. We note that

00 is not defined. It is sometimes called an indeterminant form.

2. For a positive n, the negative power a−n is defined by

1
an 
an
1 1 1 1 1 1
For example, a−3 = 3
. In particular 2−1 = , 2−2 = 2 = , 2−3 = 3 = and
a 2 2 4 2 8
so on.
1
3. A Fractional power, denoted by a  n a , is given by
n

n
 a
n
a

1 1
For example, 9  9 = 3 and 8  3 8 = 2
2 3

All indices satisfy the following laws. Let a and b be real numbers and m and n
be rational numbers.
[16]
1. To multiply powers with the same base, add the indices.

aman = am+n

For example, 23 . 22 = 25 = 32

2. To divide powers with the same base, subtract the indices.

am
 a mn
an
23 22 1 am
For Example, 2  23 2 = 2 and 3  223 = 21  . Note m  a m m = a0 = 1 for
2 2 2 a
a0

3. To raise a power to a power, multiply the indices.

(am)n = amn

For example, (22)3 = 26 = 64

4. A power of a product is the product of the powers.

(ab)m = ambm

For example, 32 . 42 = (3 . 4)2 = 122 = 144.

5. A power of a quotient is the quotient of the powers.

m
a am
   m when b  0
b b
2
62  6 
For example, 2     32 = 9
2  2

Simplify the following by the above rules.

1 4
1. a  x5 . x 5
3
2. a  x2  x 2
6
 53 
3. a x 
 

[17]
 x3 y 4
4. a
x5 y 2

1.7 Logarithms

The Logarithm is the inverse image of an index. The logarithm of any positive
number to a given base (a positive number not equal to 1) is the index of the
power of base which is equal to that number. If N and b  1 are any two positive
real numbers and for some real x, bx = N, then x is called the logarithm of N to
the base b. It is written as logbN = x. That is, if N = bx, then logbN = x. Since 34 = 81,
the value of log381 = 4. Some examples:

1. log10 0.01 = –2 since 10–2 = 0.01

1
1
2. log2 2 since 2  22
2

3. logb b = 1 since b1 = b for any b > 0, b  1.

4. logb 1 = 0 since b0 = 1 for any b > 0, b  1.

From the definition of logarithms(logs), we obtain the following for a > 0, b > 0, b
 1.

logb bn = n and blogb a = a

System of logarithms: There are two systems of logarithms, natural logarithm and
common logarithms which are used most often.

1. Natural Logarithm: These were discovered by Napier. They are calculated

with respect to the base e which is approximately equal to 2.718. We
usually denote logex by ln x

2. Common Logarithms: Logarithms to the base 10 are known as common

logarithms.

Here we list some facts about logarithms:

1. Logs are defined only for positive real numbers.

2. Logs are defined only for positive bases different from 1.

[18]
3. In logb a, neither a nor b is negative but the value of logb a can be
negative. For example, log100.01 = −2 since 10−2 = 0.01.

4. Logs of different numbers to the same base are different, i.e. if a  c, then
logb a  logb c.

In other words, if logb a = logb c, then a = c.

5. Logs of the same number to different bases have different values i.e.
if a  b, then loga c  logb c. In other words, if loga c = logb c, then a = b.

Some important properties of logarithms:

1. Logarithm of a Product:

logb (MN ) = logb M + logb N

This follows from the property bm+n = bmbn. As an example, we have log2 (4
· 8) = log2 4 + log2 8 = 2 + 3 = 5. If the product has many factors, we just
add the individual logarithms:

logb(ABCD) = logb A + logb B + logb C + logb D

2. In particular, we get the Logarithm of a power:

logb(an) = n logb a

Hence for example log2(3100) = 100 log23

3. Logarithm of a quotient:

M 
logb   = logb M − logb N
N

bm
This also follows from the property bm−n = . For example
bn
 81 
log3   = log3 81 − log3 23 = 4 − 3 log3 2
8

4. Logarithm in two different bases b1 and b2:

logb2 N = (logb1 N )(logb2 b1)

In particular, when b1 = e and b2 = 10, we have

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 log10 N = (loge N )(log10 e) = 0.434 loge N and loge N = (log10 N )(loge 10)

= 2.303 log10N

Exercises:

 aabb 
1. Expand logb  c d 
c d 

 4 x6 
2. Expand logb  7 
 9y 

3. Simplify log10 a + log10 b2 + log10 c3

4. Simplify loga a – logb b2 + logc c3 – logd d4

Anti-logarithm

The anti-logarithm of a number is the inverse process of finding the logarithms of

the same number. If x is the logarithm of a number y with a given base b, then y
is the anti-logarithm of (antilog) of x to the base b.

