Science calculators

Physics, chemistry, biology and ecology: first-principles formulas for the lab, the field and the classroom.

Physics

Mechanics, electricity, energy and waves: first-principles formulas with every constant stated.

Ohm’s lawVoltage, current, resistance and power from any two.Resistors in series & parallelCombined resistance of up to four resistors.Voltage dividerOutput voltage across the lower resistor of a pair.Electricity running costWhat an appliance costs to run over time.Force, mass & accelerationNewton’s second law, with weight under gravity.Kinetic & potential energyEnergy of a moving or raised mass.Speed, distance & timeJourney arithmetic in metric and imperial.Acceleration & stopping distanceUniform acceleration, braking distance and reaction gap.Projectile motionRange, peak height and flight time of a launched object.Density, mass & volumeAny one of the three from the other two.Pressure from force or depthPressure under a load, and water pressure at depth.Wave speed, frequency & wavelengthRelates the three properties of any wave.Work, power & efficiencyEnergy transferred, the rate of transfer and what is lost.Momentum & impulseMomentum of a mass and the force needed to change it.Ideal gas lawPressure, volume, temperature and moles of a gas.Torque & rotational powerTurning force, and the power it delivers at a given speed.Centripetal force & circular motionForce, acceleration and period of an object moving in a circle at constant speed.Hooke's law & spring energyRestoring force and stored energy of a stretched or compressed spring.Pendulum periodSwing period of a simple pendulum for small angles.Elastic & inelastic collisionFinal velocities of two colliding masses, in a straight line.Capacitor charge & energyStored charge and energy of a capacitor at a given voltage.Inductor stored energyMagnetic energy stored in an inductor carrying current.RC circuit charge & dischargeHow a capacitor charges or discharges through a resistor over time.Carnot efficiencyMaximum possible efficiency of a heat engine between two temperatures.Linear thermal expansionHow much a material lengthens or shortens with a temperature change.Heat energy & specific heatHeat needed to change the temperature of a mass of material.Snell's law of refractionAngle of refraction as light passes between two media.Thin lens equationImage distance and magnification for a lens of known focal length.Doppler effect (sound)Observed frequency of a sound source moving relative to a listener.Sound intensity level (decibels)Decibel level of a sound from its intensity, referenced to the hearing threshold.Escape velocityMinimum speed to escape a body’s gravity from a given distance, ignoring drag.Circular orbital velocitySpeed and period needed to hold a circular orbit around a mass.Kepler's third lawOrbital period of a body from its orbit size and the mass it orbits.Buoyancy (Archimedes’ principle)Upward force on an object from the fluid it displaces, and whether it floats.Terminal velocityMaximum falling speed once drag balances gravity.Angular momentum (point mass)Rotational momentum of a point mass moving on a circular path.Bernoulli's equationPressure at one point in a steady, frictionless flow from conditions at another point.Reynolds numberRatio of inertial to viscous forces in a flow, and whether it is laminar or turbulent.Coulomb's lawElectrostatic force between two point charges.Electric field of a point chargeField strength and potential at a distance from a single point charge.Magnetic field of a straight wireField strength at a distance from a long straight wire, from Ampère's law.Newton's law of universal gravitationGravitational force and potential energy between two masses.Time dilationHow much slower a clock moving at speed v runs, compared to a stationary observer.Length contractionHow much shorter a fast-moving object appears along its direction of motion.Mass-energy equivalenceEnergy contained in a rest mass, from Einstein’s E = mc².Mass-spring oscillator periodPeriod, frequency and peak speed of a mass bouncing on an ideal spring.Moment of inertia of standard shapesRotational inertia of common rigid shapes, and the resulting rotational kinetic energy.RLC circuit resonant frequencyResonant frequency, Q factor and bandwidth of a series RLC circuit.Photon energyEnergy of a single photon from its wavelength or frequency.De Broglie wavelengthWavelength associated with the momentum of any moving particle.Relativistic kinetic energyKinetic energy of an object moving fast enough that Newtonian mechanics breaks down.Wien's displacement lawPeak emission wavelength of a blackbody at a given temperature.Stefan-Boltzmann lawTotal power radiated by a hot surface, from its temperature and emissivity.Mach numberSpeed of an object relative to the local speed of sound in air.Simple harmonic motionPosition, velocity and energy of a mass-spring oscillator at a given moment.Beat frequencyHow fast two close sound frequencies pulse in and out of phase.AC power & power factorReal, reactive and apparent power in an AC circuit from RMS values and phase angle.Lensmaker's equationFocal length of a lens from its surface curvatures, thickness and refractive index.Schwarzschild radiusEvent-horizon radius of a black hole of a given mass, from general relativity.Mean free path of a