Taking the logarithm of both sides, you can use any base, but common choices are natural logarithm (base (e)) or logarithm base 10. Let’s use natural logarithm ((ln)):
[ ln(5^{x+8}) = ln(4) ]
Using the logarithm power rule ((ln(a^b) = bln(a))), the equation simplifies to:
[ (x+8)ln(5) = ln(4) ]
Now, divide both sides by (ln(5)) to solve for (x):
[ x + 8 = frac{ln(4)}{ln(5)} ]
Finally, subtract 8 from both sides to get the value of (x):
[ x = frac{ln(4)}{ln(5)} – 8 ]