GOOGLE AS A
CALCULATOR
Article Published
By Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
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Google’s calculator tries to understand the
problem you are attempting to solve without requiring you to use
special syntax. However, it may be helpful to know the most direct
way to pose a question to get the best results.
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Listed below are a few suggestions for the most
common type of expressions (and a few more esoteric ones).
Most operators come between the two numbers they combine, such as
the plus sign in the expression 1+1.
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Operator: |
Function: |
Example: |
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+ |
addition |
3+43 |
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- |
subtraction |
13-5 |
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* |
multiplication |
7*8 |
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/ |
division |
12/3 |
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^ |
exponentiation
(raise to a power of) |
8^2 |
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% of |
X % of Y computes X percent of Y |
20% of 150 |
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th root of |
calculates the nth root of a number |
5th root of 32 |
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Some operators work on only one number and should come before that
number. In these cases, it often helps to put the number in
parentheses.
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Operator: |
Function: |
Example: |
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sqrt |
square root |
sqrt(9) |
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sin, cos, etc. |
trigonometric
functions |
sin(pi/3) |
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tan(45 degrees)
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ln |
logarithm base e |
ln(17) |
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log |
logarithm base
10 |
10 log(1,000) |
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Other good things to know
You can force the calculator to try and evaluate an expression by
putting an equals sign (=) after it. This only works if the
expression is mathematically resolvable. For example,
1-800-555-1234= will return a result, but 1/0= will not.
Parentheses can be used to enclose the parts of your expression that
you want evaluated first. For example, (1+2)*3 causes the addition
to happen before the multiplication.
The in operator is used to specify what units you want used to
express the answer. Put the word in followed by the name of a unit
at the end of your expression. This works well for unit conversions
such as: 5 kilometers in miles.
You can use hexadecimal, octal and binary numbers. Prefix
hexadecimal numbers with 0x, octal numbers with 0o and binary
numbers with 0b. For example: 0x7f + 0b10010101.
The calculator understands many different units, as well as many
physical and mathematical constants. These can be used in your
expression. Many of these constants and units have both long and
short names. You can use either name in most cases. For example, km
and kilometer both work, as do c and the speed of light.
Want To Watch This In Action?
I have a short video available for you to watch that demonstrates
some of this information...
How To
Download The Video?
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"Right mouse click" the EACH link below
and you will see a menu like the one to the left open up.
In Internet Explorer Choose "Save Target
As..." and download the file to "My Documents" (Or a
location of your choice)
NB - in Netscape & FireFox you choose
"Save Link As.."
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Here is the video:
Video One - Google Calculator
http://www.updatexp.com/support-files/google-calculator.swf
How To Watch
The Video?
Now you have downloaded the video you will need to
download and install a small program to be able to watch it...
Swiff Player 1.1 (FREE)
Download Here
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Click here:
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You can check out a video of the DVD XPack
HERE...
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Kind Regards
Marc Liron -
Bio
Microsoft Digital Media MVP
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