Calculator

Question

Level 2

411 points

Calculator

In the Utility file, there is a little adding machine/scientific calculator. Since I upgraded to 10.4.3, this little app has become quite funky: I multiplied 274 by 68.5 and the answer given was 1.877e+04. Hey, I can come up with such an answer if I try to do the aforementioned multiplication in my head, but I was hoping for more accuracy from that adding machine...

Am I the only one with this little funky app?

* Guy

Posted on Nov 1, 2005 3:37 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 1, 2005 3:48 PM in response to Guy Parrot

Change your precision option. go to View>precision>whatever number you want. The higher the number, the more precise you get.

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Answer 2

Nov 1, 2005 3:52 PM in response to Guy Parrot

Guy,
In View, change from precision 4 to precision > 4. You may go until precision 16.

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Answer 3

Guy Parrot Author

Level 2

411 points

Nov 1, 2005 4:42 PM in response to Pink Panther

Roger that, guys. That's all there was to it?? I had brought a change in 'Precision' from 2 to 4. Didn't know I needed to go higher... You get my + vote for solving that one.

* Guy

P.S. Where on Earth did you find the solution to that little problem?

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Answer 4

Nov 1, 2005 4:46 PM in response to Guy Parrot

Hi Guy,
The solution seems to be in the question itself...
Once you report 1.877e+04, you have said it all...

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Answer 5

Guy Parrot Author

Level 2

411 points

Nov 1, 2005 5:00 PM in response to Pink Panther

Chez what?? I thought I was confused at first, but now I'm dumbounded... 1.877e+04 is an answer using hex or octo?

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Answer 6

Rod Fryer

Level 4

1,873 points

Nov 1, 2005 5:33 PM in response to Guy Parrot

Guy, I'm shocked! You mean you don't recognise scientific notation when you see it?

I think I'll have to take a powder and go lie down [[: §

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Answer 7

Karm

Level 1

45 points

Nov 1, 2005 6:22 PM in response to Guy Parrot

Try adding 200 + 5 with accuracy set at 2. Calculator says it equals 200!

Surely the precision thing is for decimal places?

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Answer 8

Rod Fryer

Level 4

1,873 points

Nov 1, 2005 11:14 PM in response to Guy Parrot

That's odd, Karm, it doesn't even give the conventional 2-significant figure answer that kids at school would be taught to expect!

The default precision value seems to be 11 now. Anyone remember if that's what it was pre-10.4.3?

This is a funny little app, with all of it's quirky history.

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Answer 9

Nov 2, 2005 4:26 AM in response to Karm

Hi.
I did just that with precision level set to 2. It did manage to show me 205. The default precision level was 11 and changing it to 2 also came up with the same answer. The precision thing must be for decimals. By the way, I did not yet update to 10.4.3 (I'm at 10.4.2)

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Answer 10

Rod Fryer

Level 4

1,873 points

Nov 2, 2005 4:33 AM in response to sivaramchandra chintalapati

Guess it must be your version of Calculator, SC. Mine's Version 4.0.4 (4.0.4), which I am assuming is what we get with 10.4.3?

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Answer 11

Nov 2, 2005 8:03 AM in response to Rod Fryer

Could be. My calculator is 4.0. I hope this is the only thing that is broken in the new update.

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Answer 12

Guy Parrot Author

Level 2

411 points

Nov 2, 2005 8:30 AM in response to sivaramchandra chintalapati

I had no trouble under 10.4.2. It's after the switch tat the trouble arose. I too always thought the precision thing was for decimals, but what do I know?
Anyway, under 10.4.3, increasing the precision to >4 solved the trouble and voila!

* Guy

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Answer 13

Karm

Level 1

45 points

Nov 2, 2005 4:17 PM in response to Rod Fryer

Calculator under Panther (in my case Calculator v 3.2.1) works fine. 200 + 5 = 205 with precision set to 0.

Calculator under Tiger (Calculator v 4.0.4) fails the test. 200 + 5 = 200 with precision set to 0.

Looks like I should submit it as a bug. Now where do I do that?

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