Back to main page

Symbolic Calculator

Frequently asked questions



How can I know what arguments the functions need and how to use them?
By pressing the "func" button you can access the list of functions. Next to each function's name you see a question mark. Tap on it, and you will see instructions on how to use the given function and also some examples.

How to enter third root?
Third roots can be written in exponential form, such as x^(1/3) for the third root of x.

How to solve an equation?
Simply entering an equation will cause a syntax error. Use the "solve" function, like solve(x+2=5,x) .

How to use a result for the next calculation?
Tap on the result in the history. You will see a toolbar appearing with some buttons. From there, select "copy". This will copy the result to the editor field.

Can I convert a numerical result to scientific notation?
Yes, when the result is a very big or very small number, tap on it in the history. You will see a button labeled "exp" on the toolbar appearing. Press that, and the result will be converted.

How to get a sine/cosine/etc of a angle in degrees?
Every argument and result of trigonometric functions are interpreted as radians. If you have a degree value you have to convert it. For example to compute the sine of 45 degrees you write sin(45/180*pi)

I got complicated result with variables like n1 in it. How to interpret them?
Sometimes there are infinite solutions to a problem. These can be given with expressions containing arbitrary integers, and these are denoted with n1,n2,n3,etc. For example solve(sin(x)=1,x) will return pi*(4*n1+1)/2. This means that substituting n1 with any integer will give a valid solution. For example n=0 : pi/2,    or n=1: pi*5/2.
If you change the "all solutions" settings switch to "off", the answer will be simpler in these cases, but will not necessarily contain all the possible solutions.

Calculating the integral takes forever! Why and what to do?
The integrate() function tries to integrate the given expression in an algebraic way. This gives you an exact and mathematically correct answer even when your expression contains additional variables, trigonometric functions, etc. This is a complicated process and sometimes the calculator can not finish solving the problem in reasonable time.
In this case for definite integrals you can use the numint() function. It uses an approximate method which in most cases will give you a result which is a rounded approximate value and is affected by accumulated rounding errors. But it works even for the most insane formulas.

Back to main page