 6x^2 + 4x + 12
- Compare GDP per capita for the U.S. and China: GDP per capita US/China
These examples just scratch the surface. A complete list of topics currently supported by WolframAlpha includes:
Getting Financial Data
WolframAlpha lets you do a number of financial calculations and complex calculations. Some of the more useful ones include analyzing the stock market or calculating mortgage rates.
For example, to compare Microsoft, Google, and Apple, type MSFT, APL, GOOG into WolframAlpha’s search box:
The complete output from this query includes several pages of data and graphs – recent returns, relative price history, performance comparisons including bonds and T-bills, projections, mean-variance optimal portfolio, expected annual return, and volatility.
How about that new house? Can you afford it? Type mortgage $300,000, 6.5%, 30 years into the search box:
In addition to the monthly payment and interest rate, you get the total interest paid and nice graphs showing payment balances over time.
Getting Medical Data
WolframAlpha provides a number of interesting medical statistics including body measurements, physical exercise, diseases, mortality, medical tests, and medical computations.
For example, to determine the benefits of running 30 minutes for a 35-year-old female, type running 30min 35yo female into the search box:
In addition, WolframAlpha gives you speed, pace, distance, time, and race predictions.
Or, how about cholesterol information for a 45-year-old male. Type: cholesterol 45yo man into the search box:
Getting Scientific Data
By now, you’ve probably got a good sense of how to get useful information from WolframAlpha. If you’re a scientist or a student of science, you’ve got many, many more options. Table 1 summarizes some of the example areas you can query for physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences, and life sciences.
Table 1. A sample of WolframAlpha scientific areas available to query
|Physics||Chemistry||Astronomy||Earth Sciences||Life Sciences|
|Mechanics||Chemical Elements||Star Charts||Geology||Animals & Plants|
|Electricity & Magnetism||Chemical Compounds||Solar System||Geodesy||Paleontology|
|Optics||Ions||Stars||Earthquakes||Genomics & Molecular Biology|
|Relativity||Chemical Solutions||Galaxies||Atmospheric Sciences|
|Nuclear Physics||Chemical Thermodynamics||Astrophysics|
|Quantum Physics||Chemical Formulas||Observatories|
|Particle Physics||3D Structure||Satellites|
Writing Mathematical Queries
Given that WolframAlpha is derived from the Mathematica computer program, it’s not surprising that the most sophistication and breadth of query capabilities are mathematical.
You’ve already seen some simple mathematical queries. Here are some more complex examples:
- Factor a polynomial: factor 2x^5 – 19x^4 + 58x^3 – 67x^2 + 56x – 48
- Compute the properties of a polyhedron: dodecahedron
- Calculate a derivative: derivative of x^4 sin x
- Compute a truth table: P && (Q || R)
- Compute an integral: integrate sin x dx from x=0 to pi
This visual representation of an integral should be a tremendous asset to calculus students. In addition to calculus, WolframAlpha supports algebra, geometry, number theory, discrete mathematics, applied mathematics, logic and set theory, mathematical functions, and advanced mathematics.
You can export WolframAlpha’s results as a Mathematica file or as a PDF by clicking links in the lower right of the search results.
Text results are rendered as images, so you can’t simply copy cell data and paste it into a Microsoft Office or OpenOffice spreadsheet or database. You can temporarily turn the images back into text – but if you do, they will lose their cell formatting.
Here’s how to get WolframAlpha data into a spreadsheet:
- Paste the text data into Microsoft Word or a similar word processor. Use Find and Replace All to convert the | characters into Tabs. Enter | in the find field and enter ^t in the replace field.
- Copy the edited text and paste it into the spreadsheet. It will automatically distribute itself into a series of cells. If you’re using a spreadsheet or d