Scientific Calculator Guide: Functions and Examples
A scientific calculator goes beyond basic arithmetic with functions used in school maths, physics, engineering and finance. This one runs entirely in your browser, works with your keyboard, and shows a live preview of the answer as you type.
Degrees or radians?
Trigonometric functions depend on the angle unit. Press the DEG / RAD key to switch. Use degrees for most school geometry problems (sin 30° = 0.5) and radians for calculus and many physics formulas (sin(π/2) = 1). The current mode is shown at the top left of the display.
What each key does
| Key | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sin, cos, tan | Trigonometric functions | sin(30) = 0.5 in DEG |
| sin⁻¹, cos⁻¹, tan⁻¹ | Inverse trig (returns an angle) | sin⁻¹(0.5) = 30 in DEG |
| x², x³, xʸ | Powers | 2^10 = 1024 |
| √ | Square root | √(144) = 12 |
| log | Logarithm base 10 | log(1000) = 3 |
| ln | Natural logarithm (base e) | ln(e) = 1 |
| n! | Factorial | 5! = 120 |
| 1/x | Reciprocal | 4^(-1) = 0.25 |
| |x| | Absolute value | abs(-7) = 7 |
| π, e | Constants 3.14159… and 2.71828… | 2π = 6.2832 |
| Ans | Your previous answer | Ans × 2 |
Order of operations
Expressions are evaluated in the standard order: brackets, then powers, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction. Powers are evaluated right to left, so 2^3^2 = 2^9 = 512. A minus sign in front of a power applies after the power: −2² = −4. Use brackets when in doubt, for example (−2)² = 4.
Handy features
- Implicit multiplication: you can write 2π or 3(4 + 1) without a × sign.
- Live preview: the result updates as you type, so mistakes are easy to spot.
- Keyboard input: type expressions such as
sqrt(2)*sin(45)directly. - History: your recent results appear in the panel on the right.
Want to see a function as a curve? Try our graphing calculator.