Exponential FunctionsThis kind of function is one in which the variable (i. e. the x) is an index or exponent (i. e. is the power). For example:3x or 52-3x + 9 or e-xFor exponential functions in the form ax these are the important facts: f(x) > 0 for all real values of x. f(x) = 1 when x = 0. f(x) increases at an accelerating rate as x increases. f(x) becomes smaller as x decreases. f(x) approaches zero as x approaches negative infinity. You may see this written as: as x → −∞, f(x) → 0. Example: The graph of f(x) ≡ 3x can be drawn as: The curve gets very close to the negative x-axis but never touches it. When this happens, we say that the x-axis is an asymptote to the curve. An alternative way of stating that f(x) approaches a limit of zero as x approaches negative infinity can be written as : For any value of k > 1, the exponential function of the form kx is similar to the graph f(x) ≡ 3x drawn above. Logarithmic Functions (For further information on logarithmic functions see the Algebra Learn-It.)In order to sketch to logarithmic function you need to learn a few rules. 1. If you have a logarithmic function f(x) ≡ log ax, then the function is undefined (it does not exist) for x ≤ 0 2. f(x) > 0 for x > 1 and as x → ∞, f(x) → ∞. 3. f(x) = 0 for x = 1 (ao = 1 therefore log a1 = 0) 4. f(x) < 0 for 0 < x < 1 as x decreases to zero from a positive side. The sketch of f(x) ≡ log ax and any function of this form will have a similar shape to this graph: Note: This is the inverse of f(x) = ax and hence is a reflection of the previous graph in the line y = x.