How to use the scientific calculator
- 1.
Choose the angle unit
DEG for degrees (sin 30 = 0.5) or RAD for radians (sin π/6 = 0.5). It affects sin, cos, tan and their inverses.
- 2.
Enter an expression
Type on your keyboard or click the buttons. Both a dot and a comma work as the decimal separator; Esc clears the field.
- 3.
Check the preview
The result updates live below the expression, and errors such as an unclosed bracket or division by zero are explained in plain words.
- 4.
Press Enter or =
The calculation is saved to the history (last 30 entries) and the result becomes ANS for the next expression.
Order of operations
The calculator follows standard precedence, from highest to lowest:
- brackets
- factorial
!and percent% - powers
^- evaluated right to left: 2^3^2 = 2^9 = 512 - functions (sin, log, √…) and a leading minus
- multiplication and division, including implied multiplication (2π, 3(4 + 1))
- addition and subtraction
Consequences worth knowing: −2^2 = −4 but (−2)^2 = 4; 2^−1 = 0.5; sin(30)^2 = 0.25, whereas sin 30^2 means sin(900). When in doubt, add brackets - they never hurt.
Available functions
| Function | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sin, cos, tan | sin(x) | sin(30) = 0.5 (DEG) |
| asin, acos, atan | asin(x) | asin(0.5) = 30 (DEG) |
| square root, cube root | sqrt(x), cbrt(x), √, ∛ | √16 = 4, ∛27 = 3 |
| power | x^y | 2^10 = 1024 |
| common log (base 10) | log(x) | log(1000) = 3 |
| natural log (base e) | ln(x) | ln(e) = 1 |
| e to the power | exp(x) | exp(1) = 2.71828182846 |
| absolute value | abs(x) | abs(−7) = 7 |
| factorial | n! | 5! = 120 (up to 170!) |
| constants | π, e, ANS | 2π = 6.28318530718 |
Percent works like on a desk calculator: 200 + 10% = 220 and 200 − 10% = 180; anywhere else 10% simply means 0.1. For more percentage questions use the percentage calculator.
Degrees and radians
In DEG mode sin(30) = 0.5, cos(60) = 0.5 and tan(45) = 1. In RAD mode sin(π/6) = 0.5 and cos(π) = −1. A full turn is 360° = 2π rad, so radians = degrees × π / 180. Inverse functions return angles in the selected unit. The tangent of 90°, 270° and so on is undefined, and the calculator says so instead of showing a meaningless huge number. Common angles such as sin(180) return exactly 0, not 1.2E−16.
Display precision and limits
Results are shown with up to 12 significant digits, so 0.1 + 0.2 = 0.3 instead of 0.30000000000000004. Very large or small numbers use scientific notation, e.g. 2^100 = 1.26765060023E30, which you can paste back into an expression. Calculations use standard double-precision numbers, so integers above about 9 × 10¹⁵ are not exact - for exact big-number work with integers use the GCD and LCM calculator or the number base converter. Square roots and logarithms of negative numbers produce an error because the calculator works with real numbers only; for complex roots of ax² + bx + c try the quadratic equation solver.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate sine in degrees?
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What is −2 squared?
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How do I calculate a cube root?
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What does ANS mean?
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How do I calculate a logarithm with any base?
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What is the difference between log and ln?
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How does 200 + 10% work?
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