Should I upgrade to a better calculator?

Question

I will be taking AP Calculus in the upcoming school year. Will my old TI-34 II be capable of the job, or should I upgrade to a better calculator? What type? Also, if I did need to upgrade, would the new calculator be too much for AP Physics and Biotechnology?
Thanks a million for any help!

Answer 1

Before you spend the money, check and see if your school checks them out. Many schools do this, and then you can decide if you'll use it enough later in life to purchase it. For instance, my high school checked out TI-82s to us, and then I ended up buying an 83 when I got to college.



Also, be aware the some teachers do not allow you to use your own calculators on tests due to the fear of cheating. You might end up having to learn how to do it all on a basic calculator anyway, so that might affect how "worth it" it is to you.



Personally, I feel a TI-83 or so is plenty worth it. My teachers always let us program whatever we wanted into our calculators anyway, because our tests were such that we had to show our understanding, and not just spit back facts and formulas.

Answer 2

Upgrade, but get the one the teacher will be using because the worst thing is having a calculator you are unable to use. Remember the manuals for these graphig calculators can be a couple of hundred pages long. I do recommend the TI-89 simply because you can use it all through college. I have a Bachelors in mathematics and my TI-89 got me through it easily! Now if you want something more user friendly try the TI-84 silver edition which you can later buy programs for incase you need to. Do not get a TI-85 or TI-86 these calculators have mostly been discontinued!

Answer 3

I highly, highly, highly recomend the TI-89. The only reason I wouldn't upgrade would be cost ($150, but you can usually find it on sale for $120). It has features that make taking the test much easier. And it is not cheating. The makers of the exam expect you to have a calculator that can find derivitaves and intigrals. Since you have almost a year until the exam, I would get it now and get familiar with the calculator.

Answer 4

Yes, you should upgrade. I don't think a TI-34 can do the job... It's digital display, right? Your TI-34, I mean.



I'd say a TI-83 to -85. I have one and it calculates polynomials, plots graphs, all that sorts of stuff. And you can even make programs on it!

Answer 5

YES! upgrade it will be helpful in AP Physics (great class) and Biotechnology ( I woudl assume). I think the best kind is a TI 94 or TI 93 or maybe I'm way off

Answer 6

You definitely need to upgrade.

I would bet on the TI-84 Silver edition, but double check with your teacher. And I would get it now so that you are at least somewhat familiar with it before class starts.

Answer 7

I just finished AP Calculus and I had a TI-83+, but they don't make those anymore, so definitely get a TI-84+ Silver Edition. The TI-34 will not be any help whatsoever.

Answer 8

As a retired HS math teacher, I'd recommend a good TI-83 or -84. The 89 would be too much. But your best bet is to ask the teacher you'll have.

Answer 9

You will need a graphing calculator unless you have access to programs such as Maple, Matlab, Mathematica, or Mathcad. Maple happens to be the most common software program used for calculus classes.

Answer 10

The TI-89 or the TI-92 are excellent calculators for Calculus. The user interface is neat and organized and the calc has all the functionality for physics and biotech.

Answer 11

upgrade to a ti-84.

Answer 12

I think the most important thing in an exam is to have a calc that you're familiar with so that you don't waste time looking for the right buttons. If yours has everything you think you'll need i'd stick with it. It's got you this far ;-)

Answer 13

yeah there are a lot of online graphing calculators also you can download those calculators for your computer and also save the graphs and everything else youw ant one such calculator is Walterzorn google it as walterzorn graphing calc and it will bring up

Answer 14

I would upgrade , but i would also keep my older one around just in case.

Answer 15

get the TI-84 silver plus edition.. its really good. u can get programs to help you with nearly everythin....you can get programs that does calculus and physics work for you. it has a large memory that can store many programs and its faster than all the old ones. im tkin ap calc ab next year. bc looks too hard nd too much work. i took physics this year nd im plannin on taking ap bio next year. good luck

Answer 16

upgrade

Answer 17

i would