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Ascientific calculator is anelectroniccalculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic (addition,subtraction,multiplication,division) and advanced (trigonometric,hyperbolic, etc.) mathematicaloperations andfunctions. They have completely replacedslide rules as well as books ofmathematical tables and are used in both educational and professional settings.
In some areas of study and professions scientific calculators have been replaced bygraphing calculators andfinancial calculators which have the capabilities of a scientific calculator along with the capability to graph input data andfunctions, as well as bynumerical computing,computer algebra, statistical, andspreadsheet software packages running onpersonal computers. Both desktop and mobilesoftware calculators can also emulate many functions of a physical scientific calculator. Standalone scientific calculators remain popular insecondary andtertiary education because computers and smartphones are often prohibited during exams to reduce the likelihood of cheating.[1]
Whenelectronic calculators were originally marketed they normally had only four or five capabilities (addition,subtraction,multiplication,division andsquare root). Modern scientific calculators generally have many more capabilities than the original four- or five-function calculator, and the capabilities differ between manufacturers and models.
The capabilities of a modern scientific calculator include:
In addition, high-end scientific calculators generally include some or all of the following:
While most scientific calculators have traditionally used a single-line display similar to traditionalpocket calculators, many of them have more digits (10 to 12), sometimes with extra digits for the floating-point exponent. A few have multi-line displays, with some models fromHewlett-Packard,Texas Instruments (both US manufacturers),Casio,Sharp, andCanon (all three Japanese makers) usingdot matrix displays similar to those found ongraphing calculators.
Scientific calculators are used widely in situations that require quick access to certain mathematical functions, especially those that were once looked up inmathematical tables, such astrigonometric functions,logarithms, orprobability distributions. They are also used for calculations of very large or very small numbers, as in some aspects ofastronomy,physics, andchemistry.
They are very often required for math classes from thejunior high school level throughcollege,[3] and are generally either permitted or required on manystandardized tests covering math and science subjects;[4] as a result, many are sold into educational markets to cover this demand, and some high-end models include features making it easier to translate a problem on a textbook page into calculator input, e.g. by providing a method to enter an entire problem in as it is written on the page using simple formatting tools.
The first scientific calculator that included all of the basic ideas above was the programmable Hewlett-PackardHP-9100A,[5] released in 1968, though theWang LOCI-2 and the Mathatronics Mathatron[6] had some features later identified with scientific calculator designs. The HP-9100 series was built entirely from discretetransistor logic with nointegrated circuits, and was one of the first uses of theCORDIC algorithm for trigonometric computation in a personal computing device, as well as the first calculator based onreverse Polish notation (RPN) entry. HP became closely identified with RPN calculators from then on, and even today some of their high-end calculators (particularly the long-livedHP-12C financial calculator and theHP-48 series ofgraphing calculators) still offer RPN as their default input mode due to having garnered a very large following.
TheHP-35, introduced on February 1, 1972, was Hewlett-Packard's firstpocket calculator and the world's first handheld scientific calculator.[7] Like some of HP's desktop calculators it used RPN. Introduced at US$395, the HP-35 was available from 1972 to 1975.
Texas Instruments (TI), after the production of several units withscientific notation, introduced a handheld scientific calculator on January 15, 1974, in the form of theSR-50.[8] TI's long-runningTI-30 series being one of the most widely used scientific calculators in classrooms.
Casio,Canon, andSharp, produced their graphing calculators, with Casio's FX series (beginning with the Casio FX-1 in 1972[9]). Casio was the first company to produce a Graphing calculator (Casio fx-7000G).
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