Using the calculator is harder than doing the math...

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>Heya,</p>

<p>Im an international student from Germany taking the Math 2 subject test soon.
Wikipedia says that the SAT 2 was "developed with the expectation that most students are using graphing calculators."
We havent ever used a graphing calculator, but Ive now bought a TI-89 Titanium Calculator -which is extremely hard to use...
So Ive been searching around for tutorials and stuff like that and found this book:</p>

<p>Amazon.com:</a> Sat Math Subject Test With Ti-89: Titanium Edition: Rusen Meylani: Books</p>

<p>Is it helpful? Would you suggest buying it?
Do you have any other tips about how to learn to use the Ti-89?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Someone I know recently bought a Ti-89, and although it's capable of doing an insane amount of calculation (people began referring to it as 'an extra brain'), it does get tricky. My advice would be to get familiar with the material that the Math 2 subj test covers and practice using those functions on the calculator so that you know which buttons to press on test day.</p>

<p>I've been using a TI-84 Silver this year and it's been serving me well. I don't think I'll ever need half the functions it offers, so I can't even imagine just how more confused I'd be with the 89!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Math II can certainly be written with a normal scientific calculator. Some questions will be a little easier to do with a graphing calculator, but if you know the material well, you can do it with just a normal calculator and some old fashioned algebra. </p>

<p>I personally used just a normal scientific calculator simply because I was more comfortable with it (I have a hard time finding the right buttons on my Ti-83...there's just too many functions! :P)</p>

4

<p>just use the ti 89 manual.
that book isn't necessary.</p>

<p>if you have questions, just search for it on google, much easier.</p>

5

<p>the TI-89's probably overkill in general for math2... but an 84 would probably be best... it's probably a bit easier to use, although it may just be because i use it so frequently. you definitely don't need a graphing calculator, but it sure will help. If you're fine without it on practice tests, you should be fine without it on the real test.</p>

6

<p>also, don't forget that you can always just plug in answer choices into the problem with your calculator to see which works</p>

7

<p>that really takes up too much time.
lol don't do PITA unless you don't know what the heck you are doing.</p>

<p>save that until you only have a few minutes left and are rying to gain a few extra raw points.</p>

8

<p>If you feel uncomfortable using the graphing calculator, use the ordinary scientific one. To put things in perspective, I used an ordinary scientific calc, and got an 800.</p>