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What's the calculator that would be useful for first year college calculus and beyond?

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Originally posted by: aka1nas
Get a TI-89. I would have passed 2 or 3 math classes the first time in college if I hadn't been the doof who cheaped out on a TI-86.
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Dude the TI-86 is hella pro. Don't be hatin
 
Originally posted by: OVerLoRDI
Originally posted by: aka1nas
Get a TI-89. I would have passed 2 or 3 math classes the first time in college if I hadn't been the doof who cheaped out on a TI-86.
Click to expand...

Dude the TI-86 is hella pro. Don't be hatin
Click to expand...

No one denies the 86's pro-ness, but the 89 takes that to the next level.

Besides, you can get 3D games for it (edit) and native USB. What's not to like!
 
The TI-89 is an amazing powerful calculator, but be careful, some people are starting to not allow the 89 on exams since it does give you an unfair advantage. I got hurt pretty bad when my teacher said I couldn't use it on the calculator portion of my calculus exam and I couldn't figure out the TI-83 she gave me.
 
You don't need one for your first year probably - get it when you need it? I recommend taking as little as possible when you go to college, less to keep track of or take care of. Keep life simple and just get the bare essentials when you need it, there will be tons of shops in the area open past madnight.
 
ti-36X(solar)

I've almost never used a graphing calculator in college (borrowed a ti-89 twice to do partial fraction expansions on a test for me b/c I'm lazy). But I am well-versed in Maple.

I'd stick with a scientific calculator that you like and learn to use a computer-algebra-system (Maple, Mathematica). If you can't solve it by hand, do it on a computer--easier/faster/more powerful than any ti-xx.
 
i took Cal in high school and I needed TI-83 for some of the graphing functions. In college however, I didn't recall I even needed it for some reason (for Taylor's series crap, like 1 + 1/2 - 1/3 + 1/4 - 1/5....). it was so long ago that I forgot.

however, the same TI-83 was quite dandy since I changed major into Finance and the TI doubled as a financial calculator, which I "should" need to know how to use, but I got away with it. [it will come back to haunt me]
 
I vote for the 89, there's nothing better..So what if you can't use it in a few classes, if you are engineering, it will be allowed in most..
 
I don't see why you all think he needs a graphics for uni? None of my engineering friends at uni ever used a graphics that i recall...

Why not get something like the HP 33s, which is ridiculously feature packed and powerful, and you'll actually be able to take it into everything?

EDIT: and also very well made, with an awesome keypad, no cheap crappy rubber buttons here thankyou very much 😉
 
I went from a TI-86 in high school then to a TI-83 Plus in college.
I liked the TI-83 for its simplicity and ease of matrix operation.

I couldn't stand the TI-89...it's a bit too complex at times.
 
i used a ti89 in high school, and now a ti83 in college. yes, i have both, and yes, the order is correct. in high school, i could get away with using the ti89. in college, most of my professors don't know how to use graphing calculators and don't seem to use calculators at all. strange.
 
All this praise for the 89 makes me wonder what I'm missing with my 86.

I love my 86. I use the built-in unit conversion almost every day. I don't think the 83 has that.

I took honors calc 1-3 and Diff. Eq, and we could use calculators. It didn't really help on the tests, but it made computing the final answers easier (when there was a numerical answer).

I didn't use it much in my grad classes. It wasn't useful at all in my advanced grad math courses.
 
For Calculus I and Differential Equations, I was not allowed any calculators. For Calculus II, only as high as a TI-86 - a TI-89 can do calculus, so it wasn't allowed. For my engineering classes, well, you want to steal my TI-89? You'll have to get through me first.😉

So I actually have a TI-86 and an 89, though I only ever used the 86 for Calc-II. The 89 is far superior in terms of usability.
 
Originally posted by: yankeesfan
Is the TI-89 necessary? I barely used my TI-83, which I recently lost, in my high school calc class.
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If you are going to use a calculator find out which your professor allows on tests (if any). If you are looking at going forward find out from the other professors you will encounter and get a baseline.

More often than not if you find yourself calculator bound you will need to make more than one purchase throughout your education.

Beyond college calculators can be way more powerful and practical.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: yankeesfan
Is the TI-89 necessary? I barely used my TI-83, which I recently lost, in my high school calc class.
Click to expand...

If you are going to use a calculator find out which your professor allows on tests (if any). If you are looking at going forward find out from the other professors you will encounter and get a baseline.

More often than not if you find yourself calculator bound you will need to make more than one purchase throughout your education.

Beyond college calculators can be way more powerful and practical.
Click to expand...

And before uni, as has been noted in this thread 😉

We used graphics throughout high school, then got to uni to discover that they only allowed certain calcs, essentially banning those that could take notes (as my HP 38G could most effectively 😉).

I suspect, as i've suggested throughout this thread, the HP 33s is one of the most powerful calculators that you will be allowed to take into almost anything, and for those people who can't hack the benefits of learning RPN, it even does algebraic 😎
 
The only reason you'll need a calculator in college is because your cell phone is full and you need extra space to store all the hotties' phone numbers.
 
Originally posted by: her209
The only reason you'll need a calculator in college is because your cell phone is full and you need extra space to store all the hotties' phone numbers.
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calculators can store phone numbers?
Sorry, i only had Ti83 and Ti85 (both were provided by my department) and I never used them... Yeah yeah, i'm outdated. But i doubt if these models stored phone #s...
 
Originally posted by: Special K
Originally posted by: dug777
HP 33s FTW 😎

RPN>*
Click to expand...

Why do people prefer RPN? It's not written in the natural way equations and expressions are written on paper.
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"Once you begin to get a feel for RPN, you will realize it is the easiest way to solve all but the simplest problems. You never have to press more keys than on an algebraic calculator, and you often press far fewer." -Paul Lutus
Go ahead, give 'er a try
 
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