I guess I'm really getting old when 'teachers nowadays' teach students by telling them which buttons to push on their calculators 
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Graphing Calculators
- Thread starter wmmk
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gauchogolfer said:
Back in the old days, there was only TI and a 4 function calculator plus % would cost you $100.
It seems to me that TI's magnetic memory cards were there first, but it doesn't really matter.
Schools promote the use of TI calculators. You can use something else, but if you need help, you aren't likely to get any.
Cameront9 said:
99 % of students barely know how to turn on the calculator, don't programme it, and would have trouble using RPN. You were curious enough to learn about it but you're the exception.
bousozoku said:
Oh, I agree. However, I still think it's a vastly superior way of doing calculations. It also has the added bonus of no one wanting to borrow your calculator, since it's so different.
I guess it's kind of like Mac vs PC. Both have their uses, and both can do the job. But once you learn RPN, you'll never want to go back.
I went that route.... bought a HP graphing calculator.... WHAT HP MAKES A GRAPHING!!!bousozoku said:
Yeah, well for half the price.... i got one that had an interface similar to the 89, but with specs of 83. It was nice. I found it a lot nicer to work with and definitely worth the little money compared to the way to expensive 83/84s.....
well... except when our algebra teacher told me we were learning how to program our calculators .... looked at mine.... looked at me....
go sit in the corner for buying something else.....
unfortunately... i had to borrow a 83....
If you can not buy an 83.... which seems reaonable since for algebra/geometry they don't use any extensive commands that need specific code... I would suggest going for this... save urself the money... be the cool kid with the blue calculator.... i was.....
if your interested....
I am working on finishing my degree in Engineering. A TI-83 is more than enough to get you through Calc I in college. If you don't mind doing stuff by hand you don't really need a calculator for any of it anyway. I got a TI-89 when I started Calc II in college and it is nice but I can do most of the Derivatives and Integrals faster by hand anyway. It basically is just like having a solutions guide that you can take with you to the tests though and gives a good advantage.
Many professional Engineers prefer HP calculators although the newest HP 49G+ isn't that well thought of. I have it and it is a good calculator but not anywhere near as user-friendly as the TI. My HP can do the calculations faster with less keystrokes than the TI-89 but by the time I dig out the manual to look up how to do it that extra speed means nothing. Also, the HP calcs come with abysmal manuals and you have to download the full thing from HP's website in .pdf.
IMO teachers should be able to help you work problems with any calculator assuming that you can bring them the users manual. It is appalling how many people can't learn to use basic equipment because they refuse to read the instructions. To sum up, TI-83 for high school, TI-89 for college and an HP if you want one for professional work.
Many professional Engineers prefer HP calculators although the newest HP 49G+ isn't that well thought of. I have it and it is a good calculator but not anywhere near as user-friendly as the TI. My HP can do the calculations faster with less keystrokes than the TI-89 but by the time I dig out the manual to look up how to do it that extra speed means nothing. Also, the HP calcs come with abysmal manuals and you have to download the full thing from HP's website in .pdf.
IMO teachers should be able to help you work problems with any calculator assuming that you can bring them the users manual. It is appalling how many people can't learn to use basic equipment because they refuse to read the instructions. To sum up, TI-83 for high school, TI-89 for college and an HP if you want one for professional work.
What's this?
Most of my classes (college) didn't let me use a calculator on tests. If you did get to use a calculator, it just meant the teacher would give you some crappy numbers to work with. Or that the test would be harder.
Just get a TI-83+. In college, the teachers won't let you use it anyway. And it's better if you know how to do the math yourself rather than letting the 89 do it for you. AFAIK, teachers still make you write the work down, so using the calculator to do it for you won't help.
Most of my classes (college) didn't let me use a calculator on tests. If you did get to use a calculator, it just meant the teacher would give you some crappy numbers to work with. Or that the test would be harder.
