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OpenStax College Algebra 2e — Ch. 6: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

by Jay Abramson · OpenStax (Rice University)

Chapter 6 of Jay Abramson's peer-reviewed OpenStax textbook: exponential functions, graphing and transformations, e and continuous compounding, models for growth and decay, and fitting exponential curves to data, with worked examples and answer-keyed exercises.

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Wolfram MathWorld

MathWorld is an online mathematics encyclopedia from Wolfram Research offering detailed, browsable articles on topics across the math spectrum, including algebra, geometry, calculus, and number theory. Each entry includes definitions, theorems, formulas, diagrams, worked examples, and links to further reading.

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Exponential growth & decay

Master exponential growth & decay with this course by Sal Khan! Explore exponential functions and real-world applications.

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e: The Story of a Number

History of e from Napier's logarithms through Newton, Bernoulli and Euler, tracing how compound interest, the area under a hyperbola and the shape of a hanging chain all converge on the same constant. Light calculus in optional sections.

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Exponential growth and epidemics

Nine-minute treatment of why constant proportional growth produces the curve it does, using early 2020 case counts as the running dataset, then showing where the logistic ceiling bends an exponential back down. No calculus prerequisite.

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What's so special about Euler's number e? (Essence of Calculus, Ch. 5)

Grant Sanderson shows why every exponential function is proportional to its own derivative, and why e is the unique base where that proportionality constant equals one. Animated throughout; assumes familiarity with derivatives. e is not a number you memorize, it is the base at which a growth curve equals its own rate of growth. This is the mental model that makes every later appearance of e (finance, decay, differential equations) feel inevitable rather than arbitrary.

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Introducción al cálculo

Spanish-language course from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona that reviews numbers and functions, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions, then introduces differentiation, integration and complex numbers. Prepares students for a first-semester university calculus course in science or engineering.

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