Question 73424
Depends on what sort of calculator you have. Most of the inexpensive scientific or engineering
calculators ($10 or less) have a key on them that says "log".  This key relates to finding
the log to the base 10. Since you are told to use a calculator to solve this problem, 
all you should need to do is enter 1000 on your keyboard and then press the "log" key.
The answer is 3 and it should appear in the window.  What this refers to is that to get
1000 in the base 10 you need to raise 10 to the 3rd power.
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If you have another kind of calculator, for example a graphing calculator, you may need to
read your instruction booklet regarding how to find logs to the base 10.
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How about trying to find the log to the base 10 of 1,000,000 (a million).  Enter 1000000
on your calculator and press the "log" key.  The answer is 6 and it should appear in
the window.
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Hope this helps you a little to understand logarithms and to find them using your calculator.