What makes a calculator scientific

So the answer to the question is: No. There is only a marginal use for a calculator, many reach for a calculator out of habit more than benefit. Exponents are used in almost any math course past grade school, but only a scientific calculator can perform any algebraic function.

In addition to using your calculator to solve for a known number, you can use it for an unknown number. This is useful for algebra or any other more advanced math you may be studying. During the s and s, Hewlett-Packard used RPN in all of their desktop and hand-held calculators, and continued to use it in some models into the s. In high school, I got away with using a TI graphing calculator, but as a third year aerospace engineering student I just recently upgraded to a TI Also with a more advanced graphing calculator, you can write and save programs onto your calculator to make it even more useful.

What gives? Graphing calculators are still widely used by students, and schools have strict boundaries for what these gadgets can do. Many curriculums in American math classes require the use of a TI or TI graphing calculator or its equivalent. Alternative Ways to Recycle As long as your calculator still works, you can sell it to sellyourcalculators. Not only do you get cash, but your calculator gets reused and you keep one more piece of e-waste out of the landfill.

An obsolete piece of technology has managed to maintain a stranglehold on an increasingly tech-savvy education market. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early s. The slim, compact design makes it fit with ease in your pocket or in a pencil pouch. Some even have a little latched door that hides the buttons. Your office will look even more professional with a desktop calculator near your computer. This type of calculator lays flat and has a popped up display screen that shows your calculations.

Printing and financial calculators are usually desktop models. Show personality by using a novelty calculator! These calculators come in all kinds of unique shapes such as animals, hearts, and even video game controllers. They make excellent gifts for birthdays and holidays! Standard calculators are designed for only basic arithmetic.

The most popular calculator brands can be found at retail stores like Target, Office Depot, and Walmart. Most of these brands offer a wide variety of different styles! You probably used a Texas Instruments TI calculator in high school! Casio does it all — basic desktop calculators, scientific and graphing calculators, printing calculators, and even math workbooks created by and designed for teachers.

The company started in Japan in and is still going strong to this day. Fire away! You have a lot of math to work through, so be sure to churn out those problems using a Canon calculator. Sharp often makes the list of best calculators to use. The Japanese brand has a wide range of calculators, from scientific to financial, and is also famous for being the first to sell mechanical pencils in You might be familiar with HP laptops, printers, and digital cameras, but did you know they also sell calculators?

They continue to pave the way forward in the world of electronics. How is this for influential? You can rely on this brand for budget-friendly pocket calculators.

Many calculators work via electronic circuit boards and utilize data processing. For that reason, there are some who believe that a calculator should be considered a computer. Back when you were a silly kid, you might have typed numbers on your computer and flipped it upside down. The idea was to spell out a word on the display screen, usually something inappropriate that would elicit giggles from your classmates.

You can still have fun with your calculator! Here are 10 words that you can spell out with the numbers:. This might not make a difference when your doctor writes a prescription, but it could at least make for a few laughs! This one is a classic! Everyone can then hold it up during a Zoom meeting, and share a personal reason why they think their boss is special.

Does your spouse like to sleep in a cold room at night? Leave this message on their bedside table as a joke! Single and looking to mingle? We can all use a laugh from time to time! Don't fear, though! We have a fantastic tool you can use you help with your math homework. With a few simple button pushes, you can calculate your way to the correct answers in no time. What are we talking about? The calculator , of course!

Today, calculators are everywhere. Many kids probably take them for granted. After all, any smartphone will have a calculator application right there on the home screen. You can also go to any discount store and pick up a basic solar -powered calculator for a dollar or two.

If you have a computer, you have all the calculating power you need at your fingertips. Although calculators are very common today, they weren't always cheap and easily accessible. In fact, they didn't really come around until the dawn of the computer age.

Before that time, you had to rely upon pencil and paper or, perhaps, an older counting instrument, such as an abacus. The first mainframe computers were developed in the s and s. These room-sized computers relied upon technology such as vacuum tubes and transistors. They represented some of the first machines with robust calculating powers and paved the way for further development of electronic calculators a few decades later. It was the world's first all-electric compact calculator.

How compact was it? The relay technology it used was large enough that the calculator had to be built into a desk! ANITA used smaller vacuum tube technology, but it still weighed in at a hefty 33 pounds. As computer technology improved and microprocessors were developed, calculators became smaller and cheaper.

Calculators that would fit in your pocket eventually became available in the mids. By the s, calculators had become affordable enough to become commonplace in many schools.

So how do these devices work? Most calculators rely on integrated circuits more commonly known as chips. Integrated circuits contain transistors that can be turned on and off with electricity to perform mathematical calculations.

The most basic calculations are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The more transistors an integrated circuit has, the more advanced mathematical functions it can perform. Today's scientific calculators, for example, can perform incredibly advanced mathematical calculations. Like all other electronic devices, calculators work by processing information in binary form.

We're used to thinking of numbers in our normal base-ten system, in which there are ten digits to work with: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The binary number system is a base-two system, which means there are only two digits to work with: 0 and 1. Thus, when you input numbers into a calculator , the integrated circuit converts those numbers to binary strings of 0s and 1s.

The integrated circuits then use those strings of 0s and 1s to turn transistors on and off with electricity to perform the desired calculations. Once a calculation has been completed, the answer in binary form is then converted back to our normal base-ten system and displayed on the calculator 's display screen. Most calculator displays use inexpensive technologies common today, such as liquid crystal displays LCD or light-emitting diodes LED.

We hope today's Wonder of the Day really added up to some fun! Keep the fun going when you check out the following activities with a friend or family member:.

Graphing Calculator. We try to source videos that are a second way to access the information in the WONDER, but we aren't always successful. We're sorry you feel that way, sophia. We thought the second half of the article explained things pretty well. If you have more questions or want to go more in-depth regarding how calculators work, we suggest taking a Wonder Journey!

Open your favorite web browser and do an Internet search--or go to your local library! Thanks for this information, Mr. It sounds like you know this topic well!! Our Wonders introduce many topics such as this one, but we always encourage our Wonder Friends to learn more about topics they find particularly interesting. It would be helpful, Oliver! But, we also have to know how to do the math without the calculator!

Thanks for joining the discussion, Jaquan Dupree! We encourage you to research more about the calculator and how it works! We're glad to hear that. Don't forget to cite your sources for your project. The official Wonderopolis Permissions Policy states: Wonderopolis materials may be cited or excerpted in periodicals, books, and educational materials under the following stipulations: 1.

A URL of the material referenced is provided so that readers may access it online 2. Good luck on your project! Good morning, Mrs. Can you imagine a 33 lb calculator?