Should I buy a graphing calculator?

Question

Well, I am going to Junior year and I am going to take, Math B, PHysics, Pre calculus. Is a graphing calculator necessary? Do you really need a graphing calculator for math b?

I am just thinking whether I should get or not ti 84 silver plus?

When you go to college, Will you need the ti 84 silver plus? Or do you have to buy a higher calculator?

Answer 1

Not really necessary, but it's really nice to have one for the things you CAN do with these calculators. Solving BIG equation systems, differential equations, integers, limits....
I've owned TI's and HP's I find programing in TI's easier but for anything else I like HP's MUCH MUCH better. Buy an HP 50g or a 48gII but STAY AWAY from the 50g+ it's a p.o.c. it's just pretty out-the-box. After little use it falls appart.

Hope I helped. BTW when u go 2 college U NEED one of these. No doubt!

Answer 2

Hi,
Generally, a TI-83 Plus does about the same thing as a TI-84, although sometimes somewhat slower. There are also a few APPS in the TI-84 that are not in the TI-83 Plus.
Basically, the TI-84 has more memory and a clock speed about double that of the TI-83 Plus. That means it executes instructions about twice as fast. Although, in many procedures, you won’t notice the extra speed. There are also a couple functions in statistics that the TI-84 has and the TI-83 Plus doesn’t. I might add that some colleges that I know of, ours for example, are standardizing on the TI-84 Silver Edition, but you can easily get buy with a TI-83 Plus.
I would encourage you to ask your teachers what they think you will need because schools vary so much that it’s hard to give advice that covers all schools.


You can get a fairly comprehensive discussion of buying a calculator on my Website at this URL:
http://www.angelfire.com/pro/fkizer/Hot%20Stuff/buygrphcalc.html

Here’s an extract form that document so you can decide if going there is worthwhile:

High School: I don't have contact with high school students, so I don't have a good feel for their needs. Generally, I would think that if you're not planning to take Pre-calculus or AP Calculus, a good scientific calculator would be entirely satisfactory. (See the Scientific Calculator link on the HOT STUFF Link on the home page.) But be sure to check with some of the teachers to see if they might use graphing calculators for doing graphs is Algebra II. Incidentally, scientific calculators are sometimes more efficient and easier to use than graphing calculators.
If you plan to take Pre-calculus or AP Calculus, and especially if you're planning to major in engineering, science, or math in college; then you probably should buy a graphing calculator if the cost is not a problem with you. A TI-83 Plus or a Casio Cfx-9850GB would be sufficient, but I would be remiss if I didn't say that the TI-83 Plus or one of the TI-84 Plus models is more often the choice among college students. See the information of the TI-84 Plus series at the end of this topic. Be cautious about buying a TI-86 or TI-89. Although these are excellent for those who have a more than average interest in math, many students never really learn to use these calculators with anything like their potential.

Hope this helps.
FE

Answer 3

Yes a graphing calculator is necessary for those classes. The 84 silver plus is perfect for classes like calculus and physics. Keep it for college too. Most college classes still use a TI-83+

Answer 4

the TI 84 plus is a good choice for what you are doing now. If you are going into physics or engineering in college then a TI-89 is a better choice because you will need it later.
Here is a little secret The TI 86 is the best choice if you can find one, they are being phased out and getting harder to find, but this is priced the same as the TI84 and does more, Maybe e-bay is a good place to pick one up cheap.

Answer 5

Although they are expensive, graphing calculators are a good investment. I advise getting one with log functions also, besause I had a friend that didn't, and had to return the calculator and buy another that costed about 10 dollars more. Even if you don't think its important now, it will later.

Answer 6

Officedepot, Officemax, Staples, Best Buy, Circuit City

Answer 7

Yes, you should get a graphing calculator. It will be more simple to solve big problems. Trust me, you would get problems that need a lot of math. Especially because you are getting 3 classes that require math. So I recommend you to get one.