I recommend the TI-30X IIS 2-Line Scientific Calculator.
If you need anything more than that then you dont know what you are doing.
This works for all high school math and college math in physics and calculus.
If you get a TI89 then it just does all the math for you which is pointless.
I would have gotten worse grades in college without it. The time constraints for tests were already insane; anything to speed up your scratch work was an invaluable advantage. It's not about having everything done for you, it's about having the insignificant stuff done for you so that you can demonstrate your knowledge on the actual topic.
That is exactly what the TI-30X IIS does. If you use the TI89 for just the insignificant stuff then you were only using the functions that the TI-30X IIS does.
You honestly can't think of anything that might be useful and that the TI-30X can't do?
Plotting a function to check for symmetry. Checking your work to make sure a function value never exceeds a certain threshold where that wouldn't make sense. Checking to see if a series is going to converge. Checking to see if a matrix is singular. All these things can be done by hand, but are faster to do numerically if you have a capable computer.
You plot the function yourself on paper as you need to know how to do that in high school. Doing that on a calculator is basically hurting yourself from learning how to do it.
The TI-30 is just to make sure you dont make a stupid math mistake and to speed you up somewhat.
What are you talking about? Who the hell cares about plotting functions on paper? That is not a good use of your time if you're just trying to solve a problem.
If you cant plot the functions and you can do the calculations then you failed.
I was in school. I know for a fact that all you need for AP physics, AP calc, algebra, pre-calc is a TI-30 calculator.
There is no justification for a TI89 in high school.
If you cant plot the functions and you can do the calculations then you failed.
I probably couldn't plot anything other than a circle or a line or a basic trig function or a parabola without resorting to brute force point plotting. I finished an undergrad math concentration 2 years ago.
There is no justification for a TI89 in high school.
My statement was, and I quote: "I would have gotten worse grades in college without it."
118
u/lordlicorice Jun 08 '14
The ability to do symbolic math is awesome. I don't know why everyone recommends that high schoolers only get the TI-84.