SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

5.4 EXPONENTIAL AND LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS

1. For f ( x)  a x
a) D f  (, )
b) R f is a x  0

2. For f ( x)  ln x
a) D f is x  0
b) R f  (, )

3. The inverse of exponential function is a logarithmic function.

If f ( x)  a x then f 1 ( x)  log a x .

4. The inverse of logarithmic function is an exponential function.

If f ( x)  log a x then f 1 ( x)  a x .

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

EXAMPLE

PSPM JAN 2000

1. Given that f ( x)  ln(2 x  1) .
a) Show that f is a one to one function. [2 marks]
b) Find the inverse of f . [2 marks]
1
c) Find the domain and range for functions f and f . [2 marks]
d) Sketch the graphs f and f 1 on the same axes. [2 marks]

Solution

a) f ( x)  ln(2 x  1)
f ( x1 )  f ( x2 ) f is one to one function if
ln(2 x1  1)  ln(2 x2  1) f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )
2 x1  1  2 x2  1 implies x1  x2
2 x1  2 x2
x1  x2
f is a one to one function.

b) Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
ln(2 y  1)  x ln a  b  a  e b
2 y 1  e x
2y  ex 1
ex 1
y
2
ex 1
f 1 ( x) 
2

c) For f defined For f ( x)  ln x

2x  1  0 D f is x  0
2x  1 R f  ( , )
1
x
2
1
Df  ( ,  ) D f 1  R f
2 R f 1  D f
Rf  (   ,  )
D f 1  (   ,  )

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

1
R f 1  ( ,)
2

d) when f ( x)  0
ln a  b  a  e b
ln(2 x  1)  0
2x  1  e0
2x  1  1
2x  2
x 1
y

1 1
f ( x) Graph f is reflection
yx graph f at the line y  x

1 f (x)

1
2 x
1 1
0
2

PSPM JUNE 2000

2. Find the inverse function of f ( x)  e x1  2 . Determine the domain and range of the
inverse function. [5 marks]

Solution

f ( x)  e x1  2
Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
e y 1  2  x
e b  a  b  ln a
e y 1  x  2
y  1  ln( x  2)
y  1  ln( x  2)
f 1 ( x)  1  ln( x  2)
For f ( x)  ln x
For f 1 defined, D f is x  0
x20
R f  ( , )
x  2
D f 1  (  2 ,  )

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

R f 1  (   ,  )

PSPM 2005/2006
3. Functions f and g are defined as
f ( x )  e 2 x , g ( x)  1  x , x  R .
Find f 1 ( x) and hence obtain ( g  f 1 )( x) . [5 marks]

Solution

f ( x )  e 2 x , g ( x)  1  x , x  R R  (  , )
Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
e2y  x
e b  a  b  ln a
2 y  ln x
1
y  ln x
2
1
f 1 ( x)  ln x
2
( g  f )( x)  g ( f 1 ( x))
1

1 
 g  ln x 
2 
1
 1  ln x
2

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

EXERCISE 5.4

PSPM 2011/2012
1. Given f ( x)  e  x and g ( x)  x 2 .
a) Find the domain and range of f and g . [2 marks]
b) Show that ( g  f )( x)  e 2 x . [2 marks]

PSPM 2012/2013
ex  3
2. Given f ( x)  ln(2 x  3) and g ( x)  .
2
a) Show that f (x) is a one-to-one function algebraically. [3 marks]
b) Find ( f  g )( x) and ( g  f )( x) . Hence, state the conclusion about the results. [5 marks]
c) Sketch the graphs of f (x) and g (x) on the same axes. Hence, State the domain and
range of f (x) . [5 marks]

PSPM 2013/2014
3. Given f ( x)  e 3 x  4 , x  R .
a) Find f 1 ( x) . [5 marks]
1
b) On the same axes, sketch the graphs of f (x) and f ( x) . State the domain of f (x)
and f 1 ( x) . [6 marks]

