Re: Which Graphing Calculator Should I Get?
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Re: Which Graphing Calculator Should I Get?
>This is probably going to sound odd to you, but I wwould like your
>advice/ideas about which TI Graphing Calculator to get. I currently have a
>TI-82, but I am in Electronic Computer Technology in college and I am dealing
>with complex numbers and phase angles, which the 82 doesn't deal with. I will
>have the money, but I am undecided about what calculator to get. I have looked
>at the 85, but I have noticed that it isn't very user friendly. I have also
>looked into the 92, but some professors at my college do not allow the use of
>them in some classes. I have also heard of the 86, and the 89, but I don't
>know anything about them. Of all of the calculators that I have mentioned,
>which one would you suggest that I upgrade to?
The TI-86 is a modernized upgrade of the TI-85 (I'm not quite sure why TI
continues to sell the 85). These two calculators are more powerful than the
TI-82 (or its respective modernized upgrade the TI-83) in certain ways -- more
sophisticated mathematical operations (including differential equations and
number-base conversions), support for upper/lower case text, better programming
language, etc. The TI-86 (and the TI-85 before it) were designed to be
engineer-friendly in its choice of notation, but that does not necessarily
mean that all engineers and all Electronic Computer Technology majors will find
it friendly enough for comfortable use. The TI-83 is lean and lively and very
friendly. Alas, it may not have the "guts" you need (though it does support
complex numbers from a _mathematican's_ perspective).
You will have to think what you are going to want the calculator for. If your
purpose is learning and homework and eventual professional use, then it would
be smart to begin working with the TI-92, because this is what will be standard
for a calculator soon. You would have to tough it out on tests in classes
that are not yet designed for students using symbolic manipulators. In many
ways the present generation of students is caught in the middle, needing to be
able to demonstrate the old ways of working while still (somehow) learning the
new ways also for the sake of their own professional future!
And you should keep in mind that the TI-89 will be out soon, which will have
most of the features of the TI-92 (no geometry, though) in a smaller, more
convenient package.
Decisions, decisions....
RWW Taylor
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester NY 14623
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