Scientific Calculator
Trig, logs, powers and roots.
Memory empty
= 50
Parsed as: 2 + (3 × (4 ^ 2))
You can type with your keyboard: Enter calculates and Escape clears. Use * and / (or × and ÷), ^ for powers, ! for factorial and % for percent. Brackets you leave open are closed for you.
How to Use the Online Scientific Calculator
This free online scientific calculator does trigonometry (sin, cos, tan and their inverses), logarithms, powers, roots, factorials, permutations and combinations, with π and e built in. Type an expression the way you'd write it, or use the keys, and the answer appears as you go. Switch between degrees and radians, store numbers with the memory keys, and tap an earlier calculation in the history to use it again.
Under the answer, a Parsed as line shows how your expression was read, with every bracket and multiplication sign made explicit. It's the quickest way to see the order of operations at work and to catch a slip before it becomes a wrong answer.
Order of Operations: BODMAS and BIDMAS
BIDMAS is the same rule with Indices in place of Orders. Division and multiplication share a rank and are worked left to right, and so are addition and subtraction.
Example: 2 + 3 × 4^2. The power comes first (4^2 = 16), then the multiplication (3 × 16 = 48), then the addition (2 + 48 = 50). The calculator shows this as 2 + (3 × (4 ^ 2)).
Left to right matters: 8 ÷ 2 × 4 is (8 ÷ 2) × 4 = 16, not 8 ÷ 8. Powers stack from the right, so 2^3^2 means 2^(3^2) = 512, not (2^3)^2 = 64.
Implicit multiplication (writing 3(4+1), 2π or 2sin(30) with no × sign) is accepted and counts as ordinary multiplication, worked left to right. That means 6÷2(1+2) is read as (6 ÷ 2) × (1 + 2) = 9. Some calculators treat that kind of multiplication as binding tighter, so for anything ambiguous add brackets.
Why −2² Is −4
The minus sign in front of 2^2 is a negation applied after the power, so −2^2 = −(2^2) = −4. The square of negative two needs brackets: (−2)^2 = 4. A sign written inside the exponent belongs to the exponent, so 2^-2 = 0.25. Typing −2^2 here shows the result as -(2 ^ 2), which makes the rule visible.
Degrees vs Radians
A full turn is 360° or 2π radians, so 180° = π radians. The DEG/RAD switch controls how sin, cos and tan read their input, and the units the inverse functions answer in: asin(0.5) is 30 in degree mode and 0.5235987756 in radian mode. In degree mode sin(30) is 0.5, but in radian mode the same keys give −0.9880316241, because 30 radians is a different angle. In radian mode, type the angle with π, for example sin(π/6) = 0.5. Hyperbolic functions (sinh, cosh, tanh) don't use angles, so the switch has no effect on them.
Results that should be exact are cleaned up: sin(180°) shows 0 rather than 1.2e-16, and tan(90°), where the tangent doesn't exist, reports “undefined”.
How to Enter Functions
| Function | Type | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sine, cosine, tangent | sin( cos( tan( | sin(30) in degrees | 0.5 |
| Inverse trig | asin( acos( atan( | asin(0.5) in degrees | 30 |
| Natural log | ln( | ln(e^2) | 2 |
| Log base 10 | log( | log(1000) | 3 |
| Log base 2 | log2( | log2(8) | 3 |
| Square root | sqrt( | sqrt(2) | 1.414213562 |
| Cube root | cbrt( | cbrt(27) | 3 |
| Any root | ^(1/n) | 27^(1/3) | 3 |
| Absolute value | abs( | abs(-7.5) | 7.5 |
| Factorial | ! | 5! | 120 |
| Combinations | nCr(n,r) | nCr(10,3) | 120 |
| Permutations | nPr(n,r) | nPr(10,3) | 720 |
| Percent | % | 50% | 0.5 |
| Pi | π or pi | 2π | 6.283185307 |
Function names can be typed in any case. To multiply, use * or × (the letter x isn't multiplication), and note that 2e3 means 2000 in scientific notation, so write 2*e or 2 e to multiply by Euler's number.
Worked Examples
- 2 + 3 × 4^2 = 50. Power, then multiplication, then addition.
- sin(30) = 0.5 in degree mode, and −0.9880316241 in radian mode.
- ln(e^2) = 2. The natural log undoes e to a power.
- 5! = 120, because 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120.
