<p>I think there's material I've yet to cover that'll show up in the test and I know that I don't know ellipses and matrices past 3x3. Obviously I'll have a scientific calculator at hand, but will it really be helpful if I get a graphing one? Can it make the test easier/help me solve questions faster?
If a graphing calculator is necessary, I think I'd get the Casio 9750GII. Looks good. Thoughts?
Thanks :)</p>
<p>I think you will find yourself at a great disadvantage at times if you don’t have a graphing calculator. I’m not too much of an expert on specifically why you need a graphing calculator, but I can tell you that you will need one.</p>
<p>A graphing will definitely save time and eliminate math errors. A graphing + CAS is even better (I know the HP 40gs is a graphing CAS for $50, the TI-89 Titanium (which I used along with a TI-84+ SE) is about $120). I’m not sure how much the Casio costs, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have a CAS (computer algebra system, just in case you don’t know). So I’d go with the HP if it costs about the same as the Casio (or even the TI-89 if it’s within your budget range).</p>
<p>Definitely will help getting the TI-84. I don’t recommend the TI-89 because it takes a long time to learn how to use.</p>
<p>The TI-84 is idiotproof and only takes about a week to become attached to it. Well worth the money. If your really that stretched for the cash, possibly your school could loan you one?</p>
<p>^I agree; the TI-89 took me much longer to figure out than the 84 (I still am not comfortable with some of the 89’s features, like graphing slope fields). However, I think a CAS makes the Math II exam a joke and can make the difference between a 780 and an 800 especially if you’re pressed for time; saving time with a CAS at the beginning can decide whether or not you have time for those last 3 or 4 questions.</p>
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My school is more incompetent than a box of nuts and probably doesn’t know what TI is. 
Luckily, a friend of mine went to a school that requires a TI of its students at some point and he has the TI-83. Not sure which edition, but at least this means I can borrow it & don’t have to shell out $100 for one test.
I assume the TI-83 is more than adequate, right?</p>
<p>By the way, I have no idea what CAS does/how it helps me. I still haven’t covered some of the Math II concepts so I don’t know if that affects it any way or something. Does the 83 have it? Because if not, the 89 is out of my price range, and so is the HP 40GS. They’re both $200+. Yes, where I live is that expensive.</p>
<p>You could always purchase them online. Or just go with a TI-83 Plus. I have one and it served me very well on the Math IIC exam (although I myself didn’t do well). There really is no use for a higher end graphing calculator once you get to the TI-83; I expect that ETS doesn’t really want students gaining an unfair advantage and spending hundreds of dollars on calculators that will significantly help boost their score.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what CAS is. I don’t think I’ve ever used it before; if I ever used it I’m not aware of it, and I don’t think I’ve ever needed such a thing on my calculator before.</p>
<p>A graphing calculator also can do several things that a scientific calculator can’t, like graphs (obviously), storing equations (like distance formulas, quadratic formula, etc.) and matrices. Although if used excessively these intriguing functions (pardon the pun) can waste valuable test time.</p>
<p>A TI-83 works the same as an 84 and costs less; it just runs a bit slower, so it’d be fine.</p>
<p>A CAS is a Computer Algebra System. For the Math II exam’s purposes, the CAS helps you solve rather weird equations (e.g. 6^x=357) that will require a calculator. Sure, it can be done with a scientific one, but it leaves room for error. Graphing without CAS still has some room for error (albeit much smaller) and graphing with CAS has virtually no room for error (the only thing that could go wrong is not catching a mistype, which really won’t happen if you just check what shows up after you hit Enter).</p>
<p>My point is this: A TI-83 will be perfectly fine for you. Though…I thought I read somewhere that an HP 40gs costs about $50 dollars, so I’m not sure how much it really costs.</p>
<p>It does cost that much - on Amazon. Apparently tech is alien here so it goes for around 200$ - not something I’m willing to shell out for a calculator I’ll only use once until I get into college. The Casio 9750, which is also around $50 on Amazon, costs $100 here. Go figure.</p>
<p>I guess I’m just going to borrow the TI-83. I’ll have to do without the CAS, though you sure make it sound appealing by saying it makes the test a joke ;)</p>
<p>By the way, can’t you just use [I haven’t covered the following math concept yet so don’t condemn me if I’m wrong] logarithms to answer the above question?</p>
<p>You’ll do fine without the CAS if you have a solid math foundation.</p>
<p>And you can definitely do the above problems with logs! There’s just a lot of room for human error when you do it by hand (not to mention that it takes up quite a bit of time). With the TI-83, I’d just graph that sucker (of course, move the 357 over to the left so that you graph Y=(6^x)-357) and use the “calculate zero” function to find the solution to the equation. Much faster and safer.</p>