The scientific calculator is a general tool for performing basic arithmetical and scientific/mathematical calculations.

The calculator allows a calculation to be built up by via calculator buttons, keyboard entry and pasting text. The mode in which the calculator is operating influences when the calculation is performed. There are currently two modes of operation (manual and automatic calculation) and the toggle button Switch Auto-Calculation On/Off is used to move between them (with the default mode being manual calculation). In both cases a calculation is peformed when = is pressed or typed, or Enter is chosen. However, in automatic calculation mode, a calculation is also triggered when a button representing a unary operator/function, such as sqrt or sin, is pressed. So whether this is required or not should determine which mode is chosen for the calculator.

The calculator stores the last ten calculations performed on it in its history. Three of these historical calculations are viewable at any one time, but the ones shown can be changed by scrolling through the history using the up and down arrows to the right of the calculator display. In addition, the result of any valid historical calculation can be readily used in a new calculation by clicking on the Use button for that calculation.

The calculator buttons are present both for forming the calculation and also as a guide to the allowed characters and operators/functions. However, if JavaScript is disabled, the buttons are also disabled and are thus not useable for entering calculation text.

The calculator allows calculations to be performed in base number systems up to 16. Not all characters and operators/functions are supported in each base; if the associated button is disabled it implies that the calculator does not support it.

When the base number system is updated (e.g. from decimal to hexadecimal) the calculator attempts first to calculate any required result in the previous base number system, and, if successful, then performs the conversion.

The calculator supports the operators/functions given in the list below. Where there is a restriction on which base number system(s) the operator/function can be used in, this is also given. Also, since the calculator understands more than one notation for certain operators/functions, a complete list of the understood notations is specified in brackets for each operator/function...

• The basic binary arithmetic operators: addition(+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*) and division (/).
• The negation operator (-), which can also be applied or removed from the whole calculation text by using the +/- button.
• The integer modulus operator (%, mod), which converts the operands to integers before returning the remainder.
• The percentage operator (%), which forms a percentage value together with the operand to its left.
• The 1/x calculator button, which is used to obtain the multiplicative inverse of part, or the whole, of the calculator text, depending on the calculator mode of operation.
• The square root function (sqrt).
• The power function (^, **), which has the associated button x^y and raises its left base operand to the power of its right exponent operand.
• The integer factorial operator (!), which calculates the integer factorial of the operand to its left. Currently, only integer factorials are supported by the calculator.
• The logarithmic functions: natural logarithm (ln) and base-10 logarithm (log).
• The trigonometric functions: sine (sin), cosine (cos) and tangent (tan). These are only supported in the decimal number system.
• The inverse trigonometric functions: arc sine (asin, arcsin), arc cosine (acos, arccos) and arc tangent (atan, arctan). These are displayed on the calculator buttons if Inv is checked but not Hyp. These are only supported in the decimal number system.
• The hyperbolic functions: hyperbolic sine (sinh), hyperbolic cosine (cosh) and hyperbolic tangent (tanh). These are displayed on the calculator buttons if Hyp is checked but not Inv. These are only supported in the decimal number system.
• The inverse hyperbolic functions: inverse hyperbolic sine (asinh, arsinh, arcsinh), inverse hyperbolic cosine (acosh, arcosh, arccosh) and inverse hyperbolic tangent (atanh, artanh, arctanh). These are displayed on the calculator buttons if both Inv and Hyp are checked. These are only supported in the decimal number system.

The characters that can be entered to form the operands of a calculation are dependent on the base number system, e.g. A is only allowed in base-11 or higher. Some extra points concerning operands are listed below...

• In the decimal number system, numbers can be expressed in exponential form (E, E+, E-) within a system specific range.
• In the hexadecimal number system, numbers can also be entered in the format 0x...
• A couple of mathematical constants (pi and e) are available in the decimal number system.

Some extra points to note about the calculator are...

• In the trigonometric functions, all values are assumed to be in radians, i.e. it is not possible to specify arguments in, or convert arguments to, degrees.
• The calculator does not support complex numbers.

Associated tool link: http://www.coggit.com/tools/scientific_calculator.html