Free Scientific Calculator (+ Guide)

What is a scientific calculator?

A scientific calculator adds the functions a basic one lacks: trigonometry, logarithms, roots, powers and factorials.

This one reads the expression you type, so you see the full sum before you trust the answer.

How to use it

Type or tap, then press Enter.

The functions

It has sin, cos and tan and their inverses, sqrt and cbrt, log (base 10), ln, powers with ^, factorials with !, percents with %, and the constants π and e.

Degrees or radians

Trig answers depend on the unit. In degrees, sin(90) is 1; in radians, sin(90) is 0.894. Check the toggle before you trust a trig answer.

A worked example

Here's the example the calculator loads: sqrt(3^2+4^2)+sin(30), in degrees.

3² + 4² = 9 + 16 = 25, and its square root is 5. sin(30°) is 0.5, so the answer is 5.5.

Mistakes to avoid

These are the slips that give a wrong answer.

• Leaving the calculator in radians for a degrees question
• Typing -2^2 and expecting 4: powers come first, so it's −4
• Forgetting a closing bracket, which changes what a function covers
• Mixing up log (base 10) and ln (base e)

Who is the scientific calculator for?

It's for students, engineers and anyone who needs more than + and −, and these tools help around it.

• Fraction calculator – for answers as fractions
• Statistics calculator – for a list of numbers
• Percentage calculator – for percent questions

Type the sum, read it once, then trust the answer.