Scientific Calculator
A full scientific calculator with trig, logs, powers, and history — right in your browser.
Trig functions use radians.
A scientific calculator evaluates a whole expression by order of operations: parentheses, then powers, then × and ÷, then + and −. So 2 + 3 × 4² ÷ 8 = 8, because 4² = 16, then 3 × 16 ÷ 8 = 6, and 2 + 6 = 8 — not 10.
How the calculator reads your expression
You type one expression and it is evaluated as a whole, not key by key. That means the calculator follows the standard order of operations: it does powers first, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction, with parentheses overriding everything. So 2 + 3 × 4 is 14, not 20 — the multiplication binds tighter than the addition.
precedence, highest to lowest; powers (^) are right-associative
Worked example
Evaluate 2 + 3 × 4 ² ÷ 8 by precedence:
- 1 Resolve the power first. 4² = 16, so the expression becomes 2 + 3 × 16 ÷ 8.
- 2 Then multiply and divide, left to right. 3 × 16 = 48, then 48 ÷ 8 = 6.
- 3 Finally add. 2 + 6 = 8 — the calculator returns 8, not the 10 you would get reading strictly left to right.
Operator precedence
What binds tightest. Operators on the same level evaluate left to right, except ^ which is right-associative (2^3^2 = 2^9 = 512).
| Level | Operators | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | ( ) | (2 + 3) × 4 = 20 |
| 2 | functions: sin, cos, tan, ln, log, √ | √9 + 1 = 4 |
| 3 | ^ (power) | 2 + 3^2 = 11 |
| 4 | × ÷ | 8 − 2 × 3 = 2 |
| 5 (lowest) | + − | 1 + 2 − 3 = 0 |
Things that trip people up
Angles are in radians. The trig functions expect radians, so sin(π/2) = 1, not sin(90). To work in degrees, multiply by π/180 first — sin(30 × π ÷ 180) = 0.5. For a dedicated unit circle, the trigonometry calculator takes degrees directly.
Unary minus. A leading minus, as in −3², is read as 0 − 3², so the power applies before the sign: the result is −9, not 9. Wrap it as (−3)² if you mean to square the negative.
Stacked powers. Because ^ is right-associative, 2^3^2 means 2^(3^2) = 2⁹ = 512, not (2³)² = 64.