Storm Bay Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 My dd has rarely used a calculator for school math (I let her for irrational square roots once she'd mastered to process). What she has is an old, beat up, large, basic calculator dh wanted to give her when she was quite small. While she needs something that will serve her first for the PSAT next month, but then through whatever Calculus she takes in high schoolwe don't have the money for anything pricey right now, so if we need to buy something basic for now and something else later, we'd rather do that Her goal is to finish up her high school at the local ps starting in 2011. She's currently doing Algebra 2 with Trig, but without a calculator. The book is pre-calculator vintage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 A good basic scientific calculator should do fine - they sell for just under $20 or so. :) Whatever you get, make sure she practices with it so she's well familiar with it, and when to use it, for the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 21, 2010 Author Share Posted September 21, 2010 A good basic scientific calculator should do fine - they sell for just under $20 or so. :) Whatever you get' date=' make sure she practices with it so she's well familiar with it, and when to use it, for the test.[/quote'] Thanks. Yes, I do want her to practice with it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 (edited) My dd used a Casio FX, but I don't know if that's the best one or not. Hopefully others can give you specific brand recommendations. ETA: This isn't the one that we have, but it looks awesome. It's a graphing calculator for $40 including shipping!!! I wonder if anyone here has used this. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?oe=UTF-8&gfns=1&q=casio+fx&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=3250973746068305523&ei=cdiYTI_HHYWClAfe-u2RAQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEIQ8wIwBQ&os=reviews Edited September 21, 2010 by Teachin'Mine Forgot the link. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 If she's planning on going to a public school, I'd recommend sticking with the TI models. The TI-30XIIS uses almost the same keystrokes as their graphing models and it's under $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 Thanks. TI is a name I know, and I don't want to spend a lot if she ends up in ps, but I'll keep Casio in mind, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I had forgotten about that other TI model being mentioned here - it definitely sounds like a great deal and a much better way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 If she's planning on going to a public school, I'd recommend sticking with the TI models. The TI-30XIIS uses almost the same keystrokes as their graphing models and it's under $20. :iagree: This is how we've gone as well. The TI-30 make the transition to the TI-84 a little easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Our oldest three use the TI-84+ Silver Edition with their Chalkdust Math for Algebra I and up. CD teaches them how to use the TI-83 or TI-84. My oldest is a junior in college double majoring in Computer Science and Math and has found it just fine so far. The only thing about it we couldn't figure out how to do was multiply matrices - the CD teacher told us not to worry about it. We look for them on sale in late July-early August. We do not encourage using the calculator for things that can be done quickly in their heads (we do mental math-type calculations as part of daily life). I check all of their math, so I can tell when they really understand. Also, I would NOT recommend getting a new calculator a few weeks before a big test, such as the PSAT that "counts" - like in the junior year. There's enough to worry about with doing the test without having to deal with a new calculator. GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 Also, I would NOT recommend getting a new calculator a few weeks before a big test, such as the PSAT that "counts" - like in the junior year. There's enough to worry about with doing the test without having to deal with a new calculator. GardenMom Great point. Dd is a sophomore, so this isn't the one that counts. However, I was under the impression that you need a calculator for the PSAT to finish it in time. What I want to do is buy it, let dd learn it and then let her decide which is faster and easier for her on the test. Even when she was doing irrational square roots she preferred to do it herself so that she could work it to more significant digits and get a more accurate answer, but time wasn't such a big deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted September 22, 2010 Author Share Posted September 22, 2010 :iagree: This is how we've gone as well. The TI-30 make the transition to the TI-84 a little easier. If she's planning on going to a public school, I'd recommend sticking with the TI models. The TI-30XIIS uses almost the same keystrokes as their graphing models and it's under $20. Okay, I think the TI-30XIIS is the way we'll go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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