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Scientific Calculator

A full online scientific calculator — trigonometry, logarithms, exponents, roots, factorials, memory and history, with degrees, radians and gradians.

Quick Answer: What Is a Scientific Calculator?

A scientific calculator handles the functions a basic calculator cannot: trigonometry, logarithms, exponents, roots, factorials, brackets and constants such as π and e. It follows the standard order of operations, so 2 + 3 × 4 correctly gives 14 rather than 20. Type an expression below, or use the buttons, then press Enter. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server.

Scientific Calculator
0
DEGRADGRAD INVM

Press Enter to calculate. Supports + − * / ^ ! ( ) and functions such as sin, cos, tan, ln, log, sqrt, cbrt, abs, plus pi and e.

History & Memory

Recent calculations

Your last ten calculations will appear here. Click any line to reuse it.

Memory

0

MS stores, MR recalls, M+ and M− adjust, MC clears.

Keyboard shortcuts

0–9 . + − * / ( ) type directly
^ power   ! factorial
Enter or = calculate
Backspace delete   Esc clear all
s c t sin, cos, tan   l log   n ln
r square root   p π   e Euler's number

Degrees or radians? The single most common calculator mistake is using the wrong angle unit. In degrees, sin(30) = 0.5. In radians, sin(30) ≈ −0.988. The current mode is always shown at the top of the display — check it before any trigonometry.

How to Use the Scientific Calculator

There are two ways to work. Tap the buttons like a physical calculator, or type a whole expression into the box and press Enter — useful for anything with brackets. Both share the same display, history and memory.

Order of Operations

This calculator follows the standard order of operations used in mathematics and every exam board, often taught as BODMAS or PEMDAS:

Brackets → Orders (powers, roots) → Division & Multiplication → Addition & Subtraction

So 2 + 3 × 4 = 14, not 20, because the multiplication happens first. Powers are right-associative, meaning 2^3^2 is 2^(3^2) = 512 rather than (2^3)^2 = 64. Implicit multiplication also works: 2(3+4) gives 14 and 2π gives 6.283.

Scientific Calculator Functions

FunctionWhat it doesExampleResult
sin, cos, tanTrigonometric ratios of an anglesin(30) in degrees0.5
sin⁻¹, cos⁻¹, tan⁻¹Inverse trig — angle from a ratioasin(0.5)30°
sinh, cosh, tanhHyperbolic functionscosh(0)1
logLogarithm base 10log(100)2
lnNatural logarithm, base eln(e)1
10ˣ, eˣExponential — the inverse of log and ln10^2100
√, ∛Square root and cube rootsqrt(16)4
x², xʸSquare and general power2^101024
x!Factorial — product of all whole numbers up to x5!120
1/xReciprocal1/40.25
|x|Absolute value — distance from zeroabs(−7)7
π, eConstants: 3.14159…, 2.71828…6.28319
EEScientific notation entry2.5E32500

Degrees, Radians and Gradians

An angle can be measured in three units, and trigonometry gives different answers in each. Getting this wrong is the most frequent source of incorrect results in physics and maths exams.

UnitFull circleRight angleUsed in
Degrees360°90°School maths, navigation, construction
Radians2π ≈ 6.283π/2 ≈ 1.571Calculus, physics, programming
Gradians400 grad100 gradSurveying, some European engineering

To convert: degrees × π/180 = radians, and radians × 180/π = degrees. A quick check — if sin of a small whole number gives roughly that number divided by 57, you are in radian mode.

Trigonometry Guide

In a right-angled triangle, sin is opposite ÷ hypotenuse, cos is adjacent ÷ hypotenuse and tan is opposite ÷ adjacent — remembered as SOH-CAH-TOA. The inverse functions work backwards: given a ratio, they return the angle.

Exact values worth knowing (degrees)

sin 0 = 0   sin 30 = 0.5   sin 45 = 0.7071   sin 60 = 0.8660   sin 90 = 1
cos 0 = 1   cos 60 = 0.5   cos 90 = 0
tan 45 = 1   tan 90 = undefined

Tangent is undefined at 90° and 270° because the adjacent side has length zero, so the ratio would divide by zero. This calculator says so plainly rather than returning a meaningless huge number.

Logarithms Guide

A logarithm answers the question "what power do I raise the base to?" Since 10² = 100, log(100) = 2. log uses base 10, while ln uses base e ≈ 2.71828, which appears naturally in growth, decay and calculus.

if bˣ = y then log_b(y) = x
log(ab) = log a + log b  ·  log(a/b) = log a − log b  ·  log(aⁿ) = n log a

To take a logarithm in another base, divide: log₇(343) = ln(343) ÷ ln(7) = 3.

