<p>I am currently looking for a graphing calculator for AP Calc BC and AP Statistics. As well, I want it to last in college and I am thinking of majoring in either premed or business. </p>
<p>So, should I get the TI-86? Or TI-83/84? Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>I personally own a 86(my 83 broke down-that thing took a lot of crap) and this thing is a beast. It can do everything the 83/4 can do and much more. </p>
<p>It actually solves equations for you. It has gotten me out of a lot of situations where I had no idea what to do. I brought up the needed program(many come built-in) and plugged in the numbers and it spit out the answer. </p>
<p>It will def(IMO) give you an advantage over people with 84s. </p>
<p>The only con that I found out was that the prof might share programs and it will not work for the 86. You will have to look it up online and load it on yourself. The good news is that most of the time you will discover that the program you are looking for came with the calculator itself so theres no online searching needed.</p>
<p>Thank you Jebus Christ for your reply! </p>
<p>Now I am leaning more towards getting a 86. The only things I am worried about are it's memory and speed. Is it sufficient for adding and downloading programs? Also, I heard that it doesn't come with a cable, so where would you get one?</p>
<p>Any other opinions? </p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>I have an 86 and used it in AP Statistics and Calculus. If you want it to do only math, it's a good choice. I think it excels at Calculus (ability to do definite derivates and integrals, solve equations, plot differential equations, etc.). </p>
<p>Its use in statistics is a little weaker than Ti-84 because, if you try to plot list 5 with list 6, it has a habit of erasing the first three list, and replacing list 1 (xstat) with list 5, list 2 (ystat) with list 6, and list 3 (fstat) with all ones. You use more than 2 lists when doing things like exponential and power regressions. After a while, I learned to get around this handicap, but it's pretty annoying at first.</p>
<p>I think the biggest weakness of the 86 is its speed. If you try to plot the integral of an equation (such as [y = fint(f(x),x,0,x] meaning integral of f(x) with respect to x from 0 to x), you can spend a good two minutes before a graph pops out or, even worse, an error message. I did some tests with loops when I got bored (adding 1 to 100), and it's only about half as fast as the Ti-83+. If you want to run programs and/or games, you might have some problems.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, buy a Ti-89. It can solve indefinite integrals and is much faster than the Ti-86. You can use the 89 on AP exams, but you can't for IB exams.</p>
<p>are we allowed to use 86 or 89 for college? i'm taking multivariable calculus.</p>
<p>get an 89 instead- they are awesome.</p>
<p>I'd recommend either an 86 or 89. I can't stand the 83/84. They don't do enough for me and I'm not into stats at all. Either the 86 or 89 will be fine for you.</p>
<p>I've never really seen the point of the TI-86, besides being a quick-fix for the ungodly disaster that was the TI-85. Practically nobody uses it, TI hasn't supported it for years now, and I don't think it does statistics (it's more of an engineering calculator).</p>
<p>The TI-83/83+/83+ silver edition/84/84+/84 silver edition is the mainstream one used by most people in school. It's more aimed towards statistics and that kind of audience, and everything you'll need for AP statistics exists as built-in functions. This may also be better for AP Calculus, as I'm not sure if the TI-89s are still allowed for the AP tests.</p>
<p>The reason the TI-89 is potentially not allowed for the AP tests is the same reason it kicks ass: the Computer Algebra System. This means the calculator is capable of doing symbolic manipulation, whereas the TI-83 series is only capable of doing numerical computations. The 89 is capable of simplifying and factoring expressions, taking exact derivatives and integrals, and things of that nature. With an 83+, you can only do numerical derivatives and integrals and whatnot. The 89 doesn't have the statistic functions built-in, but it does come with a Statistics application which has everything the 83+ does, just not quite as easily accessible. The TI-89 is also faster and has more memory space, along with far far far superior games.</p>
<p>If the 89 is still allowed for the AP tests, it's probably the best way to go. Far superior capability and performance for what's usually a minimal increase in cost. Otherwise, the 83+ will do just fine. When you think about it, the extra work that the 89 does in terms of factoring/doing exact derivatives is in reality the stuff you're supposed to be proving you're capable of doing on your own.</p>
<p>As a math minor, I used my high school TI83+ for all four years (and it never got used as often as it did in high school...not even close). This was totally fine. I had a professor who loaned us TI92 or 93s (I forget...something beastly, that's the point), and I felt like using a calculator that did so much for me actually hurt my math, however convenient it may have been.</p>
<p>I suggest waiting until you start school this year and asking your teachers what they recommend. They'll know what you need for their courses, and whatever model that happens to be should serve you just fine for years to come.</p>