PSPM 2014/2015
4. Given f ( x)  ln(1  3x) .
a) Determine the domain and range of f (x) . Then sketch the graph of f (x) . [6 marks]
b) Find f 1 ( x) , if it exists. Hence, state the domain and range of f 1 ( x) . [4 marks]

PSPM 2015/2016
5. Let f ( x)  ln 3x  2 and g ( x)  e  x  2 be two functions.
Evaluate ( g  f ) 1 (3) . [7 marks]

PSPM 2016/2017
x2 1
6. Given f ( x)  , x  0.
5
1 1 2(3 x 1)
a) Determine f ( x) . Hence, if f ( g ( x))  (e  1) , show that g ( x)  e 3 x 1 .
5
[5 marks]
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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

b) Evaluate g ( f (2)) correct to three decimal places. [3 marks]

1
c) Assume that the domain for g (x) is x  0 , determine g ( x) and state its domain
and range. [3 marks]

PSPM 2016/2017
7. Given f ( x)  e x and g ( x)  x  3 .
a) Show that

e
x 3
, x3
( f  g )( x)    ( x  3)

e , x3 [2 marks]

b) Sketch the graph of y  ( f  g )( x) . Hence, state the interval in which ( f  g ) 1 ( x)

exists. [3 marks]
1
c) Determine ( f  g ) ( x) , for x  3 . [3 marks]
1 2e x
d) Find the function h(x) for x  , given that (h  f )( x)  .
3 1  3e x
Hence, show that h(x) is a one to one function. [5 marks]

PSPM 2017/2018
8. Consider functions of f ( x)  ( x  2) 2  1 , x  2 and g ( x)  ln( x  1) , x  0 .
a) Find f 1 ( x) and g 1 ( x) , and state the domain and range for each of the inverse
function. [9 marks]
b) Obtain ( g  f )( x) . Hence, evaluate ( g  f )(2) . [4 marks]

PSPM 2018/2019
ex
9. Given p( x)  ln(3x  6) and q( x)   2 . Show that p(x) and q(x) are inverses of each
3
other. [6 marks]

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

ANSWER

1 a) D f  (   ,  ) , R f  (0 ,  ) ; Dg  (   ,  ) , Rg  [0 ,  )
1
2 b) ( f  g )( x)  x ; ( g  f )( x)  x ; g  f and f  g 1
3
c) D f  (  ,  ) ; R f  ( ,  )
2
1
3 a) f 1 ( x)  ln( x  4)
3
b) D f  (   ,  ) ; D f 1  ( 4 ,  )
1
4 a) D f  (   , ) , Rf  (  ,  )
3
1 1
b) f 1 ( x)  (1  e x ) , D f 1  (   ,  ) , R f 1  (   , )
3 3
1
5) ( g  f ) 1 (3)  
3
1
6 a) f ( x)  5x  1
b) g ( f (2))  7.389
1 1
c) g 1 ( x)  (1  ln x) , Dg 1  [ ,  ) , Rg 1  [ 0 ,  )
3 e
7 b) D f  g  [ 3 ,  ) or D f  g  (   , 3 ]
c) ( f  g ) 1 ( x)  3  ln x
2x
d) h( x) 
1  3x
8 a) f ( x)  2  x  1 , g 1 ( x)  e x  1 ; D f 1  (1 ,  ) , R f 1  ( 2 ,  )
1

Dg 1  ( 0 ,  ) , Rg 1  ( 0 ,  )
b) ( g  f )( x)  ln(( x  2) 2  2) ; ( g  f )(2)  ln 2

