Scientific Calculator

How This Calculator Works

A scientific calculator evaluates a full math expression — not just one operation at a time — following the standard order of operations. Type an expression using the field or the button pad below, including parentheses, trig functions, logarithms, exponents, and factorials, and get the result instantly.

Unlike a basic four-function calculator, this one understands an entire expression at once, the same way a graphing calculator or a math textbook does: 3 + 4 * 2 correctly evaluates to 11 (not 14), because multiplication happens before addition, and sqrt(16) + 2^3 correctly evaluates to 12, combining a function call with an exponent in the same expression.

The Formula

Expressions are evaluated in this order, from first to last:

1. Parentheses and function calls — anything inside ( ), including a function’s own argument (like the 16 inside sqrt(16)), is evaluated first.
2. Exponents (^) and postfix operators (! for factorial, % for percent) — evaluated right-to-left for chained exponents ($2^{3^2}$ means $2^{\left(3^2\right)}$, not $\left(2^3\right)^2$).
3. Multiplication and division (*, /), left-to-right.
4. Addition and subtraction (+, -), left-to-right.

The Degrees / Radians setting controls how the trig functions (sin, cos, tan, and their inverses) interpret angles — the same expression means something different in each mode, so pick whichever matches the problem at hand.

Worked Example

Evaluating $\sqrt{16} + 2^3$:

1. Evaluate the square root first: $\sqrt{16} = 4$. 2. Evaluate the exponent: $2^3 = 8$. 3. Add the two results together: $4 + 8 = 12$.

Functions and exponents are resolved first (steps 1 and 2), and only then are the two results added together (step 3) — evaluating strictly left-to-right without following this order would give a different, incorrect answer.