[fante7]

Why bother with a calculator when you can get far more powerful computer software? Look into something like Maple or Mathematica. I don't know how much these cost though... my school provides them for free.

 

[Claus1100xx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fante7 Why bother with a calculator when you can get far more powerful computer software? Look into something like Maple or Mathematica. I don't know how much these cost though... my school provides them for free.

yap I second that one - Mathematica is quite powerful for math applications and Stata for statistical analysis.
If you allready have a laptop, I'm sure your school has a license for mathematica.

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fante7 Why bother with a calculator when you can get far more powerful computer software? Look into something like Maple or Mathematica. I don't know how much these cost though... my school provides them for free.

While that may be true, to my knowledge most schools and classes will not allow you to use computers during examinations and such, hence the reason for calculators.

 

[meat01]

Some schools don't even allow TI-89s, TI-92s or HP-48/49s during examinations.

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 Some schools don't even allow TI-89s, TI-92s or HP-48/49s during examinations.

That's also another consideration. I know that at my old HS a TI89 was only allowed in Calculus and at my current college it depends on the professor.

 

[meat01]

Actually, my college calculus classes would not allow any calculators that would do symbolic or solve the problems, but they were allowed in physics, chemistry, etc..

 

[PFKMan23]

Then you have my sympathy. But I think it just shows that what is allowed or not allowed relative to equipment is dependent on the school and it's departments and divisions and the policies that they have. As I said in my previous comments, at my school, it depends on the professor.

 

[IstariAsuka]

For Calc 1, 2 you don't NEED to have a calculator capable of symbolic calculus functions. Helpful sometimes, sure, but most people get through with nothing more than a TI-83+, which definately doesn't do symbolic integration.

For calc 3 you also don't NEED a calculator capable of 3D graphing. The 3D graphing is much more useful for calc 3 than symbolic integration and the like is for calc 1 and 2, however.

So, if you're not worried about 3D graphing, I'd recommend a lower-end TI calculator, such as the 83/84, or, even better, the HP 39G+, which can be had for $65, very close to your budget! However, to be honest, I think you'd want to get something a little more high-end.

So, I suggest that if you want 3D graphing and symbolic calculus capability, you should pick up the HP 48GII for $85. This calculator also supports RPN, if that interests you at all. The main differences between it and the higher-end 49G+ is mostly that the latter has more memory, a bigger display, and a faster processor. It's really quite a steal. For comparison, the cheapest I've seen the original TI-89 for is $110.

It will do everything you want it to do, and it is by far the best deal out there. I have a 49G+ and I love the thing to death.

For an interesting article about calculators, see here:
http://www.rskey.org/buyguide.pdf

 

[JuveDuke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IstariAsuka I have a 49G+ and I love the thing to death.

Same here (well, actually the original 49g). I've had this one about 4 years, thinking about upgrading to the + as I have heard it is much better.

I could never leave RPN

 

[IstariAsuka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuveDuke Same here (well, actually the original 49g). I've had this one about 4 years, thinking about upgrading to the + as I have heard it is much better. I could never leave RPN

Yeah, I don't know how I lived before RPN. I sometimes catching myself entering stuff RPN-style when I use other calculators and wondering why it's not working before realizing the problem.

I've even converted one of my friends to RPN!

 

[Zanth]

Of course there is always a laptop running Maple or Mathematica as an option

I remember the good old days of graphing calcs. My first one was a Casio something or other before I upgraded to the Ti85. That was in '95. Now though it seems the Ti83 is more advanced? Strange numbering system. I had always lusted after an HP (which I believe are now discontinued) but in my first year eng classes we were using Maple (a math programme developed at Waterloo) so that in class the idea of forking over nearly 400 canadian for the HP series was really moot. For all my exams my universities always had a standard calc we HAD to use for them. It was a really low level Ti variety, simply a Scientific calc, nothing more, one line screen etc. In many ways it is advantageous to stay away from graphing calcs or math programmes which become a crutch instead of a service. Best to be able to figure it out on paper or in your head vs. being a master at typing keys.

 

[kerecsen]

I sure as hell wouldn't allow one of these babies on any exam, even literature-related ones:
http://www.hp.com/calculators/graphing/49gplus/
Not only does it have enough memory to store several complete textbooks, but you can also program it in C (http://hpgcc.org/).

 

[IstariAsuka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth In many ways it is advantageous to stay away from graphing calcs or math programmes which become a crutch instead of a service. Best to be able to figure it out on paper or in your head vs. being a master at typing keys.

Yes, you don't want to rely on your calculator to do everything for you. And the thing is, it's easy to get into that problem--because they CAN do this stuff for you.

However, if you have a little restraint and actually want to learn this stuff, then they are wonderful tools: they let you check your answers easily, let you visualize nasty 3D graphs/slope fields/etc., and are generally great to help you understand where and how you're going wrong. As long as you're careful, they're a useful tool. (Also, most calculus courses/textbooks nowadays assume you have a graphing calculator, so it is hard to avoid one completely.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerecsen Not only does it have enough memory to store several complete textbooks, but you can also program it in C.

Don't forget that it has an SD slot, so you could easily add, say, 512 MEGAbytes of additional storage. That's a lot of textbooks.

I recently also found that C compiler for the thing. I will definately have to show it to my programming friend (who also has a 49G+). I think he will find it most useful and fun to play with.

 

[CMacDaddy]

Go with a Ti-89. I've been using it for engineering/math classes for 2+ years and its clearly the best.

Usually you can get them for a very good price if you goto a large school @ the Coop. Here at the University of Texas supposedly they're only $85 at the coop.

I spent $130 on mine a few years ago.

 

[jpr703]

I just bought the Ti-84+ silver edition mainly for college Physics and Chemistry. I'm not sure how well it stacks up against the Ti-89 or the HP calculators, but so far I'm happy with it.