gasAverage distance a gas molecule travels between collisions with other molecules.Wheatstone bridgeUnknown resistance from three known resistors at the balance point.Electron drift velocityAverage speed of charge carriers moving through a current-carrying wire.Redshift & blueshiftDoppler shift of light and the recession or approach velocity it implies.Compton scatteringWavelength shift of a photon scattered off a free electron at a given angle.RMS speed of gas moleculesRoot-mean-square speed of molecules in an ideal gas from temperature and molar mass.Malus's lawLight intensity transmitted through a polarizer at an angle to the polarization axis.Aerodynamic drag forceDrag force on an object moving through a fluid, from its shape and speed.Lever & mechanical advantageEffort force needed to balance a load on a simple lever, from the arm lengths.Center of mass (two bodies)Balance point of two masses along a line, and its distance from each.Heisenberg uncertainty principleMinimum combined uncertainty in the position and momentum of a quantum particle.Capacitors in series & parallelCombined capacitance of up to four capacitors, wired in series or in parallel.Incline with frictionForces and acceleration of an object sliding down a ramp with friction.Young's ModulusA material's stiffness from an applied force, cross-section area, and resulting elongation.Poiseuille's LawVolumetric flow rate of a viscous fluid through a cylindrical pipe under laminar flow.Brewster's AngleAngle of incidence where reflected light becomes fully polarized, from two refractive indices.Solenoid Magnetic FieldMagnetic field strength inside a long, tightly-wound solenoid carrying a steady current.Force Between Parallel WiresMagnetic force per unit length between two long, straight, parallel current-carrying wires.Radiation PressurePressure an electromagnetic wave, like sunlight, exerts on an absorbing or reflecting surface.Angular VelocityRotational speed from the angle turned over time, plus linear speed at a given radius.RMS Voltage & CurrentRMS, average and peak-to-peak values of a sinusoidal AC voltage or current from its peak value.Ideal Rocket EquationVelocity change a rocket can achieve from its exhaust velocity and the propellant mass burned.Bragg's LawDiffraction angle for X-rays reflecting off crystal lattice planes at a given spacing.Rydberg EquationWavelength of light from an electron jumping between energy levels in a hydrogen-like atom.Stokes' Law Terminal VelocityFalling speed of a small sphere through a viscous fluid once drag balances its weight.Cyclotron FrequencyOrbital frequency of a charged particle circling in a uniform magnetic field.Distance to the HorizonGeometric sight distance to the horizon from an observer height above a sphere.Angular AccelerationRate of change of angular velocity over a time interval, from spin-up or spin-down.G-Force from AccelerationHow many g's a change in velocity over time represents, relative to standard gravity.Magnetic Dipole MomentStrength of the magnetic moment produced by a current flowing around a coil loop.Thermal DiffusivityHow quickly a material equalises temperature, from conductivity, density and specific heat.Poisson's RatioHow much a material bulges sideways when stretched or squeezed lengthways.Shear ModulusStiffness of a material against sideways (shear) deformation from an applied force.Specific ImpulseHow efficiently a rocket or jet engine converts propellant into thrust.Froude NumberRatio of flow inertia to gravity in open-channel or ship-hull flow.Hall CoefficientCharge-carrier density and sign in a conductor from a measured Hall voltage.Hoop StressCircumferential and longitudinal stress in a thin-walled pressure vessel.Synodic PeriodTime between successive alignments of a body with Earth, or another chosen reference body.Skin DepthDepth below a conductor surface where AC current density falls to 1/e of its surface value.Boyle's LawPressure or volume of a fixed gas amount after an isothermal change, from the other values.Photoelectric EffectKinetic energy and stopping voltage of electrons ejected from a metal by light.Blackbody RadiationSpectral radiance a hot object emits at one wavelength, from Planck's law.Hubble's LawRecession speed of a distant galaxy from its distance and the Hubble constant.Black Hole TemperatureHawking temperature and evaporation timescale of a black hole from its mass.Drake EquationOrder-of-magnitude estimate of communicating civilisations in the galaxy from seven factors.Hydrogen-Like AtomElectron energy level and orbital radius in a one-electron atom or ion, from the Bohr model.Diffraction GratingAngle at which a given order of light diffracts off a grating of known line spacing.Friction ForceFriction force resisting motion on a flat or inclined surface, from mass and coefficient.Angle Of ReposeSteepest stable slope angle for a granular pile from its static friction coefficient.Coriolis EffectCoriolis acceleration and force on a moving mass from its speed and latitude on Earth.Gear RatioOutput speed and torque of a gear pair from the tooth counts and the input speed.Latent HeatHeat energy absorbed or released during a phase change from mass and the specific latent heat.Weight On Other PlanetsHow much a mass would weigh on the Moon or another planet, from each body’s surface gravity.

