The WideMath blog

Scientific calculator tips, math explainers and the story behind WideMath

Short, practical posts from the small team that builds WideMath, a free scientific calculator for your browser. Every worked example opens in the calculator with one click, so you can check it yourself.

From the makers

Our story Why we built WideMath, a true scientific calculator for your browser A calculator that works like the one on your exam desk: exact fractions, eight modes, no ads. Why we made it, the rules we set, and the bugs we found in our own work. Anuj Paudel · 28 September 2026 · 6 min read

Calculator skills

Beginner guide How to use a scientific calculator The keypad, SHIFT and ALPHA, brackets, fractions, powers, trig and memory, one worked example at a time. WideMath team · 28 September 2026 Calculator skills How to do fractions on a scientific calculator Enter fractions and mixed numbers, keep answers exact, and switch to a decimal only when you want one. WideMath team · 28 September 2026 Calculator skills Degrees or radians? Why your calculator says sin 30 = -0.988 The most common trig mistake, how to spot it in two seconds, and when radians are the right choice. WideMath team · 28 September 2026 Calculator skills How to use SHIFT SOLVE on a scientific calculator Solve an equation for any unknown, why the starting guess matters, and when EQN mode is the better tool. WideMath team · 28 September 2026

Explainers

Explainer 6÷2(1+2): is it 1 or 9? Why calculators disagree Why the internet argues about it, what real calculators do, and how to write it so nobody can misread it. WideMath team · 28 September 2026 Investigation Six tests that expose a broken online calculator Type sin(180) in degree mode. If the answer is not 0, the calculator is leaking floating point at you. WideMath team · 6 September 2026

Calculator guides by topic

Step by step walkthroughs for every mode of the calculator, each with a worked example you can retype key for key. See all 31 guides.

Open the calculator

Free, no sign-up, no ads, and it works offline once loaded.

Open the scientific calculator →