How do you solve 5^(x-1) = 2^x?

1 Answer
Aug 5, 2015

I found: x=(ln5)/(ln5-ln2)

Explanation:

I would take the natural log (ln) on both sides:
ln5^(x-1)=ln2^x
then use the fact that:
lnx^a=alnx
to get:
(x-1)ln5=xln2
xln5-ln5-xln2=0
x(ln5-ln2)=ln5
so that:
x=(ln5)/(ln5-ln2)
This is equal to =1.7564 (if you can use the calculator).