<p>My S is taking AP Calculus BC in the senior year. Should I buy him a Ti 89 calculator? He has a Ti 83 now. Thanks.</p>
<p>I had an 89 and found it very useful. To really use the best parts of it, you have to spend a lot of time figuring it out. The downside is that it becomes very easy to not really learn how to do things because the 89 does it for you. Is the teacher going to let him use it on all the tests? If so, you'll see better grades but less learning, which ultimately doesn't help so much on the AP test. But if he's self-motivated and is going to learn the stuff anyway, it can be a great tool.</p>
<p>Ti 83 is enough for Calc BC, but if your son will continue with math in college, he'll eventually need Ti89</p>
<p>S did a double major in math and econ. He used his TI83 throughout college along with specialized software (Maple and maybe some other programs)for his laptop. I was surprised he never found the need for another calculator as he is usually happy to acquire new techno gadgets!</p>
<p>S continued to use his TI 83 through MV-Calc and LA even though we gave him a TI 89. Not sure which he uses now.</p>
<p>sorry for hijacking, but for an intro to differential equations/linear algebra class, can I stick with my TI-83 or should I invest in the TI-89?</p>
<p>I loved my HP 49G back in the day, but I honestly haven't used a calculator much at all since I started college (engineering major). Matlab, python, and maple can do just about anything that needs to be done.</p>
<p>I'm currently a math major at a liberal arts college and I frankly don't use a calculator at all.</p>
<p>TI83 is fine for Calc BC so hold off on getting a new calculator.</p>
<p>But the 83 won't integrate or differentiate. I like to check my answers with the 89. </p>
<p>The best thing I like about the 89 is that when you type in a big, long equation with lots of parantheses, and then hit enter--the screen will show you exactly how the calculator interpreted what you punched in. </p>
<p>Love the 89. Don't use the 83 anymore.</p>
<p>The 89 is a godsend. Especially for AP and SAT exams. However, some teachers (luckily not mine) won't let you use it on tests. Even if just for standardized tests, it's worth it. The 89 is a great timesaver on such tests. Sure, solving two simultaneous equations is easy- but it takes a bit of time to do; time which is very precious on a test. In an 89, you can just literally type, solve(3x+5y=1 and 2x+y=5,x) and have it solve the system for you.</p>
<p>It does, however, take some getting used to. I'd say after 2 months of using it, I got a solid grasp, but I use it a lot, and I love technology, so for a person who is technophobic, the ti89 is not a calculator for them.</p>
<p>As others have mentioned, it's important to learn the math. The ti89 should just be used to check answers, not to do the math.</p>
<p>Personally, I find that math classes are where I use my calculator the least. In math classes, anything that you can do significantly faster with an 89 is going to be worth doing by hand for the sake of learning it. And once you get beyond LA/multi/diffeq, even the most powerful calculators become useless in math classes. You'll use it much more in physics, chemistry, and engineering classes.</p>
<p>One of my favorite 89 features for physics classes is the fact that units and conversion factors are built in, so you can sanity-check your answer that way. Physical constants, even really obscure ones, are also built-in.</p>
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My S is taking AP Calculus BC in the senior year. Should I buy him a Ti 89 calculator? He has a Ti 83 now. Thanks.
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<p>Ask whoever is teaching the class.</p>
<p>Please remember, though, that not every University allows calculators. For example, where I go to University, no one can use a calculator. I can use my TI89 to check my homework at home, but I cannot use one in class or on a test at all. Some of my pals at other Universities, however, are allowed to use non programmable calculators. </p>
<p>So, ask the teacher what your S can use as of right now. Obey the teacher and make sure that all programs (which one would download) are cleared out before the big test.</p>
<p>I agree with having your son ask the teacher.</p>
<p>If he has an 83 already, though, he won't need an 89 for calc. His calculator is fine. </p>
<p>I'm not sure about all of the math classes, but the math classes my friends are in at the University of Chicago don't require calculators. This includes all classes through Honors Analysis.</p>
<p>I agree--ask the math teacher. In DD's school, the school provides a TI-84 for each math student, and I don't think the students are allowed to "upgrade" on their own.</p>
<p>For the techy math/science/engineering types like my S, the 89 is so cool. For him there was no question. I made him promise that he would learn calculus for real, though.</p>
<p>Oh, please, DD would LOVE a TI-89. But it took me two years to break down and buy her a TI-84 of her own!</p>
<p>The 89 does symbolic calculus, and really cool graphs, but if you're at the point where you need a machine to do that stuff, you're probably going to need matlab, maple, or mathematica. I use a TI-83 or my old TI-34ii (which is probably what I use the most) when i use a calculator, and if I need more, I use a computer.</p>
<p>thekidhere: Agreed, but the ti89 is easier to carry around(you don't need to lug a laptop around all the time), and (in my opinion) it's easier to type on because of the numeric keypad, and because my hands have gotten used to it. It's certainly not even close to as powerful as Mathematica/Maple, but it's a useful tool.</p>