Semi-log plot

On a linear–log plot, pick some fixed point (x₀, F₀), where F₀ is shorthand for F(x₀), somewhere on the straight line in the above graph, and further some other arbitrary point (x₁, F₁) on the same graph. The slope formula of the plot is:

${\displaystyle m={\frac {F_{1}-F_{0}}{\log _{n}(x_{1}/x_{0})}}}$

which leads to

${\displaystyle F_{1}-F_{0}=m\log _{n}(x_{1}/x_{0})}$

or

${\displaystyle F_{1}=m\log _{n}(x_{1}/x_{0})+F_{0}=m\log _{n}(x_{1})-m\log _{n}(x_{0})+F_{0}}$

which means that

$${\displaystyle F(x)=m\log _{n}(x)+\mathrm {constant} }$$

In other words, F is proportional to the logarithm of x times the slope of the straight line of its lin–log graph, plus a constant. Specifically, a straight line on a lin–log plot containing points (F₀, x₀) and (F₁, x₁) will have the function:

${\displaystyle F(x)=(F_{1}-F_{0}){\left[{\frac {\log _{n}(x/x_{0})}{\log _{n}(x_{1}/x_{0})}}\right]}+F_{0}=(F_{1}-F_{0})\log _{\frac {x_{1}}{x_{0}}}{\left({\frac {x}{x_{0}}}\right)}+F_{0}}$

On a log–linear plot (logarithmic scale on the y-axis), pick some fixed point (x₀, F₀), where F₀ is shorthand for F(x₀), somewhere on the straight line in the above graph, and further some other arbitrary point (x₁, F₁) on the same graph. The slope formula of the plot is:

${\displaystyle m={\frac {\log _{n}(F_{1}/F_{0})}{x_{1}-x_{0}}}}$

which leads to

${\displaystyle \log _{n}(F_{1}/F_{0})=m(x_{1}-x_{0})}$

Notice that n^log_n(F₁) = F₁. Therefore, the logs can be inverted to find:

${\displaystyle {\frac {F_{1}}{F_{0}}}=n^{m(x_{1}-x_{0})}}$

or

${\displaystyle F_{1}=F_{0}n^{m(x_{1}-x_{0})}}$

This can be generalized for any point, instead of just F₁:

${\displaystyle F(x)={F_{0}}n^{\left({\frac {x-x_{0}}{x_{1}-x_{0}}}\right)\log _{n}(F_{1}/F_{0})}}$

In physics and chemistry, a plot of logarithm of pressure against temperature can be used to illustrate the various phases of a substance, as in the following for water:

log–linear pressure–temperature phase diagram of water. The Roman numerals indicate various ice phases.

While ten is the most common base, there are times when other bases are more appropriate, as in this example:

A semi-logarithmic plot of cases and deaths in the 2009 outbreak of influenza A (H1N1).

Notice that while the horizontal (time) axis is linear, with the dates evenly spaced, the vertical (cases) axis is logarithmic, with the evenly spaced divisions being labelled with successive powers of two. The semi-log plot makes it easier to see when the infection has stopped spreading at its maximum rate, i.e. the straight line on this exponential plot, and starts to curve to indicate a slower rate. This might indicate that some form of mitigation action is working, e.g. social distancing.

In biology and biological engineering, the change in numbers of microbes due to asexual reproduction and nutrient exhaustion is commonly illustrated by a semi-log plot. Time is usually the independent axis, with the logarithm of the number or mass of bacteria or other microbe as the dependent variable. This forms a plot with four distinct phases, as shown below.

Bacterial growth curve