Should i bother getting a graphing calculator?

supernova1203

I'm in the 11th grade, and a lot of problems i'm doing now require me to have a graphic calculator handy, the most basic ones run up 150$ easily, im told that after this course when i take calculus its mandatory, although i can do all these problems manually, should i bother with it or people who have taken calculus can you guys tell me if i will need it?

tedbradly

Your teacher decides the curriculum and the tests, so I'd ask your future calculus I teacher if you need a graphing calculator. For instance, my calculus II and III teacher gave us non-calculator tests, so if you had her, the answer would be, "No, you don't need a graphing calculator."

Mentallic

I agree with tedbradly. If it is a requirement in your tests to have a graphing calculator then by all means get one, otherwise if it's just for class I would get by just approximating the graph by hand and use free calculators at home when really necessary. It's something I used to do when we started studying quadratics and such. Looking at graphs of functions and playing around with them, seeing what happens if I change that number etc. Really gave me a good grip with more complicated graphs.

symbolipoint

Check the sales advertisements and you should be able to find TI-84 for about 90 dollars.

Course schedules and descriptions for some Math courses say, "graphing calculator required", but then again as others just said, check with the teacher who teaches the course. We learned Calculus 1-3 and Intermediate & College Algebra, and Trigonometry just fine years ago before graphing calculators became popular. They at least give you greater efficiency in checking some of your work.

supernova1203

huh... the t1-83 is for about 150, the 84 is about 180...maybe its just up here in canada, but when it comes to this, or really anything in life im very old fashioned, i like to do things manually, for instance what happens when calculators and computers stop working?

which is why i can do all the stuff manually, its just the teacher has been giving us a lot of work that requires us to use a graphing calculator...

vela

What kind of things does the teacher have you do that requires a graphing calculator?

It's definitely good to be able to do stuff by hand, but at some point, it's just a matter of efficient use of your time.

dmatador

I agree with this. It is one thing if the curriculum demands that each student use a graphing calculator, but as someone who has been through math in college, I think that the presence of graphing calculators in high school and even below are very damaging. Analytical methods are very important to learn the material. I don't know who convinced schools all over the United States (and I guess Canada and many other places) that they need expensive and powerful graphing calculators, but they really are a hindrance. So it is good that you do not rely on technology to do your math (the kids who do are not hard to spot later on), but if your teacher is getting on your case about it, them maybe you should find one.

ebits21

Just as a tip if you decide you need one, Ebay is actually a good place to get a good deal on a graphing calculator, especially during the summer when people are trying to get rid of them. Graphing calculators don't seem to change a whole lot, so getting a good used one might be a great way to save money.

If you have an ipod touch or iphone you can also use the "free graphing calculator" app for basic things (obviously, you couldn't take this to a test).

I agree with the above posts, however. They're a terrible thing to rely on.

tedbradly

I reloaded this page to suggest ebay as ebits21 has, but I have to warn you on what I have in bold from his post. If by 'good,' he means a TI-89 or something as opposed to a TI-83 or TI-84, I half agree. First off, I highly recommend a TI-89 in any class that allows you to use one. With that being said, many teachers forbid the use of the TI-89, because it can do so much.

To sum, if you can get away with it, buy just a TI-89. If you know some teachers will forbid the TI-89 and have the money, get both a TI-89 and a TI-83 (or 84), and if you know they will forbid it and you don't have the money, settle for just a TI-83 (or 84).

hologramANDY

Make sure you check with the teacher first. In all of my calculus courses any sort of calculator was banned.

blade123

In 11th grade when I had alg 2 w/ trig, I literally found an old as dirt TI-82. I now have a TI-84 plus, but the 82 helped me SO much, especially when checking my work. I would draw the graph, then graph it on my handy 82 to make sure it was right.

Even if you don't NEED one, why not get one? I'm sure you want to actually move up in the maths. If you want to take stats, you absolutely NEED a graphing calc. You can't make it in stats without one.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...211979755.html

$25 in Vancouver. I don't know where you live in Canada, but I'm sure Craigslist will have more. You can't beat $25. Think about it, that's like 2 dvds or a night out to dinner for 2 people.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...219437050.html

or $40 for the 83 which is the standard and will carry you far.

Both of these were 3 minutes of searching. Spend another 10 minutes and I'm sure you could find something cheaper.

I mean with something THAT cheap, why not? Also, just bring some batteries when you meet the guy to make sure everything's working.

tedbradly

Why do you need a graphing calculator to do statistical analysis?

ebits21

Agreed, if you're doing statistics then a full computer with software is far superior. Who wants to spend all day entering data sets?

blade123

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_deviation

SD is a very important part of stats. Look at the equation for SD. With a graphing calc, you just enter in the data and push a few buttons and out comes the mean, min, q1, median, q3, max, SD, and other good stuffs.

Another thing is linear regression analysis. In high school stats, I don't think they even TAUGHT how to find the slope of a line from data without a calculator. Also you need to look at regression plots, and I guess you could draw out a regression plot for every problem, but that would get old real fast.

blade123

Well yeah, but you can't bring a full on computer to a classroom for tests, especially in high school.

ebits21

I have a cheap Texas instruments scientific calculator (under $15) that can find standard deviation, standard error, sums of squares, and other statistical information.

No it can't do linear regression (or any other kind of regression), but I would much rather do those things with software. Basic reason why is because it's so much easier to deal with data sets on a pc, and a stats software package is much more powerful than the software available on a graphing calculator.

I see what you're saying when you're learning high school level statistics... but I don't think the cost is worth it for just that reason.

blade123

I mean I posted some links to a 82 that can do all that for $25. $25 is well worth it.

Also for high school stats, I COULDN'T do it without a graphing calc. Granted, the teacher loaned some out, but still...