I cheated my a$$ off on every test with my ti and i aint ashamed to say it!!
I spent $180 on my 89 and I made sure i used it to its full advantage. Cheating that is...

I used it to check all my equations on the end-of-the-year exam last year. My teacher didn't know that the 86 could do equations because everyone else had an 80.

Well.. for vocabulary exams if the teacher SAYS that calculators are allowed...

I know people who have cheated on english tests with their calculators. I tink that is funny.

-Samuel

When i had my TI-82 i used the graph's text function to write definitions and Hamlet info and all kinds of english related stuff onto the graph screen. Then i'd save them as pics... Those screens can hold quite a bit of info. Teacher didnt think much about it she just thought i was averaging my grade during class/tests.

Exactly, I have heard similar stories from my a dorm mate.


-Samuel Stearley

Well, I use my calculator (ti-89) to check my answers on every test. I guess it's allowed..... or maybe since the school only has 83's, she doesn't know the full capability of the 89, like complex solving and multiple answer solving.... :)
So, I voted for yes all the time, however I don't think it's cheating... I'm actually doing the work.

Me too, ill work it our by hand, maybe using the calulator to do the artihmatic, and then ill type it into my 92 and check my answer, if its wrong ill do it over on paper again, untill i cant figure out where i go wrong, or until time is up lol

Last year, all throughout Advanced Chemistry, I used my 89 to store the oxydation no.'s of every element, not to mention using varying programs for balancing elements and the classic periodic table :) I don't really consider it cheating, since I did most of the actual work, but then again, I never memorized those oxydation numbers..

What are you talking about? You don't have to remember the oxydation number of every element! You just need to know that H is +1 and O is -2 that's all. All the other elements vary depending on the situation.

Considering the hundreds of polyatomic ions there I'd put them in MY TI-86. How many people are really going to bother to memorize crap like the oxidation numbers of ammonia, peroxide, or hyposulfate?

i dont know how hard any of your classes are, but in reg. chemistry i had to know all the oxidation states of the most common 25 atomic ions not to mention all the elements. this may sound hard, but if you use them a few times you dont even have to try, you just know them.

Heh. In my chemistry class, we got to write the oxidation #s for the transitions and polyatomic ions in a little book that we could use during the test =)

That's awesome. We had to memorize most of them. My Chemistry teacher is pretty bright so I couldn't use my calc to cheat.

Let me explain why you don't need to know any of the oxidationnumbers of the complex ions. Let us take MnO4- as example. We know that the sum of the oxidationsnumbers must be -1. We know that O is -2. We have four of them, that equals -8. For the sum to be -1, Mn must have the oxidation number +7. Easy, right?
So you don't need to remember the oxdidation numbers of MnO4- in the future.

I was just wondering if your chemistry teachers teach you all to use the stock system (Roman Numerals: I, II, III, etc.) or the old system (I can't remember what its called, but it uses endings like -ous)

Stock system almost exclusively, but we have to be able to recognize things like ferric sulfate (Fe2(SO4)3).

My Chemistry II teacher made us memorize almost 200 ions. Now that we are into organic chemistry, very few of those apply, so I am a little bit miffed. Anyway, on tests, we get to use either her TI-36X solars or her TI-81s that she clears all the time. I cant even use my 86!

What about the transition metals? These have varying oxidation numbers and sometimes multiple ones that aren't predictable.

The oxidation number of a single metal ion, like Fe2+ is the same as the charge of the ion, thus the oxidation number is +2.
This also applies to complex or polyatomic ions. If it is a molecule, the sum of the oxidations numbers must be 0. All you need to know is that O is -2 and H is +1. examples: (charges in () )
NH4 : H = +1 N + 4*1 = 0 --> N = -4
NO3(-) : O = -2 N + 3*(-2) = -1 --> N = +5
HCl : H = +1 1 + Cl = 0 --> Cl = -1
SO4(2-) : O = -2 S + 4*(-2) = -2 --> S = +6
S(2-) : S = -2
Note:
H2O2 : O = -1!!! (because it's a peroxide)
NaH : H = -1!!! (because it's a metalhydrid)
MgH : H = -1 (same reason)

Yeah, forget it. I'm taking AP Chem right now so you don't have to tell me any of this stuff. I just glanced quickly at the thread and thought from first glance you were talking about polyatomic ions, I know how to do oxidation numbers though.

Not to be a jerk but it is oxidation numbers.

I am GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's exactly what I do. I put it down as cheating though, since no one else in the class has an 89, everyone has an 83 or 85, although I do occasionally put a little bit of info I'm having trouble remembering into a file. Of course, I could do that on an 83 too, so it doesn't fit in my former definition of cheating :)

I agree if you do the work and only use the calculator to check your work it not cheating.