Chemistry

Concentrations, pH, dilutions and reaction yields: the maths behind the lab bench.

All →

Molarity from massConcentration of a solution made from a known mass of solute.Solution dilution (C₁V₁ = C₂V₂)Stock volume and diluent needed to hit a target concentration.pH from hydrogen ion concentrationConversion between [H⁺] and pH, with pOH and [OH⁻] at 25 °C.Henderson–Hasselbalch (buffer pH)Buffer pH from the acid dissociation constant and the base/acid ratio.Percent yieldHow much product a reaction actually gave versus the theoretical maximum.Mass percent concentrationSolute mass as a percentage of total solution mass, plus ppm.Radioactive decay & half-lifeAmount of a substance remaining after a given elapsed time.Beer–Lambert law (absorbance)Absorbance and transmittance of a solution from its concentration.Osmotic pressure (van’t Hoff)Pressure needed to stop osmosis across a semipermeable membrane.Molality of a solutionMoles of solute per kilogram of solvent, a concentration measure independent of temperature.Acid-base titration (equivalence point)Unknown acid or base concentration from the titrant volume at the equivalence point.Freezing point depressionHow much a solvent’s freezing point drops when a solute is dissolved in it (a colligative property).Boiling point elevationHow much a solvent’s boiling point rises when a solute is dissolved in it (a colligative property).Buffer capacity (Van Slyke equation)How resistant a buffer solution is to pH change, from its total concentration and pKa.Arrhenius equationReaction rate constant at a given temperature from activation energy and pre-exponential factor.Mole fraction of a mixtureFraction of the total moles in a mixture contributed by each component.Water hardness (as CaCO₃)Total water hardness as calcium carbonate equivalent, from calcium and magnesium ions.Serial dilution seriesFinal concentration after a series of equal-factor dilutions, and the concentration at each step.Raoult’s law (vapor pressure of a solution)Vapor pressure of an ideal solution containing a non-volatile solute.Weak acid/base pH from Ka or KbpH of a weak acid or base solution from its dissociation constant and starting concentration.Activation energy from two rate constantsActivation energy from rate constants at two temperatures (two-point Arrhenius equation).Kp ↔ Kc equilibrium constant conversionConvert between pressure-based and concentration-based equilibrium constants for a reaction.Degree of unsaturation (DBE)Number of rings and pi bonds in a molecule from its molecular formula.Empirical formula from mass percentSimplest whole-number atom ratio of a compound from percent composition and atomic masses.Ionic strength of a solutionIonic strength from the concentration and charge of every ion present in a solution.Graham's law of effusion/diffusionRelative rate at which two gases effuse or diffuse, from their molar masses.Radioactive activity (Bq / Ci)Decay rate of a radioactive sample from its amount and half-life, in becquerels and curies.Rate constant from concentration vs. timeReaction rate constant k from concentration data, for zero, first or second order kinetics.Atom economyShare of reactant mass that ends up in the desired product versus all products formed.Average atomic mass from isotopesWeighted