SciCalc is a powerful online calculator with a lot of functionalities. It might seem intimidating, but is actually quite easy to use. Read our user's guide here, and try SciCalc by yourself!

Using the keyboard

The keyboard is made of 38 keys which give access to several functions:

  • The main function of the key is written in white on the key
  • The secondary function is written in purple above the key. This secondary function is accessed by clicking on the SHIFT key followed by the key itself.
  • The key can also have alphabetic value written in gold at the bottom right of the key. The alphabetic value is accessed by clicking on the ALPHA key followed by the key itself.
  • Finally, the key can have a contextual value which depends on what is displayed on the screen. In this case, its value is indicated on the screen itself.

User's entries are shown in the command line at the bottom of the screen. User's entries can be corrected by using the ⌫ (Backspace) key, which removes the last character, or the AC (All Clear) key which empties the command line.

The screen is emptied by pressing SHIFT AC (Clear Screen)

Screen luminosity and sounds

The screen luminosity can be changed by using SHIFT - (darker) or SHIFT + (brighter)

The sound can be switched off by using SHIFT ÷ and switched on using SHIFT ×

Basic operations

Basic operations can be performed by using the +, -, ×, ÷ keys. For example, you can type 6 × 7 ENTER

Use the parentheses ( and ) to specify the order of operations. For example, typing (3 + 4) × 7 ENTER should give as a result 49, whereas 3 + 4 × 7 ENTER will calculate 31 because the multiplication has a higher priority than the addition.

Missing closing parentheses are added automatically when you press ENTER, so (3 + 4 × 7 ENTER works just like (3 + 4) × 7 ENTER.

Scientific functions

SciCalc provides a full set of scientific functions accessible directly from the keyboard:

  • Square root √ — Example: √(144) ENTER gives 12
  • Square SHIFT √ — Example: 9 SHIFT √ ENTER gives 81
  • Power ^ — Example: 2 ^ 10 ENTER gives 1024
  • Factorial ! — Example: 5 ! ENTER gives 120
  • Absolute value |x| — Example: |x| -7 ENTER gives 7
  • Reciprocal 1/x — Example: 4 1/x ENTER gives 0.25
  • Pi (π) SHIFT 1/x — Inserts 3.14159… Example: 2 × π ENTER gives 6.28318…
  • Euler's number (e) E — Inserts 2.71828… Example: e ^ 2 ENTER gives 7.38906…
  • Scientific notation E — Use uppercase E for powers of 10. Example: 1.5 E 6 ENTER gives 1500000

Functions like √ and |x| wrap the current expression automatically. For example, if the command line contains 9 and you press √, it becomes √(9).

Precision control

By default, SciCalc displays results with full precision. You can limit the number of decimal places displayed using the FIX key followed by a digit (0–9).

For example, press FIX then 2 to round all results to 2 decimal places. The current precision is shown in the top indicator bar as FIX 2.

Examples with FIX 2 active:

  • 1 ÷ 3 ENTER displays 0.33 instead of 0.3333333…
  • √(2) ENTER displays 1.41 instead of 1.41421356…

To restore full precision, press SHIFT FIX (CLRFIX). The FIX indicator disappears from the screen.