Using a Calculator

Either click on one of the tabs above or click on the image of a calculator to begin the practice exersise on using a calculator.

	You are learning this because future ideas are built on previous ideas and the more ideas you learn the more power you have to learn anything, ever! The world's best football player engages in rigorous training, practicing skills repeatedly to prepare for the big game. While the specific actions rehearsed during these exercises are rarely needed in the match, the very process of performing these drills enhances their overall prowess as a top player. more...	More Activities: Maths Map Go Maths Games Puzzles Times Tables TablesMaster iPad Maths Investigations Exam Questions
Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician? Comment recorded on the s /Coordinate 'Starter of the Day' page by Greg, Wales: "Excellent resource, I use it all of the time! The only problem is that there is too much good stuff here!!" Comment recorded on the 19 November 'Starter of the Day' page by Lesley Sewell, Ysgol Aberconwy, Wales: "A Maths colleague introduced me to your web site and I love to use it. The questions are so varied I can use them with all of my classes, I even let year 13 have a go at some of them. I like being able to access Starters for the whole month so I can use favourites with classes I see at different times of the week. Thanks."		Each month a newsletter is published containing details of the new additions to the Transum website and a new puzzle of the month. The newsletter is then duplicated as a podcast which is available on the major delivery networks. You can listen to the podcast while you are commuting, exercising or relaxing. Transum breaking news is available on Twitter @Transum and if that's not enough there is also a Transum Facebook page.
Featured Activity 23 or Bust A game involving mental arithmetic and strategy for two players or one player against the computer. It is possible to beat the computer but you need a well thought out strategy.	Answers The answers to each of the calculator quizzes appear here (if you are signed in to your account) when the quiz has been loaded.
Go Maths Learning and understanding Mathematics, at every level, requires learner engagement. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. Sometimes traditional teaching fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of interactive activities and this web site provides many of those. The Go Maths page is an alphabetical list of free activities designed for students in Secondary/High school. Maths Map Are you looking for something specific? An exercise to supplement the topic you are studying at school at the moment perhaps. Navigate using our Maths Map to find exercises, puzzles and Maths lesson starters grouped by topic.
Teachers
If you found this activity useful don't forget to record it in your scheme of work or learning management system. The short URL, ready to be copied and pasted, is as follows:	Alternatively, if you use Google Classroom, all you have to do is click on the green icon below in order to add this activity to one of your classes.	It may be worth remembering that if Transum.org should go offline for whatever reason, there is a mirror site at Transum.info that contains most of the resources that are available here on Transum.org. When planning to use technology in your lesson always have a plan B!
Transum, Thursday, June 13, 2019 "I have just noticed something I hadn’t realised about the Windows calculator. When running in standard mode it operates LTR (2+3x5=25) while in scientific mode it obeys the normal order of operations (2+3x5=17). Worth knowing when learning about BIDMAS or PEMDAS " Dave Grochocki, Twitter Sunday, June 16, 2019 Standard mode behaves like a basic calculator that executes as you go. We are working on making sure this is clear in history (https://t.co/i4fFwXr8s5) #BuildTogether pic.twitter.com/6vXF54kgdO — Dave Grochocki(@dgrochocki) June 16, 2019 Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for those learning Mathematics anywhere in the world. Click here to enter your comments.

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Examples

Click on a link below to see an example and an animated key-press diagram of a calculator.

Skill 1: Basic Operations e.g. Calculate the value of $9+4−7$

Skill 2: Using Brackets e.g. Calculate the value of $5(9-4)$

Skill 3: Percentage of a quantity e.g. What is $24% of 1800$ ?

Skill 4: One quantity as a percentage of another e.g. What is $45$ as a percentage of $150$ ?

Skill 5: Squares and square roots e.g. Calculate the value of $\sqrt{5^2 + 12^2}$

Skill 6: Indices e.g. $(3^3 + 2^4)^2$

Skill 7: Cube roots e.g. Find the value of $\sqrt[3]{27}$

Skill 8: Standard Form e.g. Express $236731$ in standard form correct to 3 significant figures.

Skill 9: Areas of circles e.g. [Give all answers correct to three significant figures]. e.g. Find the area of a circle with a radius of 9cm.

Skill 10: Fraction calculations e.g. Find the value of $3\frac13 + 2\frac25$

Skill 11: Trigonometry e.g. Evaluate $21 \sin34°$ to three significant figures 1.

Skill 12: Degrees (or Hours), Minutes and Seconds e.g. Convert the angle 16°35'40" to its decimal equivalent.

Skill 13: Using Variables e.g. If $A = 1.62$ , $B = 9.87$ and $C = 5.62$
evaluate $AB+BC−AC$ .

Skill 14: Combinations e.g. How many different groups of 3 can be selected from 8?

Skill 15: Permutations e.g. In how many different ways could 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes can be awarded to 3 of 8 competitors?

Please remember to type in the zero before the decimal point for answers such as 0.4 because only typing in .4 will be marked incorrect.

Don't wait until you have finished the exercise before you click on the 'Check' button. Click it often as you work through the questions to see if you are answering them correctly. You can double-click the 'Check' button to make it float at the bottom of your screen.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

Simple Basic	Scientific	Graphic Display
Click on a calculator to begin.

Using a Calculator

Questions to test your ability to use a basic calculator, scientific calculator and a graphic display calculator.

Menu BIDMAS Workout Simple Basic Scientific GDC Help More

More Activities:

Featured Activity

23 or Bust

Answers

Go Maths

Maths Map

Teachers

Description of Levels

Curriculum Reference

Examples