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

SOLUTION EXERCISE 5.4

1. f ( x)  e  x , g ( x)  x 2
For f ( x)  a x
a) D f  (   ,  )
D f  ( , )
R f  (0 ,  )
R f is a x  0
Dg  (   ,  )
Rg  [0 ,  )
For f ( x)  x 2
b) ( g  f )( x)  g ( f ( x)) Df  (  , )
 g (e  x ) R f is x 2  0
 (e  x ) 2
 e 2 x

ex  3
2. f ( x)  ln(2 x  3) , g ( x) 
2
a) f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )
f is one to one function if
ln(2 x1  3)  ln(2 x2  3)
f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )
2 x1  3  2 x2  3
implies x1  x2
2 x1  2 x2
x1  x2
f (x) a is one-to-one function

b) ( f  g )( x)  f ( g ( x))
 ex  3
 f  
 2 
  ex  3 
 ln 2   3
  2  
 ln(e x  3  3)
 ln e x ln a b  b ln a
 x ln e
 x(1) ln e  1
x
( g  f )( x)  g ( f ( x))
 g (ln(2 x  3))
e ln(2 x 3)  3
 e ln x  x
2

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

(2 x  3)  3

2
2x

1
2 f(f ( x))  x
x 1
1 g ( g ( x))  x
g f and f  g 1

c) f ( x)  ln(2 x  3)
For f defined
2x  3  0
2 x  3
3
x
2
When f ( x)  0
ln(2 x  3)  0
2x  3  e0
2x  3  1
2 x  2
x  1

y
f 1 ( x) yx

f (x)

3 1 0 x

2 1
3

2

3
Df  ( ,)
2
R f  ( ,  )

3. f ( x)  e 3 x  4 , x  R
R  (  , )
a) Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
e3 y  4  x

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

e3 y  x  4
e b  a  b  ln a
3 y  ln( x  4)
1
y  ln( x  4)
3
1
f 1 ( x)  ln( x  4)
3

b) when x  0 , f (0)  e 3(0)  4  5

e3x  0
e3x  4  4
f ( x)  4
y
f (x)
yx

5 f 1 ( x)
4
x
0 4 5

Df  (   ,  ) x  R  D f  ( , )
D f 1  ( 4 ,  )

4. f ( x)  ln(1  3x)
For f ( x)  ln x
a) For f defined
D f is x  0
1  3x  0
 3x  1 R f  ( , )
1
x
3
1
Df  (  , )
3
Rf  (  ,  )
when f ( x)  0
ln(1  3x)  0
1  3x  e 0
1  3x  1

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

 3x  0
x0

f (x)

0 x
1
3

b) Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x ln a  b  a  e b
ln(1  3 y)  x
1  3y  e x
1  e x  3y
1 ex
y
3
1 1 ex D f 1  R f
f ( x) 
3 R f 1  D f
D f 1  (   ,  )
1
R f 1  (   , )
3

5. f ( x)  ln 3x  2 , g ( x)  e  x  2
gf ( x)  g ( ln 3x  2 )
 ln 3 x  2
e 2 b ln a  ln a b
1
 e ln(3 x  2)  2
 (3x  2) 1  2 e ln x  x
1
 2
3x  2
1  6x  4

3x  2
6x  5

3x  2

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Let y  ( g  f ) 1 ( x)
( g  f )( y)  x
6y  5
x
3y  2
6 y  5  3xy  2 x
6 y  3xy  2 x  5
y(6  3x)  2 x  5
2x  5
y
6  3x
2x  5
( g  f ) 1 ( x) 
6  3x
2(3)  5
( g  f ) 1 (3) 
6  3(3)
1

3

x2 1
6. f ( x)  , x0
5
a) Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
y2 1
x
5
y 2  1  5x
y 2  5x  1
y  5x  1 since x  0
1
f ( x)  5 x  1
1
f ( g ( x))  (e 2(3 x 1)  1)
5
( g ( x))  1 1 2(3 x 1)
2
 (e  1)
5 5
( g ( x)) 2  1  e 2(3 x 1)  1
( g ( x)) 2  e 2(3 x 1)
e 2(3 x1)  (e 3 x 1 ) 2
3 x 1
g ( x)  e

