Best calculator for upper division math student?

College Life
1

<p>I understand that most of upper division math is more theoretical than it is computational, however I’ve never taken an upper division class and don’t know what kind of calculators they use…</p>

<p>Right now for Calculus I just use a Ti graphing calculator… but most teachers don’t even let us use it because you can store info in them! I also hate how it uses batteries! Doesn’t anyone make a calculator that’s rechargeable? </p>

<p>So I’m considering investing in a new calculator… what’s the best calculator for a future upper division math student?</p>

2

<p>nvm i’m just gonna get the HP50… seems to be the best. Ti’s are overrated.</p>

3

<p>My upper division linear algebra class doesn’t use numbers. For probability theory I use a $10 sharp scientific calculator.</p>

4

<p>just get a cheap calculator. use a programming language on a real computer if you need to do a lot of calculations.</p>

5

<p>you need a calculator in upper level math?</p>

6

<p>The Actuarial Series at UCLA actually requires a specific calculator. I’m pretty sure it’s just a type of financial calculator - costs ~$30.</p>

7

<p>I think that there will be less calculator development in the future with the ability of phones and pdas to do the same work. I have an HP-48GX emulator on my PDA which is good enough.</p>

8

<p>In upper division, it’s going to be one of two things:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>It’s going to be so symbolic / non-numerical that calculators are absolutely useless. (most of the teim)</p></li>
<li><p>The computations are so intense that any purpose-built calculator will not be able to compute the calculations in a satisfactory way. You’re better off with a laptop and some math suite in that case. Sage is free, built around Python, and has done all the calculations I’ve never needed.</p></li>
</ul>

9

<p>^ It’s sometimes useful to have something that can compute factorials</p>

10

<p>just get those simple or scientific calculator with the solar panel on it.</p>

11

<p>I recommended the Hp-50g or the Ti-89 if your looking for a graphing calculator.
But if your professors aren’t letting you use graphing calculators, get the HP-35s. It’s scientific, but programmable and can do definite integrals as well as solve equations. It’s very fast to use (RPN) and for most things i even prefer my 35s to the 50g.</p>

12

<p>just get a hp 11c</p>

13

<p>Before you invest in a multi-hundred dollar calculator, why don’t you email your professor, or a future professor that teaches a class in the same major track?</p>