Most impressive are its answers to math problems where it will show the answer and visual representations like manipulatives, number lines, or even elliptic paraboloids. Answers are a mix of text and graphics like data tables, graphs, maps, word clouds, etc. There are questions the site can’t answer, and its attempts to narrow down the query can further complicate it. When you need an exact answer, Wolfram Alpha is efficient, accurate, and reliable –- as long as the answer can be found in one of its databases and the question is asked correctly. If kids plan to use the site as part of a learning activity, take time to ensure the information is available.
The Examples page provides a list of data categories however, some topics are still under development, such as humor, disasters, and ecology. Wolfram Alpha's databases cover hundreds of topics kids can ask about aluminum production, mold spores, or the weather on the day they were born.
Think "what," "when," "where," and "how many" instead of "why." A video tutorial shows users what to do, including how to use plain English or enter math problems. Plain English is accepted as well as math problems try "gas prices 1980" and "2 * 9 - 8 + 7." Detailed reports provide the answer as well as links to related topics. For example, "How many calories in 10 jelly beans?" is valid, but "How many calories in a candy bar?" or "How are jelly beans made?" are not. Questions must be factual and specific but don’t need to be overly scientific or technical. Ask Wolfram Alpha, and you get "266.7 parsecs," plus the distance in miles, light years, and kilometers.Įnter a question into a search box, and Wolfram Alpha will go off to find or calculate the answer. Ask a search engine, "What's the distance to Rigel?" and you’ll see a list of links to pages that might have the answer. Wolfram Alpha, the oddly named Web resource, isn't quite a search engine nor a database, but a way to find info online based on computation and algorithms.
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