Hyperbolic Functions Explained

Hyperbolic functions look like trigonometry but describe a hyperbola rather than a circle. Where sin and cos trace points on a unit circle, sinh and cosh trace points on the curve x² − y² = 1. They are built directly from the exponential function:

sinh(x) = (eˣ − e⁻ˣ) ÷ 2  ·  cosh(x) = (eˣ + e⁻ˣ) ÷ 2
tanh(x) = sinh(x) ÷ cosh(x)

Unlike sine and cosine they take no angle unit, so the Deg/Rad/Grad setting does not affect them. cosh(0) = 1, sinh(0) = 0, and tanh always sits between −1 and 1.

Where they appear. A hanging chain or cable forms a catenary, whose shape is cosh — which is why suspension-bridge and powerline engineers use it. tanh is common in physics for terminal velocity and in machine learning as an activation function, and all three appear in the solutions to differential equations and in special relativity.

Type them directly as sinh(1), cosh(0) or tanh(2). The inverses asinh, acosh and atanh also work.

Exponents, Roots and Factorials

Exponents. 2^10 means ten 2s multiplied together, giving 1024. A negative exponent means a reciprocal, so 2^−1 = 0.5, and a fractional exponent means a root, so 8^(1/3) = 2.

Roots. The square root reverses squaring, and the cube root reverses cubing. Square roots of negative numbers have no real answer, which the calculator reports rather than showing NaN.

Factorials. 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120, and by definition 0! = 1. Factorials grow extremely fast — 170! is near the limit of standard number storage, and beyond that you need our Big Number Calculator.

Permutations and Combinations

Both count how many ways items can be chosen from a group. Order matters for permutations but not for combinations.

permutations: nPr = n! ÷ (n−r)!
combinations: nCr = n! ÷ (r! × (n−r)!)

Choosing 3 from 5 where order matters: 5! ÷ 2! = 60. Where order does not matter: 5! ÷ (3! × 2!) = 10. You can enter these directly, for example 5!/(3!*2!).

Scientific and Engineering Notation

Scientific notation writes a number as a value between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten: 384,400,000 becomes 3.844 × 10⁸. Type it here as 3.844E8.

Engineering notation is similar but restricts the exponent to multiples of three, matching unit prefixes such as kilo, mega and giga. So 384,400,000 m is written 384.4 × 10⁶ m, or 384.4 megametres.

Worked Examples

1. Order of operations

2 + 3 × 4
Multiplication first: 3 × 4 = 12, then 2 + 12
= 14 (a basic calculator may wrongly give 20)

2. Trigonometry in degrees

Check the display shows DEG, then sin(30)
= 0.5 — in radian mode the same keystrokes give −0.988

3. Finding an angle from a ratio

A ramp rises 1 m over 2 m. The angle is tan⁻¹(1 ÷ 2)
= 26.57°

4. A logarithm in another base

log₇(343) = ln(343) ÷ ln(7)
5.8377 ÷ 1.9459 = 3, since 7³ = 343

5. Powers are right-associative

2^3^2 means 2^(3^2) = 2^9
= 512, not 64

6. Combinations — a lottery

Choosing 6 numbers from 45: 45! ÷ (6! × 39!)
= 8,145,060 possible tickets

7. Compound growth

$1,000 at 5% for 10 years: 1000 × 1.05^10
= $1,628.89

8. Physics — projectile range

Range = v² sin(2θ) ÷ g, with v = 20 m/s, θ = 45°, g = 9.81
400 × sin(90) ÷ 9.81 = 40.8 m
Looking for statistics? This calculator evaluates expressions rather than data sets, so mean, median and standard deviation are not built in. Use the Standard Deviation Calculator for those, which takes a list of values.

Scientific vs Basic Calculator

FeatureScientificBasic
Order of operationsFull BODMASOften left to right
BracketsYes, nestedRarely
TrigonometryYes, with three angle modesNo
Logarithmslog and lnNo
Powers and rootsAny power, any rootSquare root only
Constantsπ and eNo
MemoryFull MS/MR/M+/M−Basic or none

Real-World Applications

Students. Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus homework, plus exam practice where showing the method matters as much as the answer.

Engineers. Load calculations, angles, tolerances and unit conversions, usually in degrees for structural work and radians for anything involving rotation.

Physicists. Wave equations, projectile motion, exponential decay and logarithmic scales such as decibels.

