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Graphing Calcs?....

They are a requirement for gr 12 math where I live, so I wouldn't expect that you'd be able to get very far in any engineering course without a good one.

I have a TI-89, and it is simply amazing, and though I don't know too much about the HP offerings, it would be a good idea for you to look into them as well. I know that they are very good.
 
I never needed a graphing calculator my freshman year at an engineering college. The school's math courses and exams were designed so everything could be done by hand/head. The physics and chemistry courses only needed simple scientific calculators (and did not allow graphing/programmable calculators). Same with my intro to microeconomics course.

So depending on what you're taking freshman year, you might not need a graphing calculator, but should at least have a scientific calculator. Later on, all you REALLY need is something as simple as a TI-85 (what I have), and probably even a TI-82 would be fine. If you want power, then a TI-89 is amazing and can do very complex integrals for you (I used my roommate's 89 to check my answers to math problems a few times).

Power calculator with all the trimmings - TI-89
Older "classic" one - TI-85
Rather a newer design of the 85 maybe with a few more features - TI-86

BTW, I've never used an HP graphing calculator. My high school taught us to use the TI's. All of my friends in high school and even my engineering friends in college have TI graphing calculators.
 
In addition to what I have seen here, in general the TI-89 is reviered as the best.
What puts it on a pedestal compared to a TI-83 aside from the 160% price difference?
And do people actually use this advantage?
 
The 89 is in no way comparable to the 83. The 89 can:

- Solve any equation or inequality include those involving i
- Factor any polynomial of any degree
- Find the common denominator of any rational expression
- display anything you type as it would appear in a mathematical paper; most calculators for example would do a sqrt(x) and display it as the radical(x) but the TI-89 will extend the radical over the entire value of the sqrt, and will show factions as

x
-
y

instead of the usual x/y. The Pretty Print features really make it helpful during tests and quizzes when you are plugging in an equation to be solved and don't accidently miss a parethesis or something.

And I'm basically only through one semester of Precal, so I have not been able to tap its usefulness in Calc + level math, but it looks like it will be just as useful there.

 
Not to mention, the TI-89s GUI is like damn Windows. You can split screen, and when you bring up apps or the catalog it opens it in a new window. And the screen resolution is so much higher.
 
Now were can I buy one of these nice TI's? Also if my Calculas instructor is teaching on an 83 would I get by on an 89?
 
They teach on an 83 because the 89 is wayy too damn powerful. It does everything. But as a result it is also very complicated - it took me some six weeks to get completely used to it from my 85, but in general, the 89 is much easier to use.

Just like computer classes teach Word and Windows instead of Linux and CorelOffice, they teach what is simple. The focus of the class is teaching calculus theory and not how to use a calculator - which, if they taught on the 89, more students would have problems. But also, like I said, it's just too powerful.
 
Oh, and TI has a link of online resllers on their web site, but you can buy them from OfficeDepot, Office Max, or even places like Target. They're fairly commmon.
 
Well no matter how good the TIs might be, the calculator most recommended and required in most engineering programs is the HP48 series. They are by far the best calculator for engineering and they are much easier and faster to use once you get the hang of it.

And it doesn't take long to learn either. I was proficient within a week. And now I will never go back to anything else. There were a few people who tried using TI 89s and 92s and they got fed up with them very quickly. The HP rules compared to the TI. 🙂
 
😉 what 160% price difference? I paid $50 Canadian for my TI89 (new unopened from Office Depot).

Course when I got to school and found out that I'm not allowed to use it for provincials, I had to go and spend $120 Canadian for the TI83+...
 
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