# Scientific calculator

URL: https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/scientific-calculator/
Author: Muhammad Shahid (https://shahid09.is-a.dev/)
Free tool · runs in your browser

An online scientific calculator with trigonometry, logarithms, powers, roots and factorials, in degrees or radians.

**Quick answer:** Use the keypad or type an expression such as sqrt(2)^2 + sin(30). It supports sin, cos and tan and their inverses, log (base 10), ln (base e), roots, powers, factorials, π and e. Switch between degrees and radians above the display. Exact angles give exact answers: sin(180°) is 0, and tan(90°) is reported as undefined.

## How to use it

1. **Choose degrees or radians.** Most school problems use degrees; calculus and programming use radians.
2. **Enter the expression.** Use the keypad or type it. A closing bracket at the very end is optional.
3. **Press = or Enter.** Use Ans in the next calculation to reuse the result.

## Example

In degrees mode:

Input:

```
sin(30)
log(1000)
5!
sqrt(144) + 2^3
```

Output:

```
0.5
3
120
20
```

## Common errors and how to fix them

- **My trig answer looks wrong**: Check the angle unit. sin(30) is 0.5 in degrees but about -0.988 in radians.
- **Tangent is undefined at this angle**: tan(90°) has no value because the cosine there is 0, and the same goes for 270° and so on.
- **This power has no real answer**: A negative number raised to a fraction, such as (-8)^0.5, is not a real number.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should I use degrees or radians?

Use degrees if angles are given in degrees, as in most geometry. Use radians for calculus or when angles involve π. A wrong setting is the most common cause of wrong trig answers.

### What is the difference between log and ln?

log is base 10, so log(1000) is 3. ln is base e (about 2.718), so ln(e) is 1.

### How do I enter a power?

Use ^, as in 2^10. Powers run right to left, so 2^3^2 is 2^9, or 512.

### Why is -2^2 equal to -4?

Powers come before the minus sign, as is standard in mathematics. Write (-2)^2 to get 4.

### What does n! mean?

The factorial: the product of all whole numbers up to n, so 5! is 120. It works up to 170!, above which the number is too large to show.

### How do I find an inverse sine?

Use asin, also written sin⁻¹. In degrees mode, asin(0.5) is 30. The input must be between -1 and 1.

### Can it multiply without a × sign?

Yes. 2pi, 3(4+1) and (2)(3) all work.

### Can I use it in an exam?

Check your exam rules, as most exams allow only approved physical calculators. It is well suited to homework and practice.

### How do I calculate a square or a cube root?

Use x² or ^2 for a square, √ for a square root, and type cbrt(27) for a cube root, which gives 3.

### What does Ans do?

Ans holds your last result, so sin(30) and then Ans × 4 gives 2. For everyday sums, the [basic calculator](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/basic-calculator/) has a simpler layout.

## Related

- [Basic calculator](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/basic-calculator/)
- [Percentage calculator](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/percentage-calculator/)
- [Loan calculator](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/loan-calculator/)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Order of operations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations)
- [Wikipedia: Trigonometric functions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonometric_functions)