Chemists. pH is a base-10 logarithm, and reaction rates and half-lives use natural logs.

Builders and surveyors. Roof pitch, rafter lengths and site angles are trigonometry problems, and surveying instruments often report in gradians.

Finance. Compound interest is a power calculation, and continuous compounding uses e.

Keyboard Shortcuts

KeyActionKeyAction
0–9 . ( )Type directlyssin(
+ − * /Operatorsccos(
^Powerttan(
!Factorialllog(
Enter or =Calculatenln(
BackspaceDelete last characterrSquare root
EscClear everythingpπ
%Divide by 100eEuler's number

Formula Library

Common formulas you can enter straight into the calculator. Substitute your own numbers for the letters.

FormulaExpressionType it as
Pythagoras — hypotenusec = √(a² + b²)sqrt(3^2+4^2) → 5
Quadratic formulax = (−b ± √(b² − 4ac)) ÷ 2a(-5+sqrt(5^2-4*1*6))/(2*1) → −2
Distance between pointsd = √((x₂−x₁)² + (y₂−y₁)²)sqrt((7-1)^2+(9-1)^2) → 10
Circle areaA = πr²pi*5^2 → 78.54
Circle circumferenceC = 2πr2pi*5 → 31.42
Sphere volumeV = ⁴⁄₃πr³4/3*pi*3^3 → 113.1
Simple interestI = P × r × t1000*0.05*3 → 150
Compound interestA = P(1 + r)ᵗ1000*1.05^10 → 1628.89
Continuous compoundingA = Pe^(rt)1000*e^(0.05*10) → 1648.72
Combinations (nCr)n! ÷ (r!(n−r)!)8!/(3!*5!) → 56
Log in any baselog_b(x) = ln x ÷ ln bln(343)/ln(7) → 3
Right-triangle angleθ = tan⁻¹(opposite ÷ adjacent)atan(1/2) → 26.57°

Who Uses a Scientific Calculator?

Students. From upper primary through university — geometry, algebra, trigonometry, calculus and statistics coursework, plus exam preparation where the method matters as much as the answer.

Engineers. Loads, stresses, tolerances and angles. Civil and structural work tends to use degrees; anything involving rotation or waves uses radians.

Architects. Roof pitches, stair rises, sightlines and scaling, where a trigonometric ratio turns a drawing into a buildable dimension.

Surveyors. Bearings, traverse calculations and level differences — one of the few professions that still routinely uses gradians.

Electricians. Ohm's law, power factor, cable sizing and phase angles, where trigonometry describes the relationship between voltage and current.

Scientists. Chemists use logarithms for pH, physicists use exponentials for decay, and biologists use them for population growth.

Programmers. Checking algorithm behaviour, converting between units and bases, and verifying the maths in code before shipping it.

Common Mistakes

Watch out for these:
  • Wrong angle mode. The single biggest cause of wrong trigonometry answers. Check DEG or RAD before you start.
  • Assuming ^ means power everywhere. In many programming languages ^ is a bitwise operator, not a power — a mistake that silently returns wrong numbers.
  • Missing brackets. sin(30 + 60) is not sin(30) + 60. When in doubt, add brackets.
  • Misreading −3² as 9. The power binds tighter than the minus sign, so −3² = −9. Write (−3)² if you mean 9.
  • Rounding too early. Keep full precision through a multi-step calculation and round only at the end.
  • Confusing log and ln. log is base 10, ln is base e. Chemistry and finance formulas specify which.
  • Expecting tan(90) to give a number. It is genuinely undefined, not merely very large.

Practice Questions

Beginner (with answers)

  1. Calculate 5 + 3 × 2.
  2. Calculate sin(90) in degrees.
  3. Calculate √144.
  4. Calculate log(1000).
  5. Calculate 4!.
Show answers

1) 11   2) 1   3) 12   4) 3   5) 24

Advanced (with answers)

  1. Calculate 2^3^2.
  2. Calculate cos(60) × tan(45) in degrees.
  3. Calculate ln(e^3).
  4. How many ways can 3 items be chosen from 8, order not mattering?
  5. Calculate the angle whose tangent is 1, in degrees.
Show answers

1) 512   2) 0.5   3) 3   4) 8!/(3!×5!) = 56   5) 45°

Did you know? The first pocket scientific calculator, the HP-35 of 1972, cost about US$395 — roughly $3,000 in today's money. Within three years it had made the slide rule, used for over 300 years, effectively obsolete.
Pro tip. Estimate before you calculate. If you expect roughly 40 and the screen shows 0.7, you are almost certainly in the wrong angle mode.
Pro tip. Use Ans to chain calculations instead of retyping a long decimal — it keeps full precision rather than the rounded figure you can see.

