What kind of calculator do you guys recommend? I was planning on getting the TI-Nspire CAS CX but it’s not allowed for IB. Any Suggestions?
I personally have the TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator. You can download a lot of apps on it that make it have similar capabilities, as well as programming equations on to it. This is the only calculator allowed by my school for any class, precalc and above. It’s fantastic though.
The non-CAS Nspire CX is allowed (my school actually requires that specific calculator). A pretty nice calculator, pretty much a full computer with lots of math software (you have a mouse, documents, etc). It doesn’t have the symbolic algebra capabilities of the CAS or the TI-89, which is why neither of those is allowed, but it is >= the 84s and 85s I believe (and easier to navigate).
I second the suggestion of the TI-84 Plus. This calculator can do so much, so you can use it for just about any math and/or science class. It makes figuring out graphs, equations, etc. a lot easier. I’m sure it’ll even be helpful for classes once you’re in college, too.
Texas Instruments is a well-known brand…unfortunately, excluding minor hardware additions most of the software is from the '90’s.
@TheSlacker16 It’s general math software. We’ve known how to do that for a long time. There are no advancements that I’m aware of that would make an essentially console-based math software today any different from what it would be in the 90s. Any such advancements would have to be in the software, as they don’t do cutting-edge math, and I doubt whatever language those things are written in has advanced much since (as whatever it is, it’s not common for general usage). I know that basic algorithms haven’t advanced much; I’ve used algorithms textbooks from the 80s for self-teaching and a binary tree is still a binary tree.
Apps advance fast, but the underlying software doesn’t really.
I can’t choose between TI-84 plus C Silver edition and TI-84 CE, which one do you guys recommend from those or are they both the same but new design? I would also get the NSpire CX but it looks like its difficult to learn since this would be my first graphing calculator.
@QuantumPython the problem is not so much the lack of innovation, but the fact that calculators like the TI-84 have retained the same price tag for over 10 years.
@SenChihiro That, I can agree with–considering you could probably set up a significantly more powerful Raspberry Pi 2 (4x 900MHz CPU, 1GB RAM) to have equivalent (or superior, it’s a bit less user-friendly but I know of at least two free, open-source CAS programs that easily outmatch a TI–wxMaxima is the easier of the two, if you’re interested) math software for $35 (+keyboard and monitor, so maybe $100 altogether with a small, cheap monitor), while also being a more or less usable general-purpose computer.
Thing is, TI has no real competition for calculators that I’m aware of. Most syllabi I’ve seen explicitly say NOT to get a Casio calculator, and what else is there? Most math students won’t be willing, or able, to set up a functioning Raspberry Pi computer, and no one’s going to let them use it for tests and etc anyway.
@TrainerGary TI-84 CE is the newer one. It loads graphs much faster, has a slimmer feel, charges quicker, and is all over better.
@QuantumPython @SenChihiro That’s how they make money. Heck, that’s how most companies make money. Change the exterior and make it more aesthetically appealing for a low cost and make profit while rarely adjusting the software. And since there’s no “real” competition, as one said, they don’t need to improve anything. Communism at its finest 