We write the number of 2s we need to multiply to get 8 is 3 as. The history of logarithms in seventeenth-century Europe is the discovery of a new function that extended the realm of analysis beyond the scope of algebraic methods. Understand what a logarithm is.
So these two things are the same.
The logarithm of 8 with base 2 is 3. Therefore 3 is the logarithm of 8 to base 2 or 3 log 2 8. We write the number of 2s we need to multiply to get 8 is 3 as. If you need the logarithm of a number close to 1 use method 2.