Answer: Enter your values and the Scientific Calculator returns the exact result instantly — formula, worked example, and a plain-English explanation are included below the tool.
Free online scientific calculator with trigonometry, logarithms, exponents, and more.
This scientific calculator handles the functions a basic calculator lacks: trigonometry (sin, cos, tan and their inverses), logarithms (log base 10 and natural log), exponentials and roots, powers, constants like pi and e, factorial, and parenthesized expressions that respect the standard order of operations.
It runs entirely in your browser and evaluates expressions the way mathematics notation intends: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction. That means you can type an expression exactly as it appears in a textbook rather than working through it step by step on a four-function calculator.
Every calculator's most important behavior is which operations it applies first. The universal convention — encoded in the mnemonic PEMDAS (parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division, addition and subtraction) — resolves the classic ambiguity of an expression like 2 + 3 × 4, which equals 14, not 20, because multiplication binds before addition.
Trigonometric functions introduce a second convention worth knowing: angle units. Mathematicians work in radians; engineers and surveyors usually work in degrees. The same physical rotation is 360 degrees or 2π radians, so sin(30) in radians is not sin(30°) in degrees — a classic source of wrong answers when switching calculators. Scientific calculators have a DEG/RAD mode for exactly this reason; this calculator evaluates trig functions in radians by default, matching mathematical software convention, so convert degrees to radians (multiply by π/180) when needed.
The core function set on scientific calculators has been stable since Hewlett-Packard's HP-35 introduced the pocket scientific calculator in 1972. The table below summarizes the functions available here and their standard uses. Inverse functions (arcsin, arccos, arctan) recover an angle from a ratio; hyperbolic variants appear in engineering and physics (the catenary curve of a hanging cable is a hyperbolic cosine).
Factorial, written n!, multiplies every integer from 1 to n — 5! = 120 — and is central to combinatorics: it counts the number of distinct orderings of n objects. The constant e ≈ 2.71828 is the base of the natural exponential, the function that describes continuous growth, and its inverse ln is the natural logarithm used throughout calculus and finance.
| Function | Notation | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Sine / cosine / tangent | sin, cos, tan | Trigonometry, waves, physics vectors |
| Inverse trig | arcsin, arccos, arctan | Finding angles from side ratios |
| Natural log | ln | Inverse of e^x; calculus, decay, finance |
| Common log | log | Base-10 logs; pH, decibels, Richter scale |
| Exponential | e^x | Continuous growth and decay |
| Power / root | x^y, √ | Powers, square and cube roots |
| Factorial | n! | Permutations and combinations |
| Constants | π ≈ 3.14159, e ≈ 2.71828 | Circles, natural growth |
| Memory / parentheses | ( ) | Grouping to control evaluation order |
For school and exam use, the practical question is which functions you need: through most of high school algebra, logarithms and exponents suffice; trigonometry and physics need trig functions and degree/radian handling; statistics courses benefit from factorial and powers for permutations and combinations. A browser calculator covers all of these, with the caveat that some exams permit only approved physical models.
Numerically, results here are computed in standard double-precision floating point, the same arithmetic used by physical calculators and virtually all scientific software — accurate to roughly 15–16 significant digits, with tiny rounding artifacts possible (the famous 0.1 + 0.2 = 0.30000000000000004 effect). For classwork this precision is far beyond what is needed; just be aware that the last digit or two of a long chain of operations can vary between devices. Chaining long expressions in stages — solving for an intermediate value, checking it, then substituting — is the habit that catches most calculator errors, since a single mistyped parenthesis in a long line is easy to miss.
What does a scientific calculator do that a basic one doesn't?
It evaluates functions beyond arithmetic: trigonometric and inverse trig functions, logarithms in any common base, exponentials, arbitrary powers and roots, factorials, and constants like pi and e — plus full support for parenthesized expressions evaluated in standard mathematical order.
Does it follow order of operations?
Yes. Expressions are evaluated using the standard convention: parentheses first, then exponents and functions, then multiplication and division from left to right, then addition and subtraction. So 2 + 3 × 4 returns 14.
Does the calculator use degrees or radians?
Trigonometric functions are evaluated in radians by default, the convention used in mathematical software. To work with degrees, multiply the angle by π/180 first (or divide the result of an inverse function by π/180 to convert back).
Why is 0.1 + 0.2 sometimes shown as 0.30000000000000004?
Because numbers are stored in binary floating point, and 0.1 and 0.2 have no exact binary representation. The tiny error appears in the 17th significant digit — far beyond the precision needed for classwork — and is a property of all standard calculators and software, not a bug.
What is the difference between log and ln?
log is the base-10 (common) logarithm, used for pH, decibels, and the Richter scale; ln is the natural logarithm with base e ≈ 2.71828, standard in calculus, continuous growth, and finance. They differ by a constant factor: ln(x) = log(x) / log(e).