Type This Into Google for a Valentine's Day Surprise

 

Romantic math geeks, your moment has arrived. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, go ahead and type (or paste) this into Google search:
sqrt(cos(x))*cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5

 

The fact that typing in the algebraic equation plots several different functions on a graph that forms the shape of a heart.

The series includes various square roots, absolute values and cosine functions — mathematical functions often taught in high school math courses. The plotted lines change direction due to the absolute value function flipping the sign of the x-coordinate, creating a mirror image across the y-axis.
The "cos(300x)" part of the formula was also written to make the line go quickly up and down as it traces out the interior of the heart. This creates the colored-in effect. Meanwhile, if you change the "300" number in the equation to "500," the color fills up the heart. That part of the formula is related to frequency.

Although the equation wasn't written by Google, this is not the first time users have been able to type in certain keywords into search for a seasonal surprise. For example, type "Do a barrel roll" and the word "askew" into Google. Check out some more fun search tricks in the gallery below — and let us know in the comments if we've missed any.