And you can always use the python interpreter, which is usually included in Linux distributions.
http://docs.python.org/tutorial/introduction.html#using-python-as-a-calculator
$ python
Python 2.6.2 (r262:71605, Apr 14 2009, 22:40:02) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)]
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> 2+2
4
>>>
... 2+2
4
>>> 2+2
4
>>> (50-5*6)/4
5
>>>
... 7/3
2
>>> 7/-3
-3
>>>
>>> 7/3.0
2.3333333333333335
An equal sign ('=') is used to assign a value to a variable. Subsequently, until the next interactive prompt, the result is not displayed:
>>> width = 20
>>> height = 5*9
>>> width * height
900
, , math, .
>>> import math
>>> math.pi
3.1415926535897931
>>> math.e
2.7182818284590451
>>> math.cos()
>>> math.sqrt()
>>> math.log()
>>> math.log10()