[spaceman]

My son needs a graphing calculator for his Pre-Cal class. He's a senior and will also be taking honors geometry and a calculus seminar this year. His pre cal teacher recommends the TI-83 Plus.

However, he will be going to college next year and majoring in either architecture or civil engineering, and I DON'T want to buy another calculator! Will the TI-83 be sufficient for the college math science classes, or should we go for the TI 89 Titanium?

One concern....I have read that a lot of professors reference the TI-83 in their notes/lectures, so are the functions/keystrokes same/similar on these? Thanks.

 

[feh1325]

i like my ti89 titanium because its easy to use.

but it did take me a couple days to figure out how to graph and what not

 

[PFKMan23]

No the kestrokes aren't similar. That being said I'd check with the teacher that the TI89 is even allowed to be used in the class. Given the features that it has (derivatives, integrals, limits, etc..), it may not even be allowed.

That said I do own the TI89 and love it.

 

[lumanogin]

The TI-89 might not be allowed in his class. It'll definitely help when he gets to college and decides to take upper level math classes, but an 83 plus will be just fine, and he'll really understand the material. The 89 gives an unfair advantage sometimes.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I found the TI89 to always be extremely helpful, whether it be in doing normal calculator functions, killing time during god-awful boring lectures, or whipping the snot out of my poor mates in stats.

 

[Jasper994]

One thing to note, the TI-89 has a steeper learning curve than the 83 or 84. On the other hand, it makes a lot of sense to just get the 89. I'm taking 2nd semester business calculus right now and while we don't need an 89, the professor has mentioned it being useful for the class.

 

[patschreyer]

The TI89 is was not permitted in MANY of my classes at UBC, mainly because of its programming features. Heck, some of my calculus classes in Uni didn't even allow ANY kind of calculator, because they begin working with theoretical equations, complex numbers... I use a TI84 SE... an excellent calculator.

I would definitely go for the TI84 or at least stick to the TI83. Button-for-button layout-wise to the TI83 Plus, which is often used for teaching. It can be confusing when the teacher is demonstrating something, and the button layout/UI of your calculator is different. The TI84 adds a few advanced functions, a faster processor, and most importantly, adds USB connectivity.

 

[Nisbeth]

If the TI-89 is allowed for the classes he's taking, buy that now. It's so much better than the 83 (despite perhaps being a little harder to use at first).


/U.

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman My son needs a graphing calculator for his Pre-Cal class. He's a senior and will also be taking honors geometry and a calculus seminar this year. His pre cal teacher recommends the TI-83 Plus.

I'm more of a HP guy myself (it's ridiculous how classic HP calcs like my 1987 vintage HP-15C now sell for 4 times their original price), but I would say don't sweat it.

Calculators are useless for any serious mathematics course (e.g. honors calculus), where the emphasis is on proving theorems, not mere calculation.

The advanced functions like equation solvers, numerical integration or matrix calculations are clunky compared to Excel, Maple or Mathematica, and any kid entering college nowadays is bound to have a laptop. Your son is better off with a useable calculator rather than an over-complex one with functions that will never be used. i used to have a high-end HP-48GX in college, I gave it away and kept the simpler but easier to use HP-15C.

 

[CLum]

The TI89 has better games so get that one.

Seriously, the TI83 should be sufficient with most math classes. I'm majoring in architecture and honestly I really didn't need the power of the 89. While it is good for architects to have a good understanding of engineering limits it is usually a structural engineer that do the number crunching.

 

[iSleipnir]

I really like my 89. It's made it easier to solve some problems and learn why I'm doing wrong when I can calculate the answer and work backwards. Some of it's graphing stuff is great for visualizing 3d which helped a lot in calcIII but I also used it as a crutch in HS and didn't learn integrals and derivatives as well as I should have and had to put in some extra work when I got to college. That, and I have to learn the 83 in a week because you cannot use the 89 on the IB HL math exam. All in all, I prefer my 89.

 

[Ampersand]

Your son won't need anything more than the ti-83 plus. That's what i'm currently using in my calc 3 course. Anything more than the 83, and your son will be spending his time reading the manual and not learning math. I guarantee you your son won't come close to fully utilizing the 83. And while the 89 offers 3D graphing, chances are his teacher won't allow him to use it during exams, i know mine won't.

 

[ojnihs]

I've been using a Ti-86 for years and couldn't be happier with it personally.

 

[wanderman]

the 89 is a waste in highschool and I didn't even start using a calculator in college until I got to diffeq. The symbolic integrations speeds things up on the 89 but people should know those things. The earliest you need a graphing calculator is maybe calc 3 but some professor''s say no 89 because of the symbolic integration.

 

[chych]

Got my TI89 in 10th grade (6 years ago), and still have it. I am *so* glad I didn't waste my money on an 83, as the 89 would become very useful later. Especially in high level classes (i.e. graduate level) where you are allowed to symbolically solve and integrate on an 89 for exams, and is very useful for homeworks as a check. Even when I'm doing regular work and I have Matlab open, I still use the 89 because it's much easier to use for solving certain types of (comparatively simpler) problems. I'm a grad student in mechanical engineering, fyi, and basically everyone has a TI89; don't settle for anything less.

With comparison to the 83, I find the user input on the 89 much more intuitive and easier to use, i.e. accessing functions, variable manipulation, etc. And it can do everything the 83 can do.