A scientific calculator is an electronic

calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-si ...

, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic (

addition Addition (usually signified by the Plus and minus signs#Plus sign, plus symbol, +) is one of the four basic Operation (mathematics), operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication, and Division (mathematics), divis ...

subtraction Subtraction (which is signified by the minus sign, –) is one of the four Arithmetic#Arithmetic operations, arithmetic operations along with addition, multiplication and Division (mathematics), division. Subtraction is an operation that repre ...

multiplication Multiplication is one of the four elementary mathematical operations of arithmetic, with the other ones being addition, subtraction, and division (mathematics), division. The result of a multiplication operation is called a ''Product (mathem ...

, division) and advanced ( trigonometric,

hyperbolic Hyperbolic may refer to: * of or pertaining to a hyperbola, a type of smooth curve lying in a plane in mathematics ** Hyperbolic geometry, a non-Euclidean geometry ** Hyperbolic functions, analogues of ordinary trigonometric functions, defined u ...

, etc.) mathematical operations and functions. They have completely replaced

slide rule A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...

s as well as books of

mathematical table Mathematical tables are lists of numbers showing the results of a calculation with varying arguments. Trigonometric tables were used in ancient Greece and India for applications to astronomy and celestial navigation, and continued to be widely u ...

s and are used in both educational and professional settings. In some areas of study and professions scientific calculators have been replaced by

graphing calculator Graphing Calculator may refer to: * Graphing calculators, calculators that are able to display and/or analyze mathematical function graphs * NuCalc, a computer software program able to perform many graphing calculator functions * Grapher, th ...

s and financial calculators which have the capabilities of a scientific calculator along with the capability to graph input data and functions, as well as by numerical computing,

computer algebra In mathematics and computer science, computer algebra, also called symbolic computation or algebraic computation, is a scientific area that refers to the study and development of algorithms and software for manipulating expression (mathematics), ...

, statistical, and

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

software packages running on

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

s. Both desktop and mobile software calculators can also emulate many functions of a physical scientific calculator. Standalone scientific calculators remain popular in secondary and

tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

because computers and smartphones are often prohibited during exams to reduce the likelihood of cheating.

Functions

When electronic calculators were originally marketed they normally had only four or five capabilities (

, division and

square root In mathematics, a square root of a number is a number such that y^2 = x; in other words, a number whose ''square'' (the result of multiplying the number by itself, or y \cdot y) is . For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16 because 4 ...

). Modern scientific calculators generally have many more capabilities than the original four- or five-function calculator, and the capabilities differ between manufacturers and models. The capabilities of a modern scientific calculator include: *

Scientific notation Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form, since to do so would require writing out an inconveniently long string of digits. It may be referred to as scientif ...

* Floating-point decimal arithmetic *

Logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...

ic functions, using both

base 10 The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers (''decimal fractions'') of t ...

and base * Trigonometric functions (some including hyperbolic trigonometry) *

Exponent In mathematics, exponentiation, denoted , is an operation involving two numbers: the ''base'', , and the ''exponent'' or ''power'', . When is a positive integer, exponentiation corresponds to repeated multiplication of the base: that is, i ...

ial functions and

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s beyond the

* Quick access to constants such as and In addition, high-end scientific calculators generally include some or all of the following: * Cursor controls to edit equations and view previous calculations (some calculators such as the ''LCD-8310'', badge engineered under both '' Olympia'' and '' United Office'' keep the number of the previous result on-screen for convenience while the new calculation is being entered.) *

Hexadecimal Hexadecimal (also known as base-16 or simply hex) is a Numeral system#Positional systems in detail, positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of sixteen. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using ten symbo ...

, binary, and

octal Octal (base 8) is a numeral system with eight as the base. In the decimal system, each place is a power of ten. For example: : \mathbf_ = \mathbf \times 10^1 + \mathbf \times 10^0 In the octal system, each place is a power of eight. For ex ...

calculations, including basic Boolean mathematics *

Complex numbers In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the form a ...

Fractions A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, thre ...

calculations *

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

and

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

calculations * Programmability — see

Programmable calculator Programmable calculators are calculators that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under the control of a stored computer programming, program. Most are Turing complete, and, as such, are theoretically general-purpose computers. ...

