Scientific Calculator Guides: How to Use, Compare, Buy

These scientific calculator guides cover what students search for most: how to use the calculator in your hand, which model to buy, and how to handle common calculations by key and by hand. Every guide has worked examples you can retype step by step, checked against standard maths rules and official exam policies (checked October 2026).

Start Here

How to Use a Scientific Calculator: A Beginner’s Guide: set the angle mode, type with brackets, use memory and fractions, and fix error messages.
Best Scientific Calculator: A Straightforward Buying Guide: Casio fx-991EX, TI-36X Pro, TI-30XS MultiView and budget picks matched to SAT, ACT, AP and matric rules.
Scientific vs. Graphing Calculator: What Is Actually Different: what each type can do, which classes need a graphing model, and which tests allow which.

Skills and Methods

Short, step-by-step scientific calculator guides for the calculations that trip students up most.

Order of Operations on a Calculator: PEMDAS and BEDMAS Explained: when brackets change the answer, and why 6 ÷ 2(1 + 2) splits calculators.
How to Calculate MOD (Remainder) on a Calculator: a three-step remainder method, Casio ÷R notes and how negative numbers behave.
How to Find a Square Root Without a Calculator: four hand methods, including the Babylonian method and long division.

Why It Matters

The Real Benefits of Using a Scientific Calculator in School: what a calculator genuinely helps with, what the research says, and when to put it down.

Free Tools on This Site

Pair any of the scientific calculator guides above with a free tool to test the examples yourself.

Free Online Scientific Calculator: trig, logs, memory and a history list.
Scientific Notation Calculator: convert and multiply numbers in scientific notation.
Fraction Calculator: add, subtract, multiply and simplify fractions.

Preparing for a Specific Exam?

In the USA, the SAT and ACT both accept scientific calculators, and AP Calculus expects a graphing model. In South Africa, matric exam circulars have asked for approved, non-programmable, non-graphical calculators. In Brazil, ENEM allows no personal calculator, and our Portuguese guides explain it: Calculadora cientifica e permitida no ENEM? and Como se preparar em matematica para o ENEM.

Used to a Specific Model?

These pages match the keys you already know to our free tool.

Where Should You Start?

If an exam is close, read the exam rules in the buying guide first, then the beginner’s guide. If a calculator keeps giving a strange answer, start with the order of operations guide. New scientific calculator guides are added here as they are published, so check back.