Getting started

1.1What this calculator is for#

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1. Four-line display: history above, your entry below
2. 2nd: use the function printed above a key
3. mode: angle, number format and display settings
4. n/d: build a stacked fraction
5. toggle: switch an answer between exact and decimal
6. data: lists for statistics
7. var: variables x, y, z and more
8. (-): negative sign (2nd gives Ans)
9. enter: calculate

Classic Scientific 30 is made for school maths and science: arithmetic, fractions, powers and roots, logarithms, trigonometry, probability, simple statistics and tables of values. You type an expression the way you would write it, press enter, and the answer appears on the right side of the line below.

Answers are exact when they can be: a fraction stays a fraction, a square root stays a root, and a multiple of pi stays a multiple of pi. You can switch any answer to a decimal with one key.

See also Do basic arithmeticTake the getting-started tour

1.2The screen and its indicators#

The screen shows four lines. Earlier entries are on the left of their line and their answers are on the right. Your current entry is on the bottom line, with a cursor where the next key will type.

Small indicators tell you the state of the calculator.

1.3The 2nd key and shifted functions#

Most keys have a second function printed above them. Press 2nd once, then the key, to use it. For example 2ndsin⁻¹sin gives the inverse sine, sin⁻¹. The shift lasts for one key only, so you press 2nd again for each shifted function.

In this manual a shifted key is shown as one keycap, such as 2nd√x² for the square root. The on key does nothing in the app because the calculator is always on.

1.4Your first calculation#

Type the expression, then press enter. Multiplication and division happen before addition and subtraction, just like on paper.

Example 1.1

Order of operations

1. Type 2 + 3 × 4 and press enter. The multiplication is done first.

   2+3×4enter

Example 1.2

A negative number

1. Use the (−) key for a negative number, and the − key to subtract.

   (−)5+3enter

Example 1.3

Subtract

1. The − key takes one number away from another.

   3−5enter

See also Do basic arithmeticEnter and calculate with negative numbersUse brackets to control the order

1.5Clear and edit an entry#

Press clear to erase the entry line. Press clear again on an empty line to wipe the screen of old lines (they stay in the history). Use ◀ and ▶ to move the cursor, delete to remove the character at the cursor (at the end of the line it removes the last character instead), and just type to insert at the cursor.

Example 1.4

Insert a missing digit

1. Type 1 2 4. Then move the cursor left once and type 3.

   124◀3

Example 1.5

Delete a wrong digit

1. Type 1 2 3, move left twice so the cursor sits on the 2, and press delete to remove the 2.

   123◀◀delete

1.6Return to the main screen#

Press 2ndquitmode (QUIT) to leave any menu, the data editor, the table or the mode screen and go back to the calculation screen. Pressing clear inside a menu or the mode screen also closes it. None of these erase your numbers or settings.

1.7Use a laptop keyboard#

On a computer you can type instead of tapping the keys. Digits type themselves. These keys do the rest.

See also Type with your computer keyboard