Lets talk calculators...

PermaBanned

PermaBanned

PermaBanned

Soldato
Joined
7 Jul 2009
Posts
16,234
Location
Newcastle/Aberdeen
Well i've been using a Casio fx-83ES for a while now, and it's been a bit iffy for a while (screen flickering) it just completely gave up in the middle of calculating empirical formulae on Friday (not a build quality issue i don't think, just to do with the way i was treating it - and the whole 'leaving it under the sofa for two years' thing). While i've found another one to tide me through until i make a decision, i'm wondering if this would be a good time to get a completely new one. So i started googling. Then i got confused.

So i need something that i can use for (at least) A(S?) Level Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and by 'use' i kind of mean 'would allow me to cheat at as much as possible, while at the same time not risking not being allowed in an exam'. Budget i'm not really sure, i have enough money left over from my birthday to get a high end graphing calculator (which would be the epitome of nerdiness), but to be honest i'm not sure what i'd actually use it for. I've heard good things about the fx-991ES Plus, but then i started to wonder if Casio actually is the be all and end all of calculators. That said, when i look at Sharp or Texas Instruments they always look too different from what i'm used to, be it either with key placements or screen size/layout. The only functions i would need (really want?) that might not be on all of them would be a fractions button, a minus button, S>D for converting answers given in fractions to decimals and vice versa, as well as all the usual stuff (log, lin, sin(^-1), cos(^-1), tan (^-1), π etc.). So... any suggestions? Thanks :)

Of course, having a better calculator is pointless if you don't know how to use it, so are there any decent guides or whatever that could help with that (other than the instructions of course :rolleyes:)? I know there's a lot on my current calculator that i've never touched, but i'm not sure if it could have helped me at any point.

tl;dr - i'm a nerd, spec me a calculator. Cheers :)
 
There's a texas calculator, costs about £80. Don't know the model, but it can be used in exams and makes things so much easier. I know a guy who has one, but he's really unpopular :p
 
The University of Sussex where I go to only allows certain types of calculators, and they do go around checking it in exams. Most of them are Casio ones, like your one which is broken.
 
Nearly every exam I have done that allowed calculators usually stipulated it be only of a certain type - i.e. no Graphical Calculators. And when Graphical Calcs were allowed, they were checked for people stashing formulas and stuff in them.
 
You can only take certain types (make & model) of calculators into exams though can't you.
Just get a Casio FX-83GT. Sorted. Graphing calculators and the likes are not permitted into most exams.
 
SiriusB said:
Nearly every exam I have done that allowed calculators usually stipulated it be only of a certain type - i.e. no Graphical Calculators. And when Graphical Calcs were allowed, they were checked for people stashing formulas and stuff in them.
Click to expand...

Now i've heard a lot of varying information about that - ranging from 'as long as it looks like a calculator they won't bother checking' to 'anything without a CAS function is allowed, but you might have to reset it before you enter the hall' to 'you won't get away with anything other than what's on the list for your paper'. I really think it depends where you do the exam, and how strict they are/how much attention to detail they pay.

Pretty sure graphing calculators are allowed in most calculator papers though... thanks for the tips everyone, especially about the ENG button (that just made my life a bit easier ;)).
 
I have a CASIO fx-991ES PLUS and its amazing.

Can integrate/differentiate (not factorise, give you answers), you can do graphs (it gives you values when x=1, 2, 3 etc.) and a lot of stuff.

You can also do the simpson's rule and pythaorian rule too (instead of working it one by one, with different 'h', it gives it to you with the difference you want)
 
The__Malteser said:
I have a CASIO fx-991ES PLUS and its amazing.

Can integrate/differentiate (not factorise, give you answers), you can do graphs (it gives you values when x=1, 2, 3 etc.) and a lot of stuff.

You can also do the simpson's rule and pythaorian rule too (instead of working it one by one, with different 'h', it gives it to you with the difference you want)
Click to expand...

Well that was one i was looking at - a noticeable step up from the two low end Casios but not much more expensive. It looks like the best in the price range by a long shot, mainly due to the fact that i'm used to the layout, but i wonder what more i could get (that i might actually use) if i increased the budget...
 
PermaBanned said:
Well that was one i was looking at - a noticeable step up from the two low end Casios but not much more expensive. It looks like the best in the price range by a long shot, mainly due to the fact that i'm used to the layout, but i wonder what more i could get (that i might actually use) if i increased the budget...
Click to expand...

You can't take the ones in that integrate/ differentiate, you should really check with the exam boards and your college.
The best place to ask would actually be your maths office :P.
 
PermaBanned said:
Well that was one i was looking at - a noticeable step up from the two low end Casios but not much more expensive. It looks like the best in the price range by a long shot, mainly due to the fact that i'm used to the layout, but i wonder what more i could get (that i might actually use) if i increased the budget...
Click to expand...

Its really good. It was suggested to me by my teacher, and nobody in Malta gets it. Like NOBODY, not even the official Casio store. I had to order it from eBay, cost me well over the odds, some 30 euros, but its great.

Already had another one, which was nicked from me.
 
I've only ever got on with Casios, and currently use an FX-83ES. Anything by Texas feels completely arse-about-face to me, and I've never managed to steer one properly.

I might look into the 991ES as an 'upgrade'.
 
The__Malteser said:
I have a CASIO fx-991ES PLUS and its amazing.

Can integrate/differentiate (not factorise, give you answers), you can do graphs (it gives you values when x=1, 2, 3 etc.) and a lot of stuff.

You can also do the simpson's rule and pythaorian rule too (instead of working it one by one, with different 'h', it gives it to you with the difference you want)
Click to expand...

I also have this calculator.

My old one broke just before my GCSE exam in YR10 for Maths. My mum went to a shop and just got the first one she saw and it turned out to be this great piece of kit :D

Really handy for AS Maths and Physics :)
 
When I was at uni, you had to buy and use a uni approved calculator with the logo stamped on the back, nothing else was permitted in exams.

They were Casio fx-85s I think (maybe 83, it's at work, I can't check it) and it did everything an engineering degree threw at it
 
Well i'm not going to worry about what's allowed and what's not just yet, i can't see my school being that anal. Plus i've heard about graphing calculators being offered by the maths department for some exams so you know...

It seems that it's either the fx-991ES Plus, which is the best of the basic scientific calculators, or something a big step in the upmarket direction. So my question would be what would that offer that i would actually use? And what's the best way to learn how to use any calculator? Because i've read through almost every instruction book (well, leaflet nowadays :() i've got and i feel that i've still not scratched the surface.
 
Since you are doing maths I would recommend getting a graphical calculator, they are allowed in the exams providing they aren't CAS algebra manipulators. I can't remember what particular model I have, I'll probably edit that in in a bit.
 
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