<p>I'm (finally) getting my own graphing calculator, and i'm trying to buy it around the tests and courses i'm taking. I'm in Calc AB which is a big part of why I need it, and also the ACT. Any recommendations?</p>
<p>For the record, i'll probably be taking stats, trig, and calc BC within the near future, and I need it for those.</p>
<p>TI-84 Silver is all you'll need, except maybe a TI-89 if you plan on doing engineering.</p>
<p>That's what I was going to get, thanks for confirming. I was just weary since their website said it doesn't work for the AP math tests.</p>
<p>TI-89 is DEFINITELY best for AP Calc since it will do Integration and Differentiation really easily for you [I think on an 84 you have to go to the graph and find it from there? but on an 89 you can find indefinite integrals and stuff right on the home screen] </p>
<p>Also it will be a big help in BC because it will do taylor polynomials for you. [I actually don't know if the 84 does that too, but I imagine it doesn't]</p>
<p>Another major reason why I absolutely love my 89 is that it will factor for you :) it seems silly and easy, but it actually saves a lot of time</p>
<p>Seriously though, the TI-89 is the best option for AP Calc, no questions asked.</p>
<p>People in my BC class always complain when they forget to bring their 89 and have to use a classroom 84, because there is so much that it can't do.</p>
<p>My only issue with the 89 is that you can't use it on the ACT. I probably won't take it again after this, but I still need it for that.</p>
<p>Are the science apps at all beneficial?</p>
<p>The 89 is so smart I could use it to make my bed in the morning, if I could just figure out how to program the d@mn thing. Yes, 89>Me.</p>
<p>get a TI 84+. used it for AP stat exam, SAT I math, SAT math 2. darn good thing.</p>
<p>what's the difference between the regular and the silver though?</p>
<p>CrystalPineapple- but did you have to do a lot of calc on the ap stat exam? [i really dont know if you do, my school doesn't offer it]
if it works for that, then great</p>
<p>i agree that the 84 is a good calculator for sat 1 & 2 math, but for higher-level calculus, the 89 is really the way to go.</p>
<p>christi--plus if you're taking BC calc, i'm assuming that you will probably be taking Calc 3 or at least more math in college? if so, you would probably want the 89 for that as well. it's really just an investment. and if you're going to need it at some point you might as well get it now</p>
<p>and for the ACT, i don't know about your school, but I know that my math teacher recommended we get an 89 and then for tests where you can't use it, she would let us trade ours in and take one of the classroom 84s for the test. you might ask your math teacher if that was possible. </p>
<p>and i don't know anything about the science apps, sry</p>
<p>and sry this is so long, i hope it helps</p>
<p>I might end up taking more calc in college, i'm not sure. I don't have another calculator I can use or borrow for the ACT though.</p>
<p>Anyone have an opinion on the science stuff on the 84 though? That's a big factor for me since i'm going to take a lot of science classes in the near future.</p>
<p>The science apps are pretty useless, there's a sig fig calculator and unit conversions, but you should be very familiar with that stuff anyway if you're gonna do higher level sciences, right? I heard the nspire makes calculus easy, but I have an 84+ and it's all you really need to do the equations, 89 just makes things easier.</p>
<p>Hmm. Thanks. Anyone else? Because I sort of want to get this tonight or tomorrow, and i'm STILL not sure. whoo being indecisive.</p>
<p>Extra question: Do colleges typically let you use the 89 on tests and work? Like community college level, since i'm taking math courses there.</p>
<p>each college differs.</p>
<p>I have a ti84+ silver. I used it all last year in my AP calc BC, physics C, and chem classes and it worked fine. I forget which AP tests I could and couldn't use it on, but it had enough functionality for all of them.<br>
In college, I've used it on my chemistry and physics exams and HW, but not for math - in Calc 3 and diff-eq we're not allowed to use calculators, anyways.</p>
<p>calc 3 no calculators!? eek!</p>
<p>semi-related question...
do you think it's better to retake calc 2 regardless of how you did on the BC exam, or is the BC class really enough to prepare you for calc 3?</p>
<p>At Tufts, at least, Calc 3 is multivariable and you don't even need most of the material in 'C' anyways. I would say, though, that if you feel like you know all the material on the test well, then you should be fine skipping calc 2.</p>
<p>kay, thanks for the input :)</p>