average atomic mass of an element from its isotope masses and natural abundances.Nernst equation (cell potential)Cell potential under non-standard conditions from the standard potential and reaction quotient.Gibbs free energyReaction spontaneity from the change in enthalpy, entropy and temperature.Partial pressure (Dalton's law)Partial pressure of each gas in a mixture from its moles, volume and temperature.Bond order (MO theory)Bond order and bond stability of a molecule from its bonding and antibonding electron counts.Diffusion coefficient (Stokes-Einstein)Diffusion rate of a spherical particle in a fluid, from its size, viscosity and temperature.Young-Laplace pressure (capillary)Pressure difference across a curved liquid interface, from surface tension and curvature.Isoelectric point (pI)pH at which a molecule such as an amino acid carries no net electric charge.Grams to molesConverts a mass in grams to an amount in moles using the substance’s molar mass.Molar mass of a gasFinds a gas’s molar mass from its mass, pressure, volume and temperature (ideal gas law).Normality of a solutionConverts molarity to normality using the number of equivalents per mole.pKa from KaCalculates pKa from the acid dissociation constant Ka using pKa = -log10(Ka).Alligation mixing ratioFinds the ratio and volumes of two concentrations that mix to a target concentration.Crude protein from nitrogenEstimates crude protein percentage from measured nitrogen content and a conversion factor.PPM to molarityConverts a concentration in ppm (mg/L) to molarity using the solute molar mass.Reaction quotient (Q)Calculates the reaction quotient Q for aA + bB ⇌ cC + dD from current concentrations.Combustion analysisFinds the empirical formula of a CHO compound from the CO2 and H2O produced by combustion.Saponification valueDetermines a fat or oil’s saponification value from a KOH back-titration with HCl.Moles to atomsConverts an amount in moles to a number of atoms or particles using Avogadro’s number.Vapor pressure (Clausius–Clapeyron)Finds vapor pressure at a new temperature from a known point and enthalpy of vaporization.Avogadro's number (particles from moles)Number of particles and sample mass from an amount in moles.Atom composition (protons, neutrons, electrons)Subatomic particle counts from atomic number, mass number and charge.Percent ionic characterIonic character of a bond estimated from the electronegativity difference.Lattice energy (Kapustinskii equation)Ionic crystal lattice energy from ion charges, radii and formula-unit count.Cubic unit cell (packing efficiency)Edge length, atoms per cell and packing efficiency for SC, BCC and FCC lattices.Miller indices from axial interceptsMiller indices (hkl) of a crystal plane, plus interplanar spacing for a cubic lattice.Effective nuclear charge (Slater's rules)Net nuclear charge felt by an electron after shielding, using Slater's rules.Combustion reaction balancerBalanced coefficients for complete combustion of a CxHyOz compound in oxygen.Stoichiometric air-fuel ratioTheoretical air-to-fuel mass ratio for complete combustion of a CxHy hydrocarbon.STP conversionCorrects a measured gas volume to STP and finds the equivalent moles.

Biology

Population genetics, enzyme kinetics, growth curves and lab concentration formulas.

