Approximating a logarithm Whose Base is neither 10 Nor e
Approximate \log_{2}7. Round the answer to four decimal places.
Remember, \log_{2}7 means “2 raised to what exponent equals 7?” Let y=\log_{2}7. Then 2^{y}=7. Because 2^{2}=4 and 2^{3}=8, the value of \log_{2}7 is between 2 and 3.
2^{y}=7\ln2^{y}=\ln7 Property (7)
y\ln2=\ln7 Property (5)
y={\frac{\ln7}{\ln2}} Exact value
y\ \approx\ 2.8074 Approximate value rounded to four decimal places