Calculators That I Use Nowadays

I have shared several decent calculators and graphing tools in this blog, but in this post, I’m going to share the calculators that I actually use nowadays. The calculators I use depend on the task that I’m doing. I use my phone for short and simple calculations, but if I’m studying or working for an hour or more, I use an actual calculator to avoid distractions. Here are the four calculators that I use most of the time.

1.) Calculator (Mac)

When I’m using my laptop, I use the default calculator app of MacOS. This app allows the user to choose among basic, scientific, and programmable modes. It also supports base 8, base 10, and base 16 number systems. Personally, I only use the basic and scientific calculators and I have not tried the programmable calculator yet. 

2.) Google’s Calculator App (Android)

Google’s calculator is a simple and beautifully designed app for basic calculations and scientific calculations. It can store previous calculations. I like the simplicity of this app, so I use it most of the time for basic calculations when I’m using my Android phone. This app is compatible with WearOS.

3.) Advanced Calculator FX991 (Android). This is a paid app but I really like it because it mimics the interface of an actual calculator (see image below). I’ve been using it for six months and so far, I really liked it.

4.) Casio FX991 ES Plus. Aside from apps, I also keep a Casio 991ES Plus. It’s not that I wanted to buy this calculator,  but it was the only decent calculator in a store the time when I wanted to buy one. So far, so good, I’ve gotten used to it. I think I will be using it for a long time.

That’s all. Maybe you can share the calculators that you’re using in the comment section below.

Google launches AR Measure app

One of the interesting app I’ve came across recently is Google’s AR Measure App. This app allows you to use your phone camera to pick two points in the real world and get the distance between them. You can use either imperial or metric units in measurement. In addition, you can also save photos for later measurements. For approximating the height of a cabinet or the length of the table, this app can come in handy. And from experience, it’s quite accurate. I tried to measure my Macbook Pro and I was only 1 centimeter off.

Google Measure

Although I have already tried the app in measuring short lengths, I would like to try measuring long ones. I think this can be very useful in teaching trigonometry and trigonometry. For example, we can make students solve for trigonometry problems and then use the app to check if their answer is correct. That is, of course, assuming that the app is accurate at measuring long distances.

Google AR Measure is available for free in Google Play for Android phones that support Google’s ARCore platform. There is an interesting competition though. Apple has the same app which has the same name.

Brilliant: A Problem Solving and Competition App

Last September, I have posted about MathCounts Trainer, a math competition app for iOS devices. In this post, I am going to introduce to you Brilliant, another math competition app which is both available in iOS and Android devices.

brilliant

Brilliant is an app created by Brilliant.org intended to train users for problem solving, test preparation, and mathematics and science competitions. It has a wide range of problems in terms of difficulty ranging from basic concepts to Olympiad level. It includes problems in Basic Math, Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, SAT, JEE, Physics, Computer Science, and Quantitative Finance.

In Brilliant, you can select the subject that you want to learn and choose the topic or level you want to study. It contains thousands of problems created by a community of mathematicians and scientists. Users of this app can participate in discussions, follow other members, and learn from the community.

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