🔑 Key Takeaways

  • Scientific calculators follow BODMAS, so 2 + 3 × 4 = 14
  • Always check the angle mode before trigonometry
  • Powers are right-associative: 2^3^2 = 512
  • log is base 10; ln is base e ≈ 2.71828
  • Use brackets whenever the order could be ambiguous

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a scientific calculator?

A scientific calculator handles functions a basic calculator cannot, including trigonometry, logarithms, exponents, roots, factorials, brackets and constants such as pi and e. It also follows the full order of operations.

How do you use a scientific calculator?

Enter your expression using the buttons or the keyboard, set the angle mode if you are using trigonometry, then press equals or Enter. Use brackets to control the order and the Ans key to reuse the previous answer.

What is the difference between a scientific calculator and a standard calculator?

A standard calculator handles the four basic operations and often works left to right. A scientific calculator applies the correct order of operations and adds trigonometry, logarithms, powers, roots, memory and constants.

What is the difference between degrees and radians?

Both measure angles. A full circle is 360 degrees or 2 pi radians, which is about 6.283. Degrees suit school geometry and construction, while radians are standard in calculus, physics and programming.

Why does sin(30) give different answers?

Because the angle mode differs. In degrees sin(30) is 0.5, but in radians the same keystrokes give about minus 0.988. Always check the mode shown on the display before doing trigonometry.

What is grad mode?

Gradians divide a full circle into 400 units, so a right angle is 100 gradians. The unit is used mainly in surveying and some European engineering work.

How do you calculate logarithms?

Use log for base 10 and ln for base e. For any other base, divide: log base 7 of 343 equals ln(343) divided by ln(7), which is 3.

What is the difference between log and ln?

log uses base 10, so log(100) is 2. ln uses base e, approximately 2.71828, so ln(e) is 1. Chemistry, finance and calculus formulas specify which one applies.

What is e?

e is Euler's number, approximately 2.718281828. It is the base of natural logarithms and appears in continuous growth, radioactive decay and compound interest.

What is pi?

Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.141592653589793. It is irrational, so its decimal expansion never ends or repeats.

What is factorial?

The factorial of a whole number is the product of every whole number from 1 up to it. So 5 factorial is 5 times 4 times 3 times 2 times 1, which equals 120. By definition 0 factorial is 1.

How do you calculate permutations and combinations?

Permutations count arrangements where order matters, using n factorial divided by (n minus r) factorial. Combinations ignore order, using n factorial divided by r factorial times (n minus r) factorial. Choosing 3 from 5 gives 60 permutations or 10 combinations.

Why is tan(90) undefined?

Tangent is the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side. At 90 degrees the adjacent side has length zero, so the ratio would require dividing by zero, which has no value.

What does the order of operations mean?

It is the rule that brackets come first, then powers and roots, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction. It is why 2 plus 3 times 4 equals 14 rather than 20.

Why does 2^3^2 equal 512 and not 64?

Powers are evaluated right to left, so 2^3^2 means 2 raised to the power of 3 squared, which is 2 to the power 9, or 512. Use brackets to force the other reading.

What is scientific notation?

Scientific notation writes a number as a value between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten, such as 3.844 times 10 to the power 8. Enter it here using the letter E, for example 3.844E8.

What is engineering notation?

Engineering notation is like scientific notation but the exponent is always a multiple of three, matching unit prefixes such as kilo, mega and giga.

How do the memory buttons work?

MS stores the displayed value, MR recalls it, M plus adds the display to memory, M minus subtracts it, and MC clears memory. An M indicator appears whenever memory holds a value.

Can I use my keyboard with this calculator?

Yes. Digits, operators and brackets type directly, Enter calculates, Backspace deletes, and Escape clears. Letter shortcuts cover the common functions, such as s for sine and r for square root.

Does this scientific calculator work offline?

Once the page has loaded, all calculations run in your browser with no server contact, so your work stays private and continues to function if your connection drops.

Is this Scientific Calculator free?

Yes. It is free with no sign-up, works on any device, and runs entirely in your browser.

References

Last updated: July 2026
Reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal. Expressions are evaluated by a purpose-built parser that applies the standard order of operations — no code evaluation is used, so nothing you type can run as a script. Results are displayed to twelve significant figures while full precision is retained for chained calculations. This page is for educational purposes.