Equation solving In mathematics, to solve an equation is to find its solutions, which are the values (numbers, functions, sets, etc.) that fulfill the condition stated by the equation, consisting generally of two expressions related by an equals sign. When s ...

and

* Matrix calculations *

Calculus Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...

* Letters that can be used for spelling words or including variables into an equation *

Conversion of units Conversion of units is the conversion of the unit of measurement in which a quantity is expressed, typically through a multiplicative conversion factor that changes the unit without changing the quantity. This is also often loosely taken to incl ...

Physical constants A physical constant, sometimes fundamental physical constant or universal constant, is a physical quantity that cannot be explained by a theory and therefore must be measured experimentally. It is distinct from a mathematical constant, which has a ...

* Vector calculations *

Random number generation Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator (RNG), a sequence of numbers or symbols is generated that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance. This means that the particular ou ...

While most scientific calculators have traditionally used a single-line display similar to traditional pocket calculators, many of them have more digits (10 to 12), sometimes with extra digits for the floating-point exponent. A few have multi-line displays, with some models from

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

(both US manufacturers),

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

, Sharp, and

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

(all three Japanese makers) using

dot matrix A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned Array data structure, array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and pri ...

displays similar to those found on

Uses

Scientific calculators are used widely in situations that require quick access to certain mathematical functions, especially those that were once looked up in

mathematical tables Mathematical tables are lists of numbers showing the results of a calculation with varying arguments. Trigonometric tables were used in ancient Greece and India for applications to astronomy and celestial navigation, and continued to be widely us ...

, such as

trigonometric functions In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in all ...

logarithms In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...

. They are also used for calculations of very large or very small numbers, as in some aspects of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. They are very often required for math classes from the junior high school level through

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

, and are generally either permitted or required on many

standardized test A standardized test is a Test (assessment), test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored ...

s covering math and science subjects; as a result, many are sold into educational markets to cover this demand, and some high-end models include features making it easier to translate a problem on a textbook page into calculator input, e.g. by providing a method to enter an entire problem in as it is written on the page using simple formatting tools.

History

The first scientific calculator that included all of the basic ideas above was the programmable Hewlett-Packard HP-9100A, released in 1968, though the

Wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) Wang () is the pinyin romanization of Chinese, romanization of the common Chinese surname (''Wáng''). It has a mixture of various origin with uncertain lineage of family history, however it is c ...

LOCI-2 and the Mathatronics Mathatron had some features later identified with scientific calculator designs. The HP-9100 series was built entirely from discrete

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

logic with no

integrated circuit An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...

s, and was one of the first uses of the CORDIC algorithm for trigonometric computation in a personal computing device, as well as the first calculator based on

reverse Polish notation Reverse Polish notation (RPN), also known as reverse Łukasiewicz notation, Polish postfix notation or simply postfix notation, is a mathematical notation in which operators ''follow'' their operands, in contrast to prefix or Polish notation ...

(RPN) entry. HP became closely identified with RPN calculators from then on, and even today some of their high-end calculators (particularly the long-lived

HP-12C The HP-12C is a financial calculator made by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its successor HP Inc. as part of the HP Voyager series, introduced in 1981. It is HP's longest and best-selling product and is considered the '' de facto standard'' among fin ...

financial calculator and the HP-48 series of graphing calculators) still offer RPN as their default input mode due to having garnered a very large following. The

HP-35 The HP-35 was Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator and the world's first ''scientific'' pocket calculator: a calculator with trigonometric and exponential functions. It was introduced in 1972. History In about 1970 HP co-founder Bill He ...

, introduced on February 1, 1972, was Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator and the world's first handheld scientific calculator. Like some of HP's desktop calculators it used RPN. Introduced at US$395, the HP-35 was available from 1972 to 1975. Texas Instruments (TI), after the production of several units with

scientific notation Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form, since to do so would require writing out an inconveniently long string of digits. It may be referred to as scientif ...

, introduced a handheld scientific calculator on January 15, 1974, in the form of the SR-50. TI's long-running TI-30 series being one of the most widely used scientific calculators in classrooms.

, and Sharp, produced their graphing calculators, with Casio's FX series (beginning with the Casio FX-1 in 1972Casio FX-1 Desktop Scientific Calculator
/ref>). Casio was the first company to produce a Graphing calculator ( Casio fx-7000G).

References

{{Computer sizes Calculators Office equipment

Functions

Uses

History

See also

References