Students in precalculus and
calculus courses may want to have a graphing calculator available,
and some instructors do assign homework problems for which a calculator
would be useful.
The
policy for calculators at quizzes/exams varies from course to course
(or from one exam to the next, depending on the subject matter for the
particular test). Probably you should wait until classes
start to
find out
whether a calculator is important for your course. However, if you
want
to purchase a calculator before you arrive, then the following
information may be useful.
- Any graphing calculator is
acceptable for your personal use in study and on homework assignments.
However, some higher-end calculators contain a computer algebra system
(CAS) that allows them to perform symbolic manipulations-- for
example, to simplify 2*(2*x+1)^2 - 3*(3*x-2)^3 . Calculators
containing a CAS (for example, the TI-89, TI-92/TI-92 Plus, Casio FX2,
HP-48 and HP-49) are usually not allowed at math quizzes and exams.
- Some courses might not allow
any
calculators at exams, or allow only simple scientific calculators just
to help with arithmetic.
- If you need to buy a
graphing
calculator, or want to upgrade from an older model, the Math
Department's recommendation for our courses is the Texas Instruments
TI-83 series. The advantage of the TI-83 series is that it has
built-in probability
distributions that are required in Math 3200 and which students may
also
find useful in any course containing statistical material. (These
distributions can also be downloaded from the web to some
other Texas Instruments calculators). TI-83's do not contain a
CAS.
Even if you are fairly familiar
with your calculator, do not forget to bring the manual along with you.
A word of caution: do not become overly
dependent on your calculator. A calculator can be
a very useful tool for complicated calculations, but you should be able
to do the basic computations and manipulations in calculus without a
calculator--or, at most, just using it to help out with tedious
arithmetic (and, not all arithmetic is tedious!).
You are too dependent on your
calculator if, for example:
- You use a
calculator when you need to know sin (pi/6) or tan(pi/3) or
ln ( e ^ ( -3.9) ).
- You consistently use a
calculator to get
answers in calculations such as 4/7 + 3/8, which can be easily done by
hand. Finding (approximate) decimal answers instead of exact
fractions
in relatively simple problems generally means that a student uses the
calculator too much.
- You don't know the appearance
of simple graphs like y = (x-1)^2, y = cos(2x) + 1, y = 2^(-x), etc.
without having your calculator graph them.
- You find yourself immediately
punching buttons on the calculator as soon as you get started on a
test. Generally, not many problems on a calculus exam are intended to
require a calculator.
Information
for TI-83 use in calculus
If you have a question, please
contact Professor Blake Thornton:
blake@math.wustl.edu
(314 )935-6301