TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator For Dummies, 3rd Edition
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Many of the changes to the TI-84 Plus are a direct result of feedback received from teachers and students. After all, Texas Instruments is committed to providing the best tools for the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.

What does the C stand for in TI-84 Plus C? Color! Say goodbye to having trouble distinguishing functions when you’re graphing more than one function on the same screen. Although some of the improvements are subtle, you’ll notice others the first time you pick up your new calculator. Here’s a small sampling of the changes:

  • New menu options: All additional menu options have been strategically placed at the end of menus. For example, check out the new option in the Stat CALC menu, QuickPlot & Fit–EQ as illustrated in the figure. Have you memorized keystrokes, like #6 for ZStandard? No problem! The functionality you know hasn’t changed.

  • Status Bar: A quick glance at the top of your screen informs you of the mode settings (like Radian or Degree) as well as a battery status icon. See the top of any of the screens shown. The Status Bar is always there whether you’re working on the current line of the Home screen, graph, or table!

  • Higher resolution LCD backlit screen: Not quite HD quality, but the new screen has more than seven times as many graph area pixels as the original (266x166 versus 96x64)! Plus, you can work on problems at night on a screen that’s backlit.

  • Border on graph screen: Helpful info like function names and coordinates of intersection points are kept separate from the graph, as shown in the second screen. Whoever thought of this is brilliant!

  • Table enhancements: Separator lines and color-coded lists (matching the functions) are more pleasing to the eye. Built-in tips called Context Help are located at the top of the screen, including hints. Check out the new table look in the third screen.

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About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Jeff McCalla is a mathematics teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, TN. He cofounded the TI-Nspire SuperUser group, and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science & Mathematics Teaching.

C.C. Edwards is an educator who has presented numerous workshops on using TI calculators.

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