If logb y = x, then y = antilog of x.

Natural Logarithms and Anti-Logarithms have their base as 2.7183. The

Logarithms and Anti-Logarithms with base 10 can be converted into natural
Logarithms and Anti-Logarithms by multiplying it by 2.303.

The Zero Index

97
We have = 1. On the other hand, applying the above index law 2 and
97
97
ignoring the condition m > n, we have 7 = 90. If the index laws are to be
9
applied in this situation, then we need to define 90 to be 1. More generally, if a 
0, then we define a0 = 1. We note that 00 is not defined. It is sometimes called an
indeterminant form.

The index laws are also valid for the zero index. And for any non-zero a and b,
we have

(7a3b2)0 = 1

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Negative Exponents

Let's look at the decreasing powers of 2. We have

25 = 32, 24 = 16, 23 = 8, 22 = 4, 21 = 2, 20 = 1, 2−1 =?, 2−2 =?

As we can see, at every step when we decrease the index, the number is
halved. Therefore it makes sense to define

1
2 1 
2

Further, continuing the pattern, we define

1 1 1 1
2 2   2 , 23   3 , and soon
4 2 8 2

1.8 Laws and Properties of Logarithms

Logarithms are useful in may domains, particularly in solving exponential
equations. For example, we use logarithms to measure Richter scale in
earthquakes, decibel measures in sound, pH balance in Chemistry and the
brightness of stars, to name a few.

Let us look at the example of how logarithms are in used in measuring the
magnitude of earthquakes. The energy released by an earthquake gives the
magnitude of the earthquake.

The Richter magnitude scale (commonly known as Richter scale) is used to

measure this magnitude of an earthquake. Seismographs detect movement in
the earth's surface and measures the amplitute of the earthquake wave. Let 
be the measure of the earthquake wave amplitute and 0 be the measure of
smallest detectable wave (or the standard wave).
Then the Richter Scale is given by the formula

R = log10 ( )
0

Higher the Richter scale, more is the intensity of the earthquake and damages
caused. Usually earthquakes of Richter scale up to 4.9 does not cause damage.
The earthquakes of Richter scale 6-6.9 and above cause major damages. The
strongest earthquake till date was recorded in Chile in 1960 with Richter Scale of
9.5 which caused severe damage.

Example 1: There was an earthquake with a wave amplitude 2020 times the
wave. Calculate the Richter scale with two decimal digits?

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Solution: We have   20200 This gives


R = log10 ( )  log10 2020  3.3.
0

Hence the Richter scale of the earthquake is 3:3.

Example 2: A scientist running an experiment finds that a particular bacterial

colony doubles its population every 20 hours. He starts with 200 bacteria cells.
t
She expects the number of cells to be given by the formula b  200( 2) where 20

t is the number of hours for which the experiment is running. Find the number of
hours after which there will be 500 bacteria cells.
t
Solution: Taking logarithms on both sides of b  200( 2) 20 and putting b = 500, we
get
t
20
t t
log 500  log b  log 200  log( 2)  log 200  log 2  log 200  log 2.
20 40

This gives
500 5
40 log 40 log
log 500  log 200 200  log 2  22.964.
t  40  
log 2 log 2 log 2

Therefore after 23 hours, there will be 500 bacteria cells.

Exercises: Let the population of the world in t years after 2010 be given by the
formula P = 4.7(1.02)t billions.

i) Calculate the total population of the world in the year 2029 to the nearest
million.

ii) Find the year in which the population will be double of the population of
2020.

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