Google adds graphing calculator to search
New tool renders an interactive graph when mathematical functions are entered in Web giant's search bar.
For those who have misplaced their TI-83 graphing calculator, Google has introduced a graphing tool that plots mathematical functions on the search results page.
Students and lovers of all things math need merely to type in a function to the Google search bar, and the tool will render an interactive graph, Google explained today in a company blog announcing the new tool.
"You can zoom in and out and pan across the plane to explore the function in more detail. You can also draw multiple functions by separating them with commas," Google engineer Adi Avidor wrote. "This feature covers an extensive range of single variable functions including trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic and their compositions, and is available in modern browsers."
"I hope students and math lovers around the world find this experience as magical as I found the graphing calculator so long ago," Avidor wrote.
Google's new tool joins Wolfram Alpha, the self-described "computational knowledge engine" that launched two years ago, in helping users plot mathematical functions.