Google adds graphing calculator to search results

Rick

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Staff

Math lovers unite. In recent blog post, Google announced it has rolled out a new graphing feature for plotting your favorite mathematical functions. The company claims the feature can handle an "extensive range of single variable functions including trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic and their compositions."

The graph can be zoomed and panned as you please. Multiple functions can be plotted by simply separating them with commas and are each assigned unique colors. If you are interested in trying it out, you can give this dry example a shot here. If you would like to sample something a little more whimsical (see image to the right), try this on for size.

Google took special care to note this works in "modern" web browsers, so compatibility may be an issue for certain browsers, especially ones that are more than a year old. As always, it is always recommend to keep your browser of choice up to date as possible.

Graphing mathematical functions is nothing new to the web. Mathematical mastermind Stephan Wolfram reminded us of that with WolframAlpha, as have countless others well before him. Even Google itself has had a way to graph functions for some time now, but what makes this unique is you can generate graphs directly in your search results.

The company's new graphing feature naturally extends its already existing capabilities as a web-based scientific calculator. Users have been able to punch in problems, equations and convert units for years now, obtaining results directly from the search engine itself. This merely takes Google one small step further toward reading your mind and providing ultimate convenience.

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