<p>At my school, we are not allowed to use a graphing calculator in about 95% of our exams. Scientific calculators only.</p>
<p>As for homework and labs, I always carry my laptop around and Matlab can do the job quite well.</p>
<p>^^ yea but matrix manipulation and del operators aren't logic based things. Its just math that you apply to the numbers that you have. You solve the problem using logic and reasoning regardless of how you crunch the numbers.</p>
<p>Is it worth it?</p>
<p>well first you need to ask how much is your time worth. if I have alot of integrals to do, and I already know ho to do them, a few key clicks is alot faster and alot more accurate then me doing it every time. I save time in computation , as well as loose the possibility of making mistakes. Some engineering homework's just have so many integrals and such that it just takes to long to do and you can easily cut a homework's time by a half by using a calculator. If you have alot of row reductions to do on bigger matrices, then again you will save alot of time and not make any mistakes. </p>
<p>So just the time saved is well worth it.</p>
<p>@Dr. Horse
Which year are u ? i mean in college</p>
<p>I don't understand why a college student would want a graphing calculator when computer software is so much more capable. It's cheaper too. Graphing calculators are so high school . . .</p>
<p>Mathematica, Maple, and the like are not cheap if you want to put them on your computer instead of going to your school's computer lab every time you need to use them. And computers (even laptops) aren't as portable as graphing calculators.</p>
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@Dr. Horse
Which year are u ? i mean in college
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<p>if you consider freshman year the 1st grade of college, the, I am now in the 6th grade, I guess.</p>
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I don't understand why a college student would want a graphing calculator when computer software is so much more capable. It's cheaper too. Graphing calculators are so high school . . .
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<p>Laptops are big and heavy, calculators and small and light. Computer keyboards are not made to type math, calculators are designed for that purpose. Programmers who never use a mouse are drastically more efficient than those who do, and I may be wrong, but inputing mathematical symbols is a lot easier on any hand held calculator then a computer program. Its also alot faster on the calculator.</p>
<p>In computability, the software like maple will win always, but its limited to its memory in which defines its upper limit infinity. A calculator has a small memory and this cant computer 4Trillion !, and a desktop computer could, but it will just take a long time.</p>
<p>Is maple a more powerful program, by far. That is not even a question. But it requires a expensive license and expensive equipment to run it on. The equipment is large and not allowed in a testing situation. No professor, no matter what will allow a laptop during a test, unless you have a disability. Though alot of professors, wont care if you use a calculator. </p>
<p>In the end for academic purposes the calculator wins hands down.</p>
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Graphing calculators are so high school . . .
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Only if it's a TI. </p>
<p>The pros know that an HP with RPN is still the fastest tool ever devised for crunching a numerical value out of a complicated expression. They know that an HP is not a tool for high school math -- just as a race car with a stick shift is not a tool for high school driver's ed.</p>
<p>I dunno Corbett...I guess I'm a "pro" and have used RPN for 30+ years. RPN (first in-first out) is way more efficient for calculators with only a single display line. But graphing calculators display multiple lines and full expressions...and those expressions are recallable for editing and checking of input....so I no longer think RPN is clearly better. Sad as this is to say, I think RPN is now less efficient on a graphing calculator.</p>
<p>A basic ability to type numbers quickly coupled with a basic ability to actually... do math... makes me FAR faster on my TI-83 than any of my colleagues are on their HPs. If that's what they want to use, fine, but when they're taking time to actually multiply something like 0.01<em>4983.7, or 0.15</em>6, I lose a little bit of respect for them. And some of these guys are reputed, veteran structural engineers.</p>
<p>I'd rather be able to drive an Accord like a bat out of hell than watch someone repeatedly stall out their race car. Use whatever you're used to, but c'mon... use it well.</p>
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Mathematica, Maple, and the like are not cheap if you want to put them on your computer instead of going to your school's computer lab every time you need to use them.
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<p>I don't know, as a university student, I can get a free copy of Matlab on my home computer. I bet a lot of schools have similar deals with the software companies. </p>
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And computers (even laptops) aren't as portable as graphing calculators.
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<p>Yeah, but do you really need this portability? Do you absolutely need to do bazillions of calculations anywhere, any second?</p>
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The equipment is large and not allowed in a testing situation.
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<p>Yeah, I forgot about tests. But most of the time professors write tests that don't have a gazillion calculations. They would rather test concepts. A $20 scientific calculator should be good enough.</p>
<p>There is NO question. Get the best calculator that you can, and that means the calculator that can do symbolic calculations. </p>
<p>Even if your teacher doesn't let you use calculators on tests, you'll be able to check homework problems more quickly and efficiently than your peers. Can't get the integral on the last calculus problem? Just punch it into your TI-89. Having trouble with a linear algebra problem? Check the answer with your 89. There is NO question here. Compared with the cost of tuition or housing, a nice calculator is a drop in the bucket. It is unambiguously a good investment.</p>
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Yeah, but do you really need this portability? Do you absolutely need to do bazillions of calculations anywhere, any second?
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<p>But how often are you actually in front of a computer when you're doing homework? I was usually doing my work in the study lounge, in the library, at a Starbucks, etc. Very rarely would I be at a computer for regular homework (projects, papers, etc excluded).</p>
<p>Sorry to change the subject slightly, but would one survive with a TI-84+ silver in college engineering courses?</p>
<p>Yes, my son used TI-83+ successfully. Believe it or not, at one time people actually became engineers using slide rules! Your calculator will not determine your success, your brain and your work ethic will. (But whatever calculator you get, do yourself a favor and learn how to use it to its full capability.)</p>
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Sorry to change the subject slightly, but would one survive with a TI-84+ silver in college engineering courses?
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<p>Yeah. All you really need is a calculator that has e, sin, cos, tan and their inverses. You don't need a graphing calculator at all.</p>
<p>yeah, you can get by with just a nice scientific calculator. You do what works for you. There are some insane people out there though like they one of the physics teachers previously mentioned. I had a math teacher like that one time. The guy had degrees in business, math, economics, computer science, history, English, etc. We used to ask him question about a problem set we all had trouble with. He would open up the book, and turn to the page the problem was on, and start laughing hysterically. We didn't know what was going on. All he would do was laugh, then say the answer. The man would do everything in his head like a machine. He would did do the problem and it turned out to be 11 or 12 step problem. He was so arrogant about it too. But I guess when you are that smart you can be arrogant. I don't care who you are, that is not something you can develop, that is a gift. That is like saying you can develop a 50 inch vertical or a 4.3 second 40 time. No, that is all gifts. Some people just have a knack for things. He would always tell us he what we were having to think about was just training wheels to him. He was so bored every day, he like this is not a job, this is a joke, lol.</p>
<p>@Forever LSU<br>
lol....yea there are some guys like him in colleges.</p>
<p>anyway, but to check ur homework, u can use ur laptop right?
doesn't homework mean --- HOME and WORK, as in work to do in ur home
so why is there need of graphing calculator for a student of engineering who is in his second or first year of college...maybe even in 3rd year</p>
<p>Not at all. Software packages will be enough and even better than calculators.</p>
<p>By the way,if all you want is to solve a simple linear algebra or statistics problem, Microsoft Excel can even do that job.</p>