Utilore

Scientific Calculator

Type the whole expression and read the answer as you go — brackets, powers, trigonometry and logarithms all work. The degrees-or-radians switch is on screen rather than buried in a setting, because it is the one place where a calculator can give a wrong answer that looks entirely reasonable.

Type the expression or press the keys. Both work, and the answer follows as you type.

Previous calculations

Everything is worked out in this tab and nothing is sent anywhere. Two conventions worth knowing, because calculators disagree about them. Degrees or radians changes the answer completely — sin(30) is 0.5 in degrees and −0.988 in radians, and both look plausible, so the mode is on screen rather than hidden in a setting. And −3² is −9 here, not 9: raising to a power binds tighter than the minus sign, which is the mathematical convention. Write (−3)² if you meant the other thing.

Nearby: Percentage Calculator, Average Calculator, Unit Converter, Grade Calculator

How to use

  1. Type the expression, or press the keys — both work, and the keyboard edits the middle of a line just as you would expect.
  2. Choose degrees or radians before using sin, cos or tan. The current mode is shown next to the keypad.
  3. Press Enter or «=» to finish a calculation. The result goes into the field so you can carry on with it, and «Ans» pastes it anywhere.
  4. Past calculations are listed below; press one to bring the whole expression back rather than retyping it.

Good to know

Degrees or radians decides the answer

sin(30) is 0.5 in degrees and −0.988 in radians. Both are correct arithmetic and both look like a plausible answer, which is exactly what makes the mistake expensive: nothing about the number tells you the mode was wrong. Trigonometry in schoolwork and in construction is almost always in degrees; in calculus, physics and every programming language it is radians. That is why the switch sits next to the keys instead of in a menu, and why the mode stays put between visits.

−3² is −9, and that is the mathematical convention

Raising to a power binds tighter than the minus sign, so −3² means −(3²) = −9. Write (−3)² if you meant to square the negative number, and you get 9. Calculators genuinely disagree about this — some pocket models answer 9 — which is why two people can compare results and each be sure the other is broken. The same convention governs the rest of the precedence here: powers before multiplication, multiplication before addition, and powers group to the right, so 2^3^2 is 2^(3^2) = 512 rather than 64.

Why 0.1 + 0.2 does not show a tail of zeros

Computers store fractions in binary, where a tenth is a repeating fraction just as a third is in decimal. Add 0.1 and 0.2 in any programming language and the true result is 0.30000000000000004 — a real property of the arithmetic, not a bug. Answers here are rounded to twelve significant digits before being shown, which is well inside the precision of the underlying numbers: the binary tail disappears and every digit you could have entered yourself survives. Very large and very small results switch to exponential form so they still fit on the screen.

Frequently asked questions

Which functions does it know?

sin, cos, tan and their inverses; ln, log (base 10) and log2; sqrt, cbrt, exp, abs, round, floor, ceil; sinh, cosh, tanh; the constants π and e; powers with ^, factorial with !, and remainder with %. Brackets after a function name are required — «sin 30» is ambiguous and is refused rather than guessed at.

Do I have to type the multiplication sign?

No. 2(3+4), 2pi and 3sqrt(4) all work, because that is how expressions are written on paper. Both × and ÷ are understood if you paste them from a document, along with the long dash as a minus and the comma as a decimal point.

Why does it say the expression cannot be read?

Usually an unclosed bracket or a trailing operator. The message only appears once the expression looks finished — while you are still typing, an incomplete line is normal and there is no point in complaining about it.

Can I get back an earlier calculation?

Yes. The list under the keypad keeps the last dozen; press one and the whole expression returns to the field. «Ans» inserts the most recent result wherever the cursor is, so you can carry a number into the next calculation without copying it by hand.

Is anything sent anywhere?

No. The expression is parsed and evaluated in this tab; nothing is sent to a server, stored or logged. The page works with the network switched off.

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