The tutor first encountered the TI-83 Plus back in the 90s.  Tutoring math, some of my students are allowed to use it.

The TI-83 Plus is, to my mind, more like a computer than a calculator.  Most of my students aren’t allowed to use it on tests, yet some are.

One difference between a typcial scientific calculator and the TI-83 Plus is that, with the TI-83 Plus, so many of its useful functions need to be called from menus.  If you don’t know about a given menu, you may not have access to a function you need.  Such things are easy to find when you’re leisurely browsing from button to button with a cup of coffee, but often much harder to find when you’re unfamiliar with the calculator and writing a test.

An example is the fraction function, >Frac, which is located in the MATH menu. From the home screen (just press 2nd MODE to get there, then CLEAR if you need to), press the MATH button. You’ll see >Frac at the top: it’s choice 1. Now, press 2nd MODE to return to the main screen.

>Frac will normally be entered after a number or calculation.

Example: Find the answer to 2/3 + 1/11 – 3/4 in fraction form.

Solution:

Key in the following:

2÷3 + 1÷11 – 3÷4 MATH 1 ENTER

Hopefully you receive the answer 1/132.

You can also use >Frac to reduce a fraction:

Example: Give 289/561 in reduced form.

Solution: Key in 289÷561 MATH 1 ENTER

Hopefully, you receive the answer 17/33

You can even use >Frac to convert a decimal into a fraction.

Example: Give 0.428571428571….. as a fraction.

Solution: I find you need to give it around twelve or thirteen digits to convey the idea it’s a repