Ask Slashdot: Cheap Second Calculators For Tests?

Rich0 writes "I own an HP 48 calculator that I'm quite content with, but soon I'll need to take a certification exam where this calculator will not be welcome. I'm sure this is a common problem for those who own higher-end calculators. Sure, I could just buy a random $15 calculator with a few trig functions, but I was wondering who makes the best moderately-priced calculators for somebody who already has and appreciates a programmable calculator and just needs something simple. Bonus points if the calculator can handle polar vector arithmetic and unit conversions, but it has to be simple enough that virtually any exam would accept its use."

Re:Why limit calculator choices for tests?

[curunir]

Yes they can, but is that a problem?

When I was in school, my math classes required the use of a graphing calculator (it was a private school, so they required students get either a TI-81 or TI-85). I discovered the TI Basic features and thought that I could ensure myself high test scores by simply writing programs that could solve all the types of problems that would be on the test--this wasn't illegal, provided we wrote our own programs. The first few times I did this, I fully intended to use them during the test, but I found that it was usually just quicker to solve the problem myself, though I'd occasionally check my answer using my program. It was basically impossible for me to instruct the calculator on how to solve the problem without fully learning how to do it myself. And it became clear to me that simply writing a program was the best method for me to study for tests. Prior to that, I would cram before the test and sometimes it would be sufficient and sometimes it wouldn't. But in writing the program, I could very easily tell when I was done studying and it took far less time than the traditional method. And, unlike cramming, programming was fun!

From the interest that I gained in programming TI Basic, I decided to take an intro to CS class the summer before my freshman year of college. That led to my majoring in CS and the fulfilling, enjoyable and well-paid profession that I've had for the past ~15 years.

I'm very grateful that my math teachers in high school didn't see things they way that you do.

Re:This.

[causality]

For High School and early College degrees, knowing the basics helps later work when working with the more advanced tools. After learning (and being able to know) the basics then move into the more advanced tools. Both are needed. Generally when working on complex systems it's easiest to understand when it can be broken down into clear, demarcated segments. Overall it's complex but each individual segment is made up of basic understandable ideas. That way you don't need to look at everything all at once. This is the way much of networking works using the ISO reference model. Knowing the basics helps when you need to fall back

It's the difference between knowledge and understanding. Our society often fails to value the latter, since it is not immediately useful in the short-term and requires a wise long-view to appreciate. This is very much to our collective detriment.

This.

And with that in mind, I'd suggest a #2 pencil.

If that's too much work, I;d suggest a slide rule.

Someone has to build the calculators.

The part that bothered me back in high school is that they were never satisfied I had learned the fundamentals. Long after I had those down, years afterwards, I was forbidden from using advanced calculators for various tests and exams. I was treated as an imbecile who had no personal stake in his own education and betterment, to be trained and drilled rather than taught and instructed. Make no mistake, this is conditioning for subservience. I wish more people saw this for what it was and rejected it as I have done. I do not wish to be anomalous or unique or special in this regard. It is not a status symbol for myself. It is a lament for the masses.

Re:If there is no foundation ...

[Gim Tom]

I got my BS in engineering in 1970 and except for shared Wang calculators for statistics and probability courses everything was slide rule. In 1973 I audited a graduate course at a different institution and the only two people in the class with slide rules were me and the professor. When the parameters in are only good to one or two significant figures, which is most often the case, a slide rule is more than accurate enough and since you have to keep track of the exponents you do get a much better feel for what is "right" and what is not. I still have my old K&E in its orange leather case and have actually bough a few others at yard sales and such over the years.

Re:If there is no foundation ...

[foniksonik]

There are several slide rule apps available on Apple App Store - probably some Android apps out there too. Just saying they exist.

Re:Calculator

[Anonymous Coward]

And a great engineer carries a slide rule, because batteries run out.

True story: I did well at MIT 30 years ago, partly because working with my dad's old circular slide rule gave me a fine appreciation for rounding erors, margins of error and orders of magnitude unavailable to my calculator using peers. But I almost failed the thermodynamics final because *so many* of the teaching assistants came over to wonder "what in the heck is that!!?" The professor had to chase them off so I could finish my work.

My calculator equipped peers also had a terrible, terrible habit of precalculating what their measurements should be in order to get the desired result. I almost came to blows with several of them over this, and the professor was *shocked* to find out that the excellent lab results people had been showing were mostly a matter of c students fudging their lab results to get the right measurements. It gave me a fine appreciation for insisting on seeing the original data.