In this lesson, you will explore how parameters change the graphs of exponential and logarithmic functions.

So, how are exponential and logarithmic functions used? You may encounter exponential and logarithmic functions in many ways including: the decibels coming from your smart phone, the amount of interest on your savings, the intensity of an earthquake, and many other things.

Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Want to read more about decibels? The equation to find the number of decibels involves logarithms. The human ear can hear a wide range of sound. The range of sounds between the quietest that a human ear can hear and one that can cause damage to the ear is more than 1 trillion (1012). Because the numbers are so large, logarithms are used. For example, the base-10, or common, logarithm of one trillion is 12, which is expressed as 120 decibels.	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Want to read more about compound interest? The formula to calculate how much will be in your savings account when the interest is compounded continuously is S = Pert. This is an exponential function. Examining a graph of the function can help you decide when you will have enough money to buy something, or how much you need to put into your savings account so that you will have $5000 after 2 years.	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Want to read more about intensity of earthquakes? The energy released in an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale - a logarithmic scale whose values typically fall between 0 and 9, with each increase of 1 representing a 10-fold increase in energy.

Although exponential and logarithmic functions are used in the real world for many things, in this lesson you will explore only the transformations of graphs of exponential and logarithmic functions.