- nCr(10,3) = 120 ways to choose 3 from 10, and nPr(10,3) = 720 ways to arrange 3 chosen from 10.
- −2^2 = −4, while (−2)^2 = 4.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Calculate, and save the calculation to history |
| Escape | Clear the expression |
| + - * / | Add, subtract, multiply, divide (× and ÷ also work) |
| ^ | Power, for example 2^10 |
| ! | Factorial, for example 5! |
| % | Percent (divides by 100) |
| ( ) , | Brackets and the comma between function arguments |
| pi, e, ANS | π, Euler's number and your previous answer |
| Backspace | Delete a character (the DEL key removes a whole function name like sin( at once) |
Limits and Error Messages
The calculator reports a clear message instead of a wrong number: dividing by zero, the square root or log of a negative number, asin or acos outside −1 to 1, a factorial of a fraction or negative, a result too large to show (anything beyond about 1.8 × 10^308, including 171!), or a tangent that doesn't exist. Results use 10 significant digits, and numbers of 1e12 or more, or smaller than 1e-9, switch to scientific notation. Expressions can be up to 500 characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this online scientific calculator free to use?
- Yes. This online scientific calculator is free, needs no sign-up and works on phones, tablets and computers. It handles trigonometry, logarithms, powers, roots, factorials, permutations and combinations, with π, e, memory and a history of your last 20 calculations. Nothing is saved after you leave the page.
- How do I use a scientific calculator?
- Type the expression the way you'd write it, such as 2 + 3 × 4^2, or tap the keys, then press = or Enter. The result also updates live as you type, and the line under it shows how your expression was read, with brackets added to show the order of operations. Functions go in front of brackets, like sin(30), and you can leave closing brackets off at the end.
- How do I use the calculator with sin, cos and tan?
- Type sin(, cos( or tan( followed by the angle and a closing bracket, or tap the sin, cos and tan keys. For the inverse functions press 2nd first to get sin⁻¹, cos⁻¹ and tan⁻¹, or type asin(, acos( and atan(. The angle mode, DEG or RAD, decides how the angle is read, so check it before you calculate.
- What is the difference between degrees and radians?
- Both measure angles. A full turn is 360 degrees or 2π radians, so 180° equals π radians (about 3.14159). Use degrees for most school geometry and everyday angles, and radians for calculus and many physics formulas. With the same typed number the answer changes: sin(30) is 0.5 in degree mode but −0.9880316241 in radian mode.
- What is the order of operations (BODMAS or BIDMAS)?
- Do Brackets first, then Orders (powers and roots; BIDMAS calls these Indices), then Division and Multiplication together from left to right, then Addition and Subtraction together from left to right. Australian schools usually teach BODMAS. So 2 + 3 × 4^2 is 2 + 3 × 16 = 2 + 48 = 50, and 8 + 2 × (6 − 3)^2 ÷ 3 is 8 + 2 × 9 ÷ 3 = 14. The Parsed as line shows the brackets this calculator applied.
- Why is −2^2 equal to −4 and not 4?
- Powers are worked out before the minus sign, so −2^2 means −(2^2) = −4. To square negative two, use brackets: (−2)^2 = 4. This is the standard rule, and the Parsed as line shows it as −(2 ^ 2) so you can see how it was read. Putting the sign inside the exponent, as in 2^-2 = 0.25, is fine.
- How do I use the log calculator, and what is the difference between log and ln?
- log( is the base-10 logarithm, so log(1000) = 3, and ln( is the natural logarithm with base e, so ln(e^2) = 2. There's also log2( for base 2, so log2(8) = 3. Logarithms need a positive input: log(0) and ln(−1) give a domain error. To use another base b, divide: log(x) ÷ log(b).
- How do I calculate a factorial?
- Type the number followed by !, or tap the x! key: 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120 and 10! = 3628800. Factorials are defined for whole numbers that are 0 or more (0! = 1). The largest that fits is 170!, about 7.257415615e+306, and 171! is too big to show. Fractions and negative numbers give a factorial domain error.
- How do I use the nCr calculator for combinations?
- Type nCr(n, r), or tap nCr and enter the two numbers separated by a comma. nCr(10,3) = 120 is the number of ways to choose 3 items from 10 when order doesn't matter. nPr(10,3) = 720 counts the ways when order does matter. Both need whole numbers with r no bigger than n, and nCr(52,5) = 2598960 is the number of five-card hands from a deck.