How to use your calculator

Suppose your understanding of the workings of the light in your bedroom is limited to how to turn the light off and on by flicking the light switch. Is that sufficient? Answer: Only temporarily! As soon as the system fails to work as expected, that amount of expertise is quite inadequate. It could even be dangerous! The same principle applies to use of calculators, computers, and mathematics. If you think of these only as a means of arriving at answers without enough understanding of why or how the process works, it may work for a little while but eventually will become inadequate or dangerous.

In Mth 132 you will often be invited to use your calculator to carry out otherwise tedious calculations and for answer checking but you will always be urged to gain the fullest understanding of the underlying computational principles being used.

During the semester you will be required to complete several of calculator activities, most of which will require entering and running simple calculator programs.

You will be expected to understand the logic and purpose of these programs and will need, to understand them well enough to reinstall them during a test or quiz, should they become damaged or erased.

Calculator Models

Supported calculator models are TI-82, TI-83, TI-84, TI-85, and TI-86. Demonstrations in class will normally be presented on a TI-84 Plus and that or a TI-83 Plus would be the best purchase for most students needing to buy one for the class.

A TI-85 has a few inadequacies which make its use more difficult. You are advised not to buy one of these but, if you already have one, it will be adequate for the course.

A TI-81 or TI-73 will fail to work adequately to carry out some assignments.

Calculators with a computer algebra system (CAS) or "Qwerty" keyboard may be used for homework but are prohibited during tests and quizzes. (The TI 89, TI 92 and TI-Nspire models are examples of these calculators.) If you have one of these, you will need to be able to bring one of the four supported models to quizzes and exams. Sharing calculators during a test is prohibited. Also, use of other information devices such as PDAs and cell phones during exams or quizzes is prohibited.

Other brands of calculators (e.g. Casio, Sharp, etc.) which are not excluded by the previous paragraph are allowed but I am unable provide any knowledgeable support for them. You would need to be completely self sufficient and it is doubtful that all the course's calculator activities will work properly for those brands. Since these work-arounds will be rather unsatisfactory you may want to consider trying to borrow a TI model for this class.

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