Calculator for math classes

<p>this is a dumb question. but i was just wondering whether a Ti-83 would be enough for Calc 104 and statistics.</p>

<p>if you can afford it, get a TI89-titanium just because it's awesome.</p>

<p>You don't actually even need a calculator, considering the exams do not permit the use of one. I'm in 114, and for homework I use my ti-89 from high school to check my work, but it's best to use it as sparingly as possible. For graphs and stuff you will probably just use maple, which does a better job of visualizing more complex stuff.</p>

<p>what is maple?</p>

<p>Maple is used in many math classes here at Penn, including MATH 104,114,115. Maple is "a powerful mathematical software package that is capable of doing symbolic, numerical and graphical computations. This software will be used in classroom demonstrations, and you will [may] be required to use it for some of your homework assignments throughout the semester." The software package and an accompanying maple lab manual are included in the calculus textbook package.</p>

<p>I bought a TI-89 before college, but I've mainly been using my TI-83 because I'm much more used to it. I took Math 104 and Math 115, neither of which allowed the use of any calculator, but the TI-83 came in useful in my science classes (biology, chemistry, physics). </p>

<p>In addition, I highly recommend getting a scientific calculator (such as TI-30 or TI-36), because many exams will not allow the use of a programmable or graphing calculator (e.g. TI-83, TI-89) since you can store information on them. I had to buy a TI-30 for my econ class, exactly for that reason.</p>

<p>maple is evil.</p>