My school doesnt let us use gfx calcs? (1 Viewer)

[LobbSACS]

Hey all, my school, for some reason, will not allow its students to use gfx calculators in general maths. (when i say not allow, i mean they dont teach us them or acknowledge that we are at a disadvantage by not using them)

so i have decided that im going to buy one, and tell the school to get stuffed if they have any problems with it. but i have a few questions:

1. what calculator is good, BOS says that the casio 9850GB is good, but i like the look of the TI nspire.
2. are they really that hard to use, im very very good with computers (eg programming and such) do you think its possible that i could teach myslef to use them with the instructions and a few pointers from my teacher.
3. can i just clarifi what they allow you to do:

a. can they change the subject of formulas
b. can they do calculations like this : 2x+2=6 (x=2)
c. can they find things such as standard dev, quartile ranges, mean, mode etc
d. do they have any benefits for financial maths

Thanks, also 1 more question, is it even BOS complient if my school refuses to teach gfx calcs, they seem to be disadvantaging us just because the head of maths is very old fashioned.

Thanks.

 

[PC]

(when i say not allow, i mean they dont teach us them or acknowledge that we are at a disadvantage by not using them)

Well, you'll probably find advantages when you do your homework or internal tests and exams. Most HSC papers these days are written deliberately to negate such advantages, but you never know your luck!

1. what calculator is good, BOS says that the casio 9850GB is good, but i like the look of the TI nspire.
2. are they really that hard to use, im very very good with computers (eg programming and such) do you think its possible that i could teach myslef to use them with the instructions and a few pointers from my teacher.
3. can i just clarifi what they allow you to do:

a. can they change the subject of formulas
b. can they do calculations like this : 2x+2=6 (x=2)
c. can they find things such as standard dev, quartile ranges, mean, mode etc
d. do they have any benefits for financial maths

1. Do you always buy things solely on the basis of looks? I'd suggest the Casio 9850. You'll find a lot more people use it, and so you'll find it easier to get help on how to use it. The 9860 is the next model up, basically the same, but considerably more powerful.

2. I'm using a 9850. The normal RUN mode is MUCH easier to use than the old scientific calculator. The extra modes are also pretty easy. But like everything, it takes practice. The earlier you start to use it all the time, the better.

3. (a) No. If your question says something like change the subject of u = v + at to a, then you have to do it yourself. But if you're given u = v + at and then u=10, v=6 and t=2, then it will find a for you.
(b) Easily. Same as (a) - there's only one value to find.
(c) This is (in my opinion) the strength of the graphic calculator. You enter all the scores, press a couple of buttons, and the calculator will display all the things you mentioned, and more.
(d) Yes. The graphic calculator can be used to do all the tough annuity questions, and it's also good with compound interest questions as well. It can do simple interest too, but I'd suggest just doing them by hand.

Thanks, also 1 more question, is it even BOS complient if my school refuses to teach gfx calcs, they seem to be disadvantaging us just because the head of maths is very old fashioned.

Regardless of the stance your school takes, as long as your calculator is on the list of board-approved calculators, you're perfectly entitled to use it. You'll still get a hard time from teachers or the Head of Maths. Depends if you want to front it out I suppose.

I'm sure all the good folks here can give you tips from time to time.

 

[LobbSACS]

Hey, thanks for the reply. cleared a bit up for me.
i talked to my maths teacher, and he said thats its fine if i use one, he said that the head of maths will have issues with it, but there is nothing she can really do to stop me.

so take that head of maths


sucks about changing the subject haha, now i might actually have to learn something.

i decided to get an Nspire CAS, becuase i read the instructions for it and the 9860 (couldent find 9850s for sale in shops) and i felt like the Nspire was simpler, and its seperate alphabet buttons means that i can write functions for it more eaisly.

 

[davidsacs]

watch out vaneris lobb is out for you

 

[rowdyroddy]

this may help:
Calculators for use in the General Mathematics HSC Examination and SC Tests - Board of Studies NSW

 

[CJBrownie]

I'm a mathematics teacher, and I use the TI-nspire CAS calculator for my own purposes and I like it.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to use it in the HSC examination itself, as it features a QWERTY keyboard.

More information at: Calculators for use in the General Mathematics HSC Examination and SC Tests - Board of Studies NSW

 

[khorne]

A TI-8# is worth a shot

 

[fjnpenguin]

why don't you just get the casio fx-82 series. fx-82 plus is the latest one. over 60% of the state use the fx-82 series. its simple to use. and yes it does do the standard dev, quartile ranges, mean, mode etc. this calculator also makes financial maths fairly easy as u can type the whole numbers in the formula in one go and the display is great easy to read what you typed it thus less mistakes. you can't program calculators to make x = 2 etc those calculators are not approved in BOS tests. but u can subsitute 2 in to the formula and type the 2 in to the calculator. what do u mean by subject of the formula? hope that helps. and yea don't worry too much about the calculator's looks. its the answer that it gives u that really matters

 

[fjnpenguin]

i just found out that graphics calculators are allowed in the test. but to tell you the truth you dont need it at all. im getting 94%+ in all my tests so far and yea don;t think theres any use for gfx calculators.

 

[LobbSACS]

I'm a mathematics teacher, and I use the TI-nspire CAS calculator for my own purposes and I like it.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to use it in the HSC examination itself, as it features a QWERTY keyboard.

More information at: Calculators for use in the General Mathematics HSC Examination and SC Tests - Board of Studies NSW

i called the BOS and talked to a guy who seemed to be in charge of calculators or something lol. and he said it was all fine becase the kb is not in qwerty layout, just abcd

i have since bought the nspire and it rocks.