Just get a TI-83+. In college, the teachers won't let you use it anyway. And it's better if you know how to do the math yourself rather than letting the 89 do it for you. AFAIK, teachers still make you write the work down, so using the calculator to do it for you won't help.
Thanks for the advice, but I just got an 84+ silver. it's just an 83+ that has 9x more memory and is 2.5x faster. it also has a nice ergonomic designAfter G said:What's this?
Most of my classes (college) didn't let me use a calculator on tests. If you did get to use a calculator, it just meant the teacher would give you some crappy numbers to work with. Or that the test would be harder.
Just get a TI-83+. In college, the teachers won't let you use it anyway. And it's better if you know how to do the math yourself rather than letting the 89 do it for you. AFAIK, teachers still make you write the work down, so using the calculator to do it for you won't help.
Yeah same here... I had an 83 when I started up Algebra II.... but it got stolen fairly quick.... so I was lazy and bought nothing until I started Calc 1. Now at Calc II and deciding whether to go pro bono (sold HP calc) or get an 89...... hmmm..... Grapher works pretty well when I need a graphing software.... derivative/integrals are usually easy.... so... i'm pretty well covered.swingline said:i never used a graphing calculator for geometry nor algebra 2. the only time it was needed was in trig.. but then again i only really used it to play snake
Beyond sci calc for hard digits/ trig functions.... you don't need a calc.... graphing is overrated anyways
I've had my Ti-84 Silver for 3 years now (I'm a Junior in AP Calc, got it when I was in 8th grade Geometry). I didn't use ANY of the functions that a scientific calculator doesn't have until Pre-Calc (I used a few features in Algebra II/Trig, but that was just because I was lazy).
The best use of those calculators is programming in tedious formulas (quadratic and such). Then you can just enter in your variables and it pops out an answer. Makes doing homework and stuff so much faster. But only do that if you know the content!!!!
The best use of those calculators is programming in tedious formulas (quadratic and such). Then you can just enter in your variables and it pops out an answer. Makes doing homework and stuff so much faster. But only do that if you know the content!!!!
now i'm trying to get games on the ti-84+ (don't worry, not to play during class) and i've successfully installed pong and mariokart. i've found super mario (both versions 1.2 and 2.0), but when i tried to open then in the programs directory, i got a syntax error. then, i found out that they required the mirageOS shell, which i downloaded and installed. then, when i open up mirage OS and look in the main system folder, mario doesn't appear. i'm stumped. can anybody help? thanks
) and i've successfully installed pong and mariokart. i've found super mario (both versions 1.2 and 2.0), but when i tried to open then in the programs directory, i got a syntax error. then, i found out that they required the mirageOS shell, which i downloaded and installed. then, when i open up mirage OS and look in the main system folder, mario doesn't appear. i'm stumped. can anybody help? thanks
After G said:What's this?
Most of my classes (college) didn't let me use a calculator on tests. If you did get to use a calculator, it just meant the teacher would give you some crappy numbers to work with. Or that the test would be harder.
Just get a TI-83+. In college, the teachers won't let you use it anyway. And it's better if you know how to do the math yourself rather than letting the 89 do it for you. AFAIK, teachers still make you write the work down, so using the calculator to do it for you won't help.
What major were you? In my experience the engineering math profs don't care what kind of calculator you use because the tests are so freaking hard that it really doesn't matter. If you have to show all of your work then the calculator only shows you the answer anyway which only lets you know that you did it right. Once you are out of college you will do everything the "professional" way, which is not by hand.
should i ask this in a different thread?wmmk said:now i'm trying to get games on the ti-84+ (don't worry, not to play during class
bousozoku said:Asking him "What year did you graduate?" might be more informative.
My first time through school, we weren't allowed calculators. My second time, we were required to have calculators.
Ah, good point. To me, it doesn't really matter as long as the profs have tests that require you to show all of your work. Knowing the answer doesn't decrease the difficulty of problems in upper level math classes IMO.