Keyboard: digits · + − × ÷ ^ ( ) · Enter = equals · Esc = clear · Backspace
Quick, plain-English answers for the buttons people ask about most.
A square root asks a simple question: what number, multiplied by itself, gives you this number? Type your number, press the √ button, then press equals. The calculator wraps your number in the square root symbol and solves it for you.
Example: type 144, press √, press =. The answer is 12, because 12 x 12 = 144.
Sine, cosine, and tangent compare the sides of a right triangle to one of its angles. You do not need to know the geometry to use them here. What matters is picking the right angle unit first. Degrees split a circle into 360 parts, the unit most school geometry problems use. Radians measure the same circle using the number pi, and science or calculus classes often ask for them. Check that DEG or RAD is lit before you press sin, cos, or tan.
Example: with DEG selected, type 30, press sin, press =. The answer is 0.5.
An exponent tells you how many times to multiply a number by itself. Type the base number, press the x^y button, type the exponent, then press equals.
Example: type 2, press x^y, type 10, press =. The answer is 1024, because 2 multiplied by itself 10 times comes out to 1024.
Math follows a set order for doing operations, often taught as PEMDAS: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction. In (2+3)x4, the parentheses force the addition to happen first, so it becomes 5x4, which is 20. In 2+3x4, there are no parentheses, so the multiplication happens first: 3x4 is 12, then you add 2, giving 14. Same three numbers, different order, different answer. That is why parentheses matter.
Example: (2+3)x4 = 20, but 2+3x4 = 14.
The memory keys save a number so you can bring it back later, even after you clear the screen.
Step 1: get a result on the screen, then press M+ to add it to memory.
Step 2: clear the screen and calculate something else. The saved number stays put.
Step 3: press MR any time to bring the saved number back. Press MC when you want to erase memory and start over.
On this calculator, the percent key divides the number on the screen by 100. That turns a percentage into the decimal form you need for the rest of a calculation.
Example: type 50, press %, press =. The answer is 0.5, which is the same as saying 50 percent equals one half.