help me rewrite 2^(32 - x) = y so x is the answer

[stacyreeves]

2^(32-x)=y

Help me rewrite this equation so that x is the answer.. Thanks in advance!!

 

[royhaas]

Re: help me rewrite this equation

Start by taking base 2 logarithms of both sides.

 

[sgtpepper]

If you take the base 2 log of both sides, as royhaas suggests:


*************************************
logs work like this - I think.

B^x = y
log(base B)(y) = x

*************************************

you would get:

log(base 2)(y) = (32 - x)

Then rearrange the equation to isolate x:

-32 + log(base 2)(y) = -x
(-1)-32 + log(base 2)(y) = -x(-1)
32 - log(base 2)(y) = x

I think that's how it works; I haven't done logs in a while, and when I did do them I didn't really understand what was happening (haha). So hopefully I didn't mislead you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithm