<p>I have both a Ti 84+ SE and an 89 but I'm not sure if I should start trying to lear nthe 89. What is the learning curve? Is there anything that the 89 would benefit me on the AP Calc BC exam?</p>
<p>Yes Learn It Now</p>
<p>easiest way to learn it?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t. The TI-84 will serve you plenty well for the AP Calculus exam, and most of the additional features that the TI-89 has over the TI-84 won’t actually appear as questions on the calculator sections.</p>
<p>So unless you have a lot of spare time…</p>
<p>The only advantage I know of the ti 89 is the pretty print, which will allow you to save you a syntax error (if you are prone to commit those). Like it has been previously stated, you must really know how to use it. I know of a kid who totally freaked on the exam because he didn’t know how to get his calculator in approx mode instead of exact mode. All of his answers were either fractions, or in terms of elementary functions, etc, instead of the three decimal number the AP exam is looking for. He didn’t know how to change the mode, or how to use the green diamond.</p>
<p>i used my TI-89 for my BC test last year. from what i can recall, the additional programs and functions don’t really help on the exam. all the important things that are needed like integration, differentiation are present in the TI-84 calculators as well.</p>
<p>i didn’t really find any additional “cheat” techniques on the calculator.</p>
<p>the thing i found helpful was the nice display (as intellec7 mentioned), which made the navigating easier. this, however, might also be because i was used to the calculator.</p>
<p>one thing i didn’t like was the fact that getting programs to run was a hassle. i had to specifically type in which program i wanted (like PROG ROOTS)every time i wanted to run it. this was a waste of time for me because i’m slow at typing in the letters on the calc.</p>
<p>i’m sure that if you’re already comfortable with using the TI-84 you should stick with that. if you want to learn the TI-89, you still have a month’s time (that’s plenty of time)
*when you’re in the HOME screen, the F3 button is awesome!"</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>How did you guys learn to use your 89? Did you drudge through the manual, or did you find some online tutorial? If so, can you post a link to a good tutorial? Thanks.</p>
<p>Well if your tech savvy, you don’t need a manual, play around with your calculator, do math hw with it.</p>
<p>Look up things you can’t figure out in the manual that comes with the 89</p>
<p>The 89 will benefit you on the BC exam, it will be able to differentiate, integrate symbolical…very helpful. Not to mention that it is faster and looks better than the 84</p>
<p>In my class, we were given (well, borrowed) 89s about 2 months ago. According to my teacher, for some things the 89 is better and for others the 83/84 is better. He’s teaching us when which is better to use, and we’ll use both on the test (I guess that’s allowed?).</p>
<p>Yes. Two calculators are allowed, but I don’t see what the TI 83/84 can do that the 89 cannot.</p>
<p>I took the BC exam with my -83, but I brought along my -89 (that I had gotten a week or two beforehand). I didn’t use it at all and got a 5. The test is designed not to favor one over the other. However, I did try to learn how to do indefinite intergrals and derivatives on my -89, which is the primary advantage it has over the -83. If you need help with the syntax, you can pm me.</p>
<p>If you’re more comfortable with the -84, which I’d assume you are, I’d just stick with it.</p>