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Try It!

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Contents:
Title and Synopsis
Basics
Try It!
Elementary School
Middle and High School
Calculus
Combinatorics
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Other Advanced Topics
It's Not (Only) About Math!
More Examples (and Data!)
Less Is More
So Is It Perfect Yet?
What About Google?
Possible Implications
A Threat?
Resources

[Note: This article appears best using the Firefox browser.]

Try for yourself. Type "line (1,3) (4,9)" into the query box under the logo. You'll get a graph, two versions of the equation of the line, the intercepts, the slope, and the distance between the points. You can edit the two ordered pairs of the example just given to get corresponding information about another two points.

"x^2 sin x" gives two graphs, alternate forms, roots, extrema, and both derivative and anti-derivative. Scroll down to where the derivative is given and click on the "details" button. Would you award full credit on a calculus test or homework problem if one of your students shows as work what Wolfram|Alpha provides?

"Plot sin x cos y" yields both a contour diagram and a 3D plot. Type in "sum 1/n^2" to see not only the sum of the infinite series, but also that both the ratio and root test are inconclusive, and that the series must converge by the integral test. Interestingly, this example exposes a quirk to the behavior of Wolfram|Alpha: it always displays an approximate sum with a link allowing you to display "more digits," and sometimes it will display the exact sum π2/6 of the infinite series -- if you don't see the exact sum, try clicking the "=" icon or the above link again.

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[Note: Contents of frame come from wolframalpha.com and are not maintained by Loci]