<p>hi... i'm currently a junior at hs and im trying to self study for sat subject test math 2 AND ap calculus bc... and so i'm trying to decide which calculator i need to buy.
I'm thinking of buying the ti 84 but ive been seeing lots of ppl say that ti 89 is better for ap calculus.. but for sat math 2 im using the barron's prep book and the explanations are in ti 84 form and yeah.. i was just wondering if ti 84 would be enough for both sat math 2 AND ap calculus??? like would i be at a disadvantage if i got the ti 84 instead of the ti 89?? my school doesn't offer any ap courses so i'm totally on my own here.. HELP!!! thanks so much!! D:</p>
<p>My kids used TI-84 for their AP Calculus. TI-89 may not be allowed in the AP exams.</p>
<p>Ti-84 or Ti-84 Silver edition is enough.</p>
<p>From memory all of the math on both tests can be done without a calculator at all and so if you are using powerful functions on a calculator then you’re probably wasting time and there is a quicker way to do it by hand if you know the material well. There are some parts it’s not worth taking the time to do by hand (definite integrals being the main one on the calc BC test) but most of the test doesn’t need graphing calculator capabilities.</p>
<p>Yes, my cousin used a TI - 83 plus and got a five as did many others at his school.</p>
<p>@Legacy If you want a good grade, you need to use a calculator when its allowed
@4kidsdad the Ti-89 IS allowed on the AP Exams, as well as the SAT. It is not allowed on the ACT</p>
<p>the 84 should be enough, if you can buy the 89 its certainly more powerful, but its harder to get used to. It took me ages to discover some of the features that it has, and it can sometimes be hard to “translate” from ti84 to ti89 procedures. Menus are completely different and the calculator is very different.</p>
<p>you really only need a ti-83 plus</p>
<p>As long as you can graph, you should be fine. TI-83/84 should be good for you.
Why are you taking both the SAT subject test and the AP test? From what my friend told me, AP is more widely known and is ranked higher by universities than just subject tests.</p>
<p>Yes it is!</p>
<p>I am still both learning and teaching math with the TI-83 I’ve had since you were in preschool.</p>
<p>I’ll keep the rant shorter than intended: 89 is a powerhouse that has potential to rip apart AP and SAT questions… And it will certainly kill the math level 2 exam. (AKA solve this trigonometric equation and give me an exact answer using the calculator function por favor). Best to learn before getting an 84 to be proficient at it~and the lower the math course such as Algebra, the more you’ll know how to abuse the heck out of it :)</p>
<p>Being lucky, your college professors / high school teachers may or may not allow them if they know the capabilities. And this sort of helped me clench a borderline A this semester with it doing really long / complicated partial fraction decomposition, laplace transforms, or solving DEs to check answers.</p>
<p>The really short: Ti-84 is certainly enough (actually confusing to me!). But Ti-89 is far better :P</p>
<p>Ti-89 is indeed better. A word of warning though, it’s not allowed on SAT I or ACT, but you can use on SAT II and AP Calc. That being said, it’s really not needed, and in order to use it properly you need a good understanding of the material.</p>
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I think you could use Ti-89 on SAT I but not ACT. See above post #6, [Calculator</a> Policy](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>SAT Calculator Policy – SAT Suite | College Board), and [Frequently</a> Asked Questions | Can I use a calculator? | ACT Student](<a href=“http://www.actstudent.org/faq/calculator.html]Frequently”>http://www.actstudent.org/faq/calculator.html)</p>
<p>Well when your teacher is constantly reformatting your calculator who needs a graphing calculator at all! hahaahh</p>
<p>I’m using an 84 Silver in BC Calc and I’m fine. My friend is using an 83 and he’s getting by as well. I don’t think you’d be at a severe disadvantage if you didn’t have an 89. On the AP test, all the calculator functions for which you don’t have to show work can be done on the 84 (as well as the 83), so you’ll be just fine. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m using an Nspire and, from what I’ve seen, a TI-83 or TI-84 works just as well.</p>
<p>wow… thanks for all the great info! i got a ti 89… after using up most of my allowance… sigh </p>
<p>uhhh just one more question; so ive been preparing for ap calculus bc, with the princeton review book, and im on integrals now… but i dont see why i need such a fancy calculator…!! i know im doing something wrong here… help??? where and how… am i supposed to use this thing? ive been doing the limits and derivatives by hand, and i heard ap calculus has portions where u cant even use ur calculator… so whats the use??</p>