• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

which graphing calculator for high school?

G

ghostman

Golden Member
My cousin just got into a specialized high school, so I figured I'll get her a graphing calc as a gift. I used a TI-85 in HS, which was horrible since everyone else had the TI-82, 83 or 86. I don't want a similar situation to happen to her. I used a TI-83+ Silver in college and it was an excellent stats calculator. It also has to be accepted by all testing boards that she'll probably encounter (NY Regents, SATs, SAT IIs, APs). So, what's good nowadays?

EDIT: Okay, do you think getting a graphing calc is too soon? She'll probably need one by junior year though, so that's two years later...
 
most testing centers i know do not allow graphing calculators (especially the TI-8x series) because of the programming/memory storage capabilities. They usually give you scratch paper and MAYBE a simple 4 function calculator.

edit: for that price i would get a cheap pocket pc or maybe even a cheap palm on egay. coupled with a keyboard its quite friggin useful (i can type much faster than i write). you can get calculator programs, word processors, translators, INTERNET and all that mess.
 
i got through high school with a ti-36X (solar). I'm now in college using the same calculator, or rather not using a calculator. There aren't many opportunities to use calculators in college. I never bothered to learn to use a graphing calculator...show her Maple or MATLAB--much more useful.
 
I use a TI-83+ at my school, yes I'm still in HS 🙁, and it's almost required that you have one. It makes things so much easier as our teacher uses one too with one of those add-on screens for the over-head. Also, instead of memorizing theorems, I just program them into the calculator, take that proofs!
 
Whoa, fast responses...

Scientific calculators will be good for the next two years, but not when she hits junior year and do pre-calc with matrix math and senior year when she does calculus.

Okay, I found the following in terms of College Board acceptability: http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counse...ests/sat/test_day/acceptable_calc.html
"The tests are developed with the expectation that most students are using graphing calculators."

EDIT: And she won't be able to bring a Palm device or MAPLE with her to a test.
 
Why not see what calculator her school prefers?

At my school we were taught the 83+. If you had anything else you were at a disadvantage.
 
Originally posted by: DeepBlu
If she's ever going to take any of the AP math tests, she'll need a graphing calculator.
Click to expand...

haha that's not true...i got through AP PhysC and AP Calc BC with my trusty 36X

edit: by "got through" i mean 5's

edit2: BUT if you really think she should have one, I'll give you this advice:
1) the TI-83+ is a plenty powerful calculator. It has enough stuff to let you graph & solve some equations without babying you through school. It can differentiate & integrate numerically, it has matrix operations, it graphs in cartesian, polar, param, and something else that slips my mind at the moment.
2) The TI-89 is like an answer machine. Want simplify a complex trig expression? The 89 can do it. Want to integrate symbollically? 89. Want to solve up to (I think 3rd order) differential equations? 89 can do that too. It graphs in the 4 modes the 83 has and it can plot in 3D.

I don't think an 89 is for high school. It makes life too easy. I had friends who used their 89s all the time. They got all the right answers, but they can't live without their 89's now. The 83 can be a helpful learning tool--it gives you something, but not everything.
 
I vote for the 83+ I used mine from 8th grade all the way through multi-variable calc w/o problems, including all standardized tests. You won't regret it.
 
if you cant do most of the thing on a graphing calculator on a simple $1-checkout-line-calculator you need to go back to high school.

they go by the impression that you will not always have a graphing calculator present. but you will have your wits.
 
Originally posted by: RelaxTheMind
if you cant do most of the thing on a graphing calculator on a simple $1-checkout-line-calculator you need to go back to high school.

they go by the impression that you will not always have a graphing calculator present. but you will have your wits.
Click to expand...
Uh, maybe so but if I didn't have a graphing calculator for some of my Calc tests I wouldn't have finished more than one problem per class period by hand.
 
Originally posted by: eLiu
I don't think an 89 is for high school. It makes life too easy. I had friends who used their 89s all the time. They got all the right answers, but they can't live without their 89's now. The 83 can be a helpful learning tool--it gives you something, but not everything.
Click to expand...

Good point. I think I'll get the 83+ then.

Anyone have input on the 84? I never even heard of an 84 until I started looking.
 
I went through high school using a TI-30. Get her a TI83 if you really feel that she needs it.


Teachers in my highschool did not like graphing calculators, so there were very few times I would have benefitted from having one.
 
Originally posted by: dornick
I vote for the 83+ I used mine from 8th grade all the way through multi-variable calc w/o problems, including all standardized tests. You won't regret it.
Click to expand...

i thought we weren't allowed to use a graphing calculator for the SATs. or am i remembering wrong?
 
I see lots of them dirt cheap $19-$30 basically brand new at the local pawn shops. heh. if u look closely you can see the school engravings/markings/stickers removed.
 
Originally posted by: ghostman
Originally posted by: eLiu
I don't think an 89 is for high school. It makes life too easy. I had friends who used their 89s all the time. They got all the right answers, but they can't live without their 89's now. The 83 can be a helpful learning tool--it gives you something, but not everything.
Click to expand...

Good point. I think I'll get the 83+ then.

Anyone have input on the 84? I never even heard of an 84 until I started looking.
Click to expand...

looks like a spiffed up version of the 83+. It even has a usb port...wow, haha. Uhm it just seems to have more ram/more cpu power...comes with some applications that may/may not be useful. Though the extra speed & clearer display might be appreciated. I can remember some complicated polar graphing operations taking forever and a day on the 83, esp if you had multiple graphs running at once...

(and besides, more memory = more games! uh...yeah..)
 
I used an 89 throughout highschool (mainly Calculus), but I'm not overly dependent on it. For one thing, the Calc AB and BC tests both are split between "calculator allowed" and "no calculator allowed" sections, so you still need to know how to do things by hand. And when I got to college, my Calc III teacher didn't allow calculators at all, and I was fine. But it's true, if you find yourself using it for extremely simple things, or can't do the math by hand if you wanted to, that's probably a bad situation.

When I took the SATs the TI-89 was allowed, but I can't remember if that changed or will soon, but just check the College Board website.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top