All →

Hardy–Weinberg equilibriumExpected genotype frequencies in a non-evolving population from allele frequency.DNA/RNA concentration from A₂₆₀Nucleic acid concentration from a spectrophotometer absorbance reading.Log reduction (microbial kill)How many orders of magnitude a treatment reduces a microbial count.Michaelis–Menten kineticsEnzyme reaction rate at a given substrate concentration.Bacterial/cell growth (doubling time)Population size after exponential growth at a fixed doubling time.Q₁₀ temperature coefficientHow much a biological or chemical rate changes per 10 °C rise.Plant water potentialTotal water potential from solute and pressure potential in a plant cell.Allele frequency from genotype countsDirect-count allele frequencies for a two-allele gene from observed genotype numbers in a sample.Multi-gene cross probabilityProbability of a given number of recessive traits among offspring of a multi-gene cross.DNA copy number from concentrationDNA or RNA molecules per microlitre from concentration and fragment length.PCR primer melting temperature (Tm)Estimated primer melting temperature from base composition (Wallace/Marmur-Doty).qPCR amplification efficiencyPCR amplification efficiency from the slope of a standard curve (log₁₀ starting quantity vs. Ct).Vapor pressure deficit (VPD)Gap between saturation and actual vapor pressure, the driving force for plant transpiration.Daily light integral (DLI)Total photosynthetic light a plant receives per day, from light intensity and photoperiod.Mutation frequencyFraction of a tested population carrying a mutation, reported per cell or organism tested.Growing degree units (GDU)Accumulated heat units driving crop development, from daily high/low temperature and a base.Ligation molar ratio (insert:vector)Insert mass needed for a target insert-to-vector molar ratio in a DNA cloning ligation.Cricket chirp thermometerEstimate air temperature from a cricket’s chirp rate using Dolbear’s law.PCR annealing temperature (Ta)Optimal PCR annealing temperature from primer and product melting temperatures.Feed conversion ratio (FCR)Efficiency of converting feed into body weight gain for livestock or aquaculture.Corn yield estimatorEstimated corn yield in bushels per acre using the ear-count yield component method.Acres per hourField work rate from implement width and travel speed, accounting for overlap.Dry matter basis conversionConverts an as-fed nutrient percentage to a dry-matter basis using moisture content.DNA to mRNA transcriptionmRNA transcript from a DNA template strand using base-pairing rules.Tree height (clinometer method)Tree height from the angle to its top and your distance from it.Tree diameter at breast height (DBH)Trunk diameter and cross-sectional area from a measured circumference.Grain bin storage capacityBushel capacity of a cylindrical grain bin from its dimensions.Fertilizer application rateProduct needed to hit a target nutrient rate given the label percentage.Dihybrid cross ratiosGenotype and phenotype ratios from a cross of two heterozygous two-gene parents.Swine gestation (farrowing date)Expected farrowing date from the breeding date, using the average 114-day sow gestation.Water-soluble fertilizer dosingFertilizer weight needed to reach a target nutrient concentration in a given volume of water.

Ecology

Population and diversity formulas for the field: carrying capacity, species diversity and predator-prey dynamics.

All →

Logistic population growthPopulation size over time under a fixed carrying capacity (Verhulst model).Shannon diversity indexBiodiversity of a community from species counts.Lotka–Volterra predator–prey ratesInstantaneous population growth rates for a classic predator–prey pair.Kaya identity (CO₂ emissions)Global CO₂ emissions decomposed into population, wealth, energy and carbon factors.Tree basal areaCross-sectional trunk area at breast height (DBH), the standard forestry measure of stand density.Animal mortality ratePercentage of a population lost to death over a period, accounting for births during that period.Wind turbine power outputElectrical power generated by a wind turbine from rotor size, wind speed and efficiency.Hydroelectric power outputPower generated by a dam turbine from head, flow rate and efficiency.