Re: Factorials on the 86
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Re: Factorials on the 86
Go to www.ti.com/calc/ and click on the "FAQ" graphic. In the TI-86 FAQ
section is a page explaining the gamma function and why you can take
factorials of non-integers.
Ray Kremer
>A few days ago I was fooling around with my 86's factorial function in
>math class, when I found that putting numbers that weren't integers
>didn't cause an error like on my 85 or my friend's 82. For example,
>10.5! spits out 11899423.084 instead of ERROR 04 DOMAIN. I read in the
>manual (pg. 294) that the calculator uses the "Gamma" function to
>evaluate non-integers when doing factorials. My math teacher had no
>clue what the manual is talking about and what the gamma function is.
>What is the Gamma function and what does it do (as in what does the
>number it give out mean)?
>
>Todd