Google – Search, Maps, E-mail, Calculator?
If you’re like me, you probably have multiple browser windows and tabs open. Of all those windows, surely Google is in one of them. I use it for my primary search engine, mapping, directions, and e-mail. One of the best tips I’ve learned about using Google has been its built-in calculator function. There’s nothing to download, nothing to install, it just works in the regular search text box.
To get started, you can just type in your equation and the auto-suggestion box will continue to update with the result as shown below.
The Google calculator supports all the major operators you’d expect such as addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), division (/), and exponents (^). A good example of a useful calculation is BMI (body mass index). The example below calculates the BMI of a person weighing 200 pounds and 72 inches in height.
The Google calculator’s features don’t end here. You can also perform unit conversions such as Fahrenheit to Celsius, or miles to kilometers, or teaspoons to cups. The command used to do this is very natural. For example to convert miles to kilometers, use the following command:
For more information on Google calculator’s full feature set, visit the calculator help page.
Author: Brice Mason, Senior Web Developer