Which term answers the question 'What exponent is needed to get a number?'

Which term answers the question 'What exponent is needed to get a number?'

• A. Quadratic
• B. Logarithmic function
• C. Exponential function
• D. Reusability

Answer: (B)

Finding the exponent needed to reach a given number is about logarithms. The logarithm tells you what power you must raise a base to in order to get that number. In symbols, if b^y = N, then y = log_b(N). So the exponent you’re after is the result of a logarithm with that base, which is why the term that fits the question is a logarithmic function. For example, with base 3 to get 81, the exponent is 4 because 3^4 = 81, so log_3(81) = 4. A quadratic would involve squaring (exponent 2) rather than solving for an exponent given a result, an exponential function describes how the output grows from a fixed base raised to a variable exponent, and reusability isn’t related to this concept.

Finding the exponent needed to reach a given number is about logarithms. The logarithm tells you what power you must raise a base to in order to get that number. In symbols, if b^y = N, then y = log_b(N). So the exponent you’re after is the result of a logarithm with that base, which is why the term that fits the question is a logarithmic function. For example, with base 3 to get 81, the exponent is 4 because 3^4 = 81, so log_3(81) = 4. A quadratic would involve squaring (exponent 2) rather than solving for an exponent given a result, an exponential function describes how the output grows from a fixed base raised to a variable exponent, and reusability isn’t related to this concept.