SOLUTION: when I entered this into my calculator it said error ln x = -1.384 rounded to 3 significant digits.

Algebra ->  Logarithm Solvers, Trainers and Word Problems -> SOLUTION: when I entered this into my calculator it said error ln x = -1.384 rounded to 3 significant digits.      Log On


   



Question 111755: when I entered this into my calculator it said error
ln x = -1.384 rounded to 3 significant digits.

Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You probably entered ln%28-1.384%29 which is undefined. Remember ln%28x%29=y can be written as e%5Ey=x. Now if x=-1.384, then

e%5Ey=-1.384


Now what number will make e (which is 2.78) go to -1.384? It turns out this is not possible, so there is no such number that will satisfy this equation. So at that point, the equation is undefined.



----------------

However, if we try to solve ln x = -1.384 (which is not what you typed in), then we can say


e%5E%28-1.384%29=0.250574248795


So x=0.250574248795 which is approximate of course