How to use the scientific calculator
- Choose Degrees or Radians for trigonometry. Degrees is the default; the screen shows DEG or RAD.
- Tap the keys, or type on your keyboard. The whole expression stays on screen, so you can check it or click into it to fix a typo.
- The answer appears below the expression as you type. Press = (or Enter) to keep it: it goes into the history and becomes Ans.
- Use M+ and M− to add the current answer to memory or subtract it, MR to insert the memory value, and MC to clear it.
- Tap any line in the history to bring that calculation back.
Order of operations
The calculator follows the standard order of operations, from first to last:
Functions such as sin, log and √ apply to the bracket that follows them: sin(30) or √(16). Without a bracket they apply to the next number, so √16 is 4. Brackets that are still open at the end of the expression are closed for you. Your expression is read by the calculator's own parser, one symbol at a time, so nothing you type is ever run as code.
Worked example
The calculator opens empty and shows 0. Type 2 + 3 × 4:
- Multiplication comes before addition, so 3 × 4 = 12 is worked out first
- Then 2 + 12 = 14
A calculator that worked strictly left to right would give (2 + 3) × 4 = 20 instead. To get that, type the brackets: (2 + 3) × 4.
With Degrees selected, sin(30) + √16 is 0.5 + 4 = 4.5. In Radians, cos(π) + 3! is −1 + 6 = 5. Dividing 1 by 0 shows a dash and the message "You can't divide by zero."
Keys and keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Does | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| x², xʸ | Square, any power | ^ |
| √, ∛ | Square root, cube root | type sqrt( or cbrt( |
| ln, log | Natural log, log base 10 | type ln( or log( |
| eˣ, 10ˣ | e or 10 to a power | type e^( or 10^( |
| n! | Factorial (whole numbers to 170) | ! |
| EXP | Times ten to the power, e.g. 3E8 | E |
| % | Percent | % |
| Ans | Last answer | type Ans |
| = | Calculate and keep | Enter |
| AC | Clear everything | Esc |
Percent divides by 100, with one desk-calculator rule: after + or −, it means a percentage of the number before it. So 200 + 15% is 230, 200 − 15% is 170, and 50 × 10% is 5.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get a strange answer for sin or cos?
Check the angle unit. sin(30) is 0.5 in degrees but −0.988 in radians, because 30 radians is almost five full turns. Most school problems use degrees; calculus and physics formulas usually use radians, where π radians equal 180°.
Why is −2² equal to −4?
The power applies before the negative sign, the same as in algebra: −2² means −(2²). To square negative two, use brackets: (−2)² = 4.
What does Ans do?
Ans holds the last answer you calculated with =. After pressing =, typing an operator such as + or × starts a new calculation from Ans automatically, so you can chain steps without retyping numbers.
How precise are the results?
The calculator works in double-precision floating point, about 15 to 16 significant digits, and shows up to 12 so that tiny rounding errors don't appear: 0.1 + 0.2 shows as 0.3. Very large or small results switch to scientific notation, such as 6.02214076 × 10²³.
Related calculators
- Basic Calculator — A simple online calculator for everyday sums: add, subtract, multiply, divide, percent, memory and a tape.
- Percentage Calculator — Percent of a number, what percent one number is of another, percentage change and difference.
- Exponent Calculator — Raise any number to any power, including negative and fractional exponents, or solve for the exponent or the base.
- Log Calculator — Logarithms in base 10, base e (ln), base 2 or any base, and solve log equations for x or for the base.
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