Question

Complete parts​ (a) and​ (b).
a. Write the inverse of yequals3 Superscript x in logarithmic form.
b. Graph yequals3 Superscript x and its inverse and discuss the symmetry of their graphs.
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Part 1
a. The inverse of yequals3 Superscript x in logarithmic form is yequals
  
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Answers

GPT-4o mini
To find the inverse of \( y = 3^x \) in logarithmic form, we first need to express \( x \) in terms of \( y \).

Starting with the equation:

\[
y = 3^x
\]

We can rewrite this in logarithmic form:

\[
x = \log_3(y)
\]

Since we are looking for the inverse function (which we can denote as \( y^{-1} \) or simply \( f^{-1}(y) \)), we can express it as:

\[
y = \log_3(x)
\]

So the inverse of \( y = 3^x \) in logarithmic form is:

\[
y = \log_3(x)
\]

**Part b: Graphing \( y = 3^x \) and its inverse**

Now let's discuss the graphs of \( y = 3^x \) and \( y = \log_3(x) \).

1. **Graph of \( y = 3^x \)**:
- This is an exponential growth function. It passes through the point (0, 1) because \( 3^0 = 1 \).
- As \( x \) increases, \( y \) increases rapidly, and as \( x \) decreases, \( y \) approaches 0 but never reaches it (asymptote at \( y = 0 \)).
- The graph is always above the x-axis.

2. **Graph of \( y = \log_3(x) \)**:
- This is the inverse function of \( y = 3^x \). It passes through the point (1, 0) since \( \log_3(1) = 0 \).
- As \( x \) increases, \( y \) increases slowly, and it approaches \( \infty \) as \( x \) approaches \( \infty \).
- As \( x \) approaches 0 from the right, \( y \) decreases without bound (it approaches \( -\infty \)).
- The graph is only defined for \( x > 0 \).

**Symmetry**:
The graphs of \( y = 3^x \) and \( y = \log_3(x) \) are reflections of each other across the line \( y = x \). This symmetry indicates that if you were to fold the graph along the line \( y = x \), the two graphs would match up exactly.

Thus, the points on the graph of \( y = 3^x \) correspond to points on the graph of \( y = \log_3(x) \) with their \( x \) and \( y \) values swapped (for example, the point (0, 1) on \( y = 3^x \) corresponds to (1, 0) on \( y = \log_3(x) \)).

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