7/17/2019 Calculator

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CALCULATOR

1) A calculator is a device that performs arithmetic operations on numbers. The simplest calculators can do only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and

division. More sophisticated calculators can handle exponent ial operations,roots, logarithm s, trigonometric functions, and hyperbolic functions.Internally, some calculators actually perform all of these functions byrepeated processes of addition.

Most calculators these days require electricity to operate. ortable, battery!po"ered calculators are popular "ith engineers and engineering students.#efore 1$%&, a more primitive form of calculator, the slide rule , "ascommonly used. It consisted of a slat of "ood, called the slide, that could bemoved in and out of a reinforced pair of slats. #oth the slide and the outerpair of slats had calibrated numerical scales. A movable, transparent sleeve

called the cursor "as used to align numerals on the scales. The slide rule didnot require any source of po"er, but its precision "as limited, and it "asnecessary to climb a learning curve to become pro'cient "ith it.

(ne of the most primitive calculators, the abacus is still used in some regionsof the ar *ast. The abacus uses groups of beads to denote numbers. +iethe slide rule, the abacus requires no source of po"er. The beads arepositioned in several parallel ro"s, and can be moved up and do"n to denotearithmetic operations. It is said that a silled abacus user can do somecalculations -ust as fast as a person equipped "ith a battery!po"ered

calculator.

As calculators became more advanced during the 1$%&s, they became ableto mae computations involving variables unno"ns). These "ere the 'rstpersonal computers. Today/s personal computers can still perform suchoperations, and most are provided "ith a virtual calculator program thatactually loos, on screen, lie a handheld calculator. The buttons areactuated by pointing and clicing.

 Theoretically, a modern computer is a calculator that "ors"ith binary numbers and has a much larger memory. #ut in the practical

sense, a computer is far more than a mere calculator, because of the "idevariety of non!computational tass it can perform.

0) A calculator is a person "ho performs arithmetic or other mathematicalcalculations.