CALCULATOR POLICY
Summer 2005-Spring 2006
Department of Mathematics,
Calculator requirements fall into
three main categories within the Mathematics Department (see 1, 2 and 3 in the table
just below), but two things must be noted first.
A. If you
already own an expensive calculator, always speak with the professor of the
course you are taking before you buy another calculator. It may
be that you can use the calculator that you already have.
B. If you are
taking courses in two categories, it may
be that the calculator for
the course in a higher-numbered category can be used in the course in the
lower-numbered category.
|
Category |
Course Title |
Course # |
Strongly Recommended |
|
1 |
Structures of Mathematics |
1701.201 |
TI 34 II Explorer Plus
|
|
|
Contemporary Mathematics |
1701.115 |
TI-30X IIS |
|
|
Introduction to Geometry |
1701.202 |
TI-30X IIS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
Intermediate Algebra |
1701.121 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
College Algebra |
1701.123 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Pre-Calculus |
1701.122 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Calculus Techniques and
Applications |
|
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Elementary Statistics |
1702.100 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Statistics I and
Statistics II |
1702.260&1 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Statistical Design of Exp’ts … I & II |
1702.371&2 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Patterns in Nature I: Vis. Geom. |
1703.305 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
Patterns in Nature II: Calc.
& Phys. |
4901.315 |
TI-83 or TI-84 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Discrete Mathematics |
1703.150 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Calculus I, II and III |
1701.130, 131 & 230 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Linear Algebra |
1701.210 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Ordinary Differential Equations |
1701.231 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Intro. to Real Analysis I |
1701.330 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Modern Algebra I |
1701.340 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Probability and Statistics I |
1702.360 |
TI-89 |
|
|
Mathematics Seminar |
1701.499 |
TI-89 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
College Geometry |
1701.310 |
TI-89 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mathematics for Engineering Analysis
I and II |
1701.235 & 1701.236 |
TI-89 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other 300 & 400 level
courses |
1701, 2 & 3 |
TI-89 |
For more details on the
policy, read on.
In courses where a specific
calculator is recommended or strongly recommended, let the students
be forewarned. It may be that the
ONLY calculator that the instructor will use for class activities and
demonstrations, or be willing to give assistance on how to use, is the strongly recommended calculator.
Course Assessments and Calculator
Usage:
Your
instructor will advise you when it is appropriate to use or not to use the
recommended calculator on assignments, assessments, and evaluations. Use may depend on the concept/procedure being
assessed. There may be assessments where
calculator usage is allowed on one portion of the assessment and not on another
portion.
Detailed
Explanation of Categories.
1) Students (non-mathematics majors)
taking Structures of Mathematics,
Contemporary Mathematics or Introduction to Geometry.
Students
may be taking two of these courses, or one of these courses and a Mathematics
course in category 2 or 3. For students
taking two of these courses the recommendation is not straight forward, as each
course has it’s own unique mathematical calculations
for which a calculator is useful.
In Structures of Mathematics a calculator
that possesses fraction/decimal capabilities, can do integer based
calculations, and can calculate factorials, is ideal. The TI 34 II Explorer Plus handles all of
these things, and the department strongly
recommends that students have the TI 34 II Explorer Plus (or ‘higher level’
calculator). See A and B above.
In Contemporary Mathematics a calculator
that can calculate factorials, permutations, combinations, and ‘two-variable
statistics’ including the Pearson correlation r and the equation of the least squares line is ideal. The department strongly recommends that students have the TI-30X IIS. See A
and B above.
In Introduction to Geometry a calculator
that can evaluate the trigonometric functions (in degrees and radians), as well
as their inverses, is ideal. The
department strongly recommends that
students have the TI-30X IIS. See A and B above.
2) Any students taking the following courses: Intermediate
Algebra, College Algebra, Elementary Statistics, Statistics I & II, Calculus Techniques and Applications, Pre-calculus,
Patterns in Nature I & II.
The
department requires the students to have a graphing calculator with the same
capabilities as the TI-83, and strongly
recommends that students have the TI-83 graphing calculator. See A
and B above.
3) Students who
are enrolled in Calculus I and ‘above.’
(‘Above’ includes Calculus II, Calculus III, Linear Algebra, Ordinary Differential Equations, Real Analysis I, Modern
Algebra I, Complex Analysis, Probability and Statistics I & II, Senior Seminar. This also includes Discrete Mathematics, all mathematics major electives, and Mathematics for Engineering Analysis I & II.)
The
department strongly recommends that students have a graphing calculator
with the same capabilities as the TI-89, including a Computer Algebra System
(or CAS) and recommends that
students have a TI-89 graphing calculator.