How to Calculate Antilog in ExcelFind the Reverse of a Logarithm in Excel
In Excel, you can perform various mathematical, statistical, or scientific calculations be they simple or complex, but today we’ll be going over How to Calculate Antilog in Excel!
One of these equations pertains to the calculation of a logarithm (or log for short) of a number.
To explain briefly, the log of a number refers to the number of times a factor (the base) should be multiplied by itself to arrive at the number.
In mathematical calculations, a logarithmic function is implied to have a base of 10.
So if we want to find the log of 10,000 with a base of 10, what we’re actually looking for is how many times 10 should be multiplied by itself to arrive at 10,000.
The log here is 4 by the way.
Now, since we’ve briefly touched upon “log”, let’s talk about its inverse – the antilogarithm (or antilog).
Antilog is the result of raising the base using the log as its exponent.
Basically, it undoes the logarithmic function, and results in a number before calculating the log.
So if we were to find the antilog of log of 4 with a base of 10, what we’re actually looking for is 10 raised to the power of 4. The result will be 10,000.
There are at least 3 functions that are dedicated to the calculation of a log.
However, the same cannot be said in the calculation of antilog (which has zero dedicated function in excel).
But hey, since an antilog is just the inverse of a log, there’s a workaround for this limitation.
And that’s what we’re going to find out in this article.
We’ll be learning how to calculate antilog in Excel.
Let’s get started!
What is a Logarithm (Log)?
A log (or logarithm) is essentially an exponent or power.
It is especially useful in expressing large numbers in fewer digits.
For example, 100,000 is expressed in digits.
But if were to calculate its log with a base of 10, then we can express it with just a single digit (which is 5).
There are two variables in the calculation of a log: the base, and the number.
The base is the factor that will be multiplied by itself to arrive at the number.
If we raise the base to the power of the log, we will arrive at the number.
Say that we have a log of 5, and a base of 10, the number will then be 10 raised to the power of 5 which is 100,000.
In mathematical equations, the base is implied to have a value of 10.
In Excel, you can use the functions LOG10, LOG, and LN to calculate the log of a number.
You can use LOG10 to calculate the log of a number with a base of 10.
On the other hand, you can use LOG to calculate the log of a number with a base that you specify (the default value is 10). Finally, you can use LN to calculate the natural logarithm of a number (the value of the base is approximately 2.7183…).
What is an Antilogarithm (Antilog)?
An antilog is the inverse of the log of a number. It is presumed to have a base value of 10.
However, you can set your own base value if you have to.
Just know that if a log/antilog function doesn’t specify its base, it’s implied to have a base value of 10.
The antilog basically undoes the calculation of a log so that you can arrive at the original number.
So to find an antilog, all you need to do is raise the base (which has an implied value of 10) to the power of the log.
Say we have a log of 5 and a base of 10. To find its antilog, we only need to raise 10 to the power of 5 (which results in 100,000).
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated Excel function for calculating antilog.
But since it’s basically just raising the base to the power of the log, there’s an easy workaround for this.
How to Calculate Antilog in Excel
As I’ve already mentioned, to find the antilog, we only need to raise the base to the power of the log.
If we were to express it in an express formula, it will look like this:
=base^log
For example, let’s say that we have a log of 6 with a base of 10. To calculate its antilog in Excel, we only need to enter the formula =10^6.
Simple and easy, right?
Now let’s try to calculate the antilog of the following dataset:
Let’s calculate the antilog in excel of these values:
- Select a cell where you want to calculate the antilog. In the dataset above, we’ll select cell B2.
- Enter the formula for calculating antilog (=base^log). In the dataset above, the log base is 10, and the log values can be found in column A. So to calculate the antilog of the value in cell A2, we need to enter the formula =10^A2.
- Press the Enter key. You have successfully calculated the antilog of the value in cell A2.
- Copy the formula to the rest of the column (up until the next empty row). You have successfully calculated the antilog of the log values in the dataset.
How to Calculate Antilog of a Natural Logarithm in Excel
A natural logarithm always has a base value of e, where e is a mathematical constant.
It has a value of 2.7183(…).
In Excel, this value is represented by the EXP function.
So if we were to enter the formula =EXP(1) in a cell in Excel, we should get a value of 2.7183(…).
As such, we can use the EXP function to calculate the antilog of a natural logarithm. The formula will be:
=EXP(log_value)
Suppose we have the following dataset:
Let’s calculate the antilog of these natural logs:
- Select a cell where you want to calculate the antilog. In the dataset above, we’ll select cell B2.
- Enter the formula for calculating the antilog of a natural log (=EXP(log_value)). In the dataset above, the log values can be found in column A. So to calculate the antilog of the value in cell A2, we need to enter the formula =EXP(A2).
- Press the Enter You have successfully calculated the antilog of the value in cell A2.
- Copy the formula to the rest of the column (up until the next empty row). You have successfully calculated the antilogs of the natural log values in the dataset.
Conclusion
In this article, we were able to learn how to calculate antilog in Excel, whether the log is natural or not.
Excel may not have a dedicated function for calculating antilog, but it’s not that hard to make our own Excel formula.
I hope that you’re able to use your learnings here in your future endeavors.