<p>My DS is planning on either mechanical or aerospace engineering and will start college this Fall. His current calculator just broke and it happens to be his bday soon so I need to get him something. The screen has an "inkspot" on it but it still works-maybe repairable? He had a TI-84 plus silver that he had for 4 years and liked it because you could download all kinds of programs into it. </p>
<p>Should I get another one just like it or is there a better one for an Engineering Major. I see there are new ones that say inspire so are they better? Thanks for your replies.</p>
<p>It depends on what you are looking for. I’d suggest getting one with a CAS, meaning if you are sticking to TI, get either a TI-89 Titanium or a TI-NSPIRE CX CAS. I’ve not used the NSPIRE but I’ve heard good things. I think it is a bit more full-featured but less programmable. The CAS will let you do symbolic work and solve simple ODEs and things, so it’s quite nice.</p>
<p>A word of advice, stress to him not to let the calculator become a crutch. Most math classes and many engineering classes won’t let you use them on exams anyway.</p>
<p>Get him a calculator that he is comfortable using. Calculators are used in high school math classes but are used less in most college engineering programs. College classes are more computer based; i.e. Matlab, Mathcad, CAD, etc.</p>
<p>Also, make sure he is good at doing the simple math in his head. A calculator shouldn’t be a crutch.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your replies. I don’t know what CAS is so it seems as though maybe I should just wait and not surprise him. He can still use the one he has but since little sister’s broke, I thought I’d get him one for college and let her have his since she will be taking alg2/trig next year and that seems to require a calc like the one he has. </p>
<p>So far, he is looking at Mech Eng at Berkeley or aerospace at UCLA or USC and I thought he would be able to use the calculator in all the math and chemistry classes. He doesn’t really use it much right now because he finished all the “real” math, AP Calc, etc. at his school so he was forced to take AP Stats but I think maybe he uses it now for AP Physics?</p>
<p>I don’t know what to get for his bday-maybe a new computer instead? If I got him one now, by the time school starts he would really know how to work it but then again, a lot of people told us not to get one ahead of time? He has a desktop now so he will need a laptop of some sort.</p>
<p>For a calculator he can possibly use on tests, you should look at the Casio fx-115ES PLUS which only costs about $20. It is not a graphing or programmable calculator but it has an incredible range of functions and capabilities. It is easily the best calculator available in that price range, or any price range if you do not need a graphing or programmable calculator.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide to get him, I’d also throw in a TI-36x Pro to go with it. They’re pretty cheap (I think mine was like $15 somewhere online) and they seem to be allowed at all times when a graphing calculator isn’t. I even used it on the ACT and will be using it again when I retake it.</p>
<p>I think it is better to wait until he take some classes first. I am a junior civil engineering major student and I was never allowed to use a graphing calculator for any of my math classes in the first two years(not is calculus, not in linear algebra, not in differential equations). Most of the math, physics, chemistry professors do not let students use graphing calculators because they are some sort of cheating sources. Calculators like TI-89, TI-NISPIRE, TI-NISPIRE CAS, TI-NISPIRE CX and TI-NISPIRE CX CAS can program to do pretty much everything you need and store tons of notes. I think the best choice is a TI-84PLUS(now they also come in color displays) because he will be allowed to use that in any of his classes without having any trouble. Even for the fundamental of engineering exam, you can use only TI-36X.
hope this helps</p>
<p>I question the quality of your calculus class if they are encouraging the extensive use of graphing calculators. Nearly all of calculus should be doable without much trouble with no calculator assuming you are working symbolically. Honestly, if you can’t do that, then you probably didn’t understand the material very well.</p>
<p>It’s there any significance in the course number (as in does it tell you anything about that specific course)? The above calculus course is MTH 181. At my school, calculus 1-3 is MTH 229-231 respectively.</p>
<p>There’s a MTH 140 Applied Calculus, but that has nothing to do with the engineering program.</p>
<p>The first number in a course number typically denotes the level of the course, so a 200-level course will typically be more difficult than a 100-level course. It would be quite difficult to compare between universities though.</p>
<p>I have not attended the classes yet BTW.
I think the university encourage you to use Graphing Calculator during the class not in the exam because if you are going to graph the functions during the class manually ,then you will need time to do that and the professor can’t wait until you do it.
for example:
what if I have to graph around 6 functions ?? should I do it without a calculator??</p>
<p>Seconded. Thirded, in fact. It’s mathematical ANALYSIS, paper and pen and your brain is all you should use. I understand using a calculator to graph functions to see how they behave, I do it myself, but as an aid to my abilities to see how a function behaves.</p>
<p>A calculus student should be able to take a function, and describe the behavior of that function as a given variable changes. For example:</p>
<p>F=QMn/(r-g)^2</p>
<p>What happens as M gets bigger or smaller? What happens as r approaches zero? What happens as r approaches g from the left? From the right? Try graphing that function on a calculator. At best, it will support three independent variables. Notice there are no actual numbers there. Can’t graph that on a calculator without picking values for all but one (or three) variables. What about this:</p>
<p>F=exp(-ay)+((y-r)^3)/(M+g)+1/(y-r)</p>
<p>What happens to the three terms (and hence F) as y approaches r? Where is this function increasing, decreasing, etc? A calculus student needs to understand how to “read” a function. It takes practice, not a calculator.</p>
<p>I do use Mathematica to do algebra, graph functions, do derivatives and integrals for me, but that is for classes where doing those things is not the focus of the class. In calc, those things <em>are</em> the focus of the class and best done by hand.</p>
<p>That said, a graphing calculator is the best way to do arithmetic quickly, and certain numerical things like Newton’s method can’t be done with pen and paper (in a normal time span), so get a TI 82.</p>
<p>I like how you guys are mad at a curriculum saying that a calculator is used heavily. My guess is it’s written that way since they’ll have a few questions on exams or whatever needing a calculator they say it’s heavily used so people won’t just borrow one for the test then be all mad because they didn’t learn where the X button was.</p>
<p>Honestly, knowing how to use a graphing calculator effectively was pretty useful in my engineering courses before Mathematica became the requirement for anything you couldn’t solve with a pen and paper.</p>
<p>I’d like to think that most schools would be more up front about that and if you decide to borrow a calculator and get screwed for not knowing your way around it, it’s your own fault. Take some responsibility.</p>
<p>That said, I am fully on board with using a graphing calculator. I even suggested getting the nicer ones with a computer algebra system like a TI-89. It just shouldn’t be a crutch for your math classes. Calculators are great. They are like alcohol: use responsibly.</p>