hello everyone, i’m an incoming biochemistry major at ucr. i emailed my professors (except for calculus because the official professor hasn’t been announced yet) and so far i’ll only need a scientific calculator. i’m looking into the TI-30XIIS, the TI-30XS, and the TI-36X Pro. however, a lot of other students also use a TI-84. will i need one eventually? what’s your advice?
TI - 84 is a classic and what our kids had. It’s used by lots of engineering students.
There are probably numerous scientific calculator apps for your Apple or Android phone that you can try out. These include those emulating specific models of calculators, so you can try them before buying if you decide you need one separate from your phone (e.g. if you are allowed to use a calculator but not phone in exams for a specific class).
Do engineering students still commonly use postfix / RPN calculators these days? (postfix / RPN calculator apps for phones are available if that is preferred)
My engineer husband says these are all fine. If you have the TI-84 from high school, use that.
DH says to check to see what is allowed when you are taking tests in class. Some calculators are not allowed.
As you could use all of these it seems the 84 is used a lot. Different schools have different policies and one can check the professor’s /university department website for more clarity.
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My kids in engineering use the TI84, but only a basic scientific calculator is allowed on exams.
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