Sunday, September 14, 2008

TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator for Dummies



TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator for Dummies




Customer Reviews

This Book is Downright Terrible1
I have literally not gotten one single answer out of this book. It is a dark unholy thing...just lurching into the night. Even the index is terrible in that it is extremely limited. There is not even an entry on how to use logorithmic functions. I have literally had way better luck pressing buttons in all kinds of combinations to slowly figure out how to use my best graphing calculator. Even the manual that came with the unit is way better than this book.

If you buy this rotten book, then plan to take up smoking. You will need to because it is extraordinarily stressful to try and find a single answer to anything out of this rotten text.

TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator for Dummies4
Concise "How-to" serves as a quick and easy reference guide on getting the most out of your TI-84 Plus.With this in mind, it is now a reality that students can use the multi-functionality of this type of calculator in a manner that might be completely different than most numerical based subject teachers are aware. I think that its proper use is exceptionally good at efficiently providing "brute force" solutions to numerically based problems.

I felt that I had to add the above, more philosophical view of education before I began with the text review.

"This Calculator Changes Everything!"4
I have taught Physics for a number of years, and with all of the advances in computer and calculator based labs, I have begrudgingly wadded into the pool of new technology in the science classroom. I have had considerable problems with students using "canned programs" and fancy probes and sensors. I have always felt that we are simply training monkeys, and not educating.

However, what I have failed to understand, is that the "calculator standard", for which it seems that most secondary and post-secondary institutions are at the cutting edge, will likely be the TI 83/84. Even newer models still follow the basic calculator organization, and only improve upon, or add features. In many ways, this entire organization of the calculator could be as everyday later as the Square Root key on my old calculator.

About the Author
C. C. Edwards has a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and is currently teaching mathematics on the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has been using technology in the classroom since before Texas Instruments came out with their first graphing calculator, and she frequently gives workshops at national and international conferences on using technology in the classroom. She has written forty activities for Texas Instrument’s Explorations Web site, and she was an editor of Eightysomething, a newsletter formerly published by Texas Instruments. She is also the author of TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator For Dummies.
Just barely five feet tall, CC, as her friends call her, has three goals in life: to be six inches taller, to have naturally curly hair, and to be independently wealthy. As yet, she is nowhere close to meeting any of these goals. When she retires, she plans to become an old lady carpenter.

Product Description

If you have a T1-84 Plus Graphing Calculator, you have a powerful, sophisticated tool for advanced math. In fact, it’s so sophisticated that you may not know how to take advantage of many of its features and functions. That’s a good problem to have, and TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator For Dummies is the right solution! It takes the TI-84 Plus to the next power, showing you how to:

  • Display numbers in normal, scientific, or engineering notations
  • Perform basic calculations, deal with angles, and solve equations
  • Create and investigate geometric figures
  • Graph functions, inequalities, or transformations of functions
  • Create stat plots and analyze statistical data
  • Create probability experiments like tossing coins, rolling dice, and so on
  • Save calculator files on your computer
  • Add applications to your calculator so that it can do even more

TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator For Dummies was written by C.C. Edwards, author of TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator For Dummies, who has a Ph.D. in mathematics and teaches on the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book doesn’t delve into high math, but it does use appropriate math examples to help you delve into:

  • Using the Equation Solver
  • Using GeoMaster and its menu bar to construct lines, segments, rays, vectors, circles, polygons, perpendicular and parallel lines, and more
  • Creating a slide show of transformations of a graph
  • Using the Inequality Graphing application to enter and graph inequalities and solve linear programming problems

There’s even a handy tear-out cheat sheet to remind you of important keystrokes and special menus, And since you’ll quickly get comfortable with the built-in applications, there’s a list of ten more you can download and install on your calculator so it can do even more! TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator For Dummies is full of ways to increase the value of your TI–84 Plus exponentially.