 (2) 2  1 
b) g ( f (2))  g  
 5 
 g (1)
 e 3(1)1

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

 e2
 7.389

c) Dg  [ 0 , )
Let y  g 1 ( x)
g ( y)  x
e 3 y 1  x e b  a  b  ln a
3 y  1  ln x
3 y  1  ln x
1
y  (1  ln x)
3
1
g 1 ( x)  (1  ln x)
3
3 x 1
g ( x)  e
when x  0 , g (0)  e 3( 0)1
 e 1
1

e
1
R g  [ , )
e Dg 1  R g
1
D g 1  [ ,  ) R g 1  Dg
e
Rg 1  [ 0 ,  )

7. f ( x)  e x , g ( x)  x  3
 x , x0
a) ( f  g )( x)  f ( g ( x)) x 
 x , x  0
 f ( x3 )
x 3
e For this question

e
x 3
, x3  x 3 , x 3 0
( f  g )( x)   ( x3) x 3  

e , x3   ( x  3) , x  3  0
 x3 , x  3

  ( x  3) , x  3
b) when x  0 , fg (0)  e (03)  e 3
when x  3 , fg (3)  e 33  1

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

fg (x)

e3
1
0 3 x

For ( f  g ) 1 ( x) exist, D f  g  [ 3 ,  )
or
For ( f  g ) 1 ( x) exist, D f  g  (   , 3 ]

c) For x  3 , ( f  g )( x)  e x3
Let y  ( f  g ) 1 ( x)
( f  g )( y)  x
e y 3  x e b  a  b  ln a
y  3  ln x
y  3  ln x
( f  g ) 1 ( x)  3  ln x

1
d) For x 
3
2e x
(h  f )( x) 
1  3e x
2e x
h( f ( x)) 
1  3e x
2e x
h(e ) 
x

1  3e x
Let u  e x
2u
h(u ) 
1  3u
2x
h( x ) 
1  3x
h( x1 )  h( x2 )
f is one to one function if
2 x1 2 x2
 f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )
1  3x1 1  3x 2 implies x1  x2
2 x1  6 x1 x2  2 x2  6 x1 x2
2 x1  2 x2

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 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

x1  x2
h(x) is a one to one function

8 a) f ( x)  ( x  2) 2  1 , x  2
g ( x)  ln( x  1) , x  0
Let y  f 1 ( x)
f ( y)  x
( y  2) 2  1  x
( y  2) 2  x  1
y2 x 1 since x  2
y  2  x 1
f 1 ( x)  2  x  1
Let y  g 1 ( x)
g ( y)  x
ln( y  1)  x ln a  b  a  e b
y  1  ex
y  ex  1
g 1 ( x)  e x  1
For x  2 , f ( x)  (2  2) 2  1  1
R f  (1 , )
D f 1  (1 ,  ) D f 1  R f

For x  2  D f  ( 2 ,  ) R f 1  D f
R f 1  ( 2 ,  )
For x  0 , g ( x)  ln(0  1)  ln 1  0
Rg  (0 , )
Dg 1  Rg
Dg 1  ( 0 ,  )
Rg 1  Dg
For x  0  Dg  ( 0 ,  )
Rg 1  ( 0 ,  )

b) ( g  f )( x)  g ( f ( x))
 g (( x  2) 2  1)
 ln(( x  2) 2  1  1)
 ln(( x  2) 2  2)
( g  f )(2)  ln((2  2) 2  2)
 ln 2

CHENG CHUN LIANG & CHIN HAK CHUN UNIT MATEMATIK KMK Page 15
 SM015 CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

ex
9. p( x)  ln(3x  6) , q( x)  2
3
 ex 
p(q( x))  p  2 
 3 
  ex  
 ln  3  2   6 
  3  
 ln(e  6  6)
x

 ln e x
 x ln e
 x(1) ln a b  b ln a
x
q( p( x))  q(ln(3x  6))
e ln(3 x 6)
 2 e ln x  x
3
3x  6
 2 f ( f 1 ( x))  x
3
 x22 f 1 ( f ( x))  x
x
p(x) and q(x) are inverses of each other.

CHENG CHUN LIANG & CHIN HAK CHUN UNIT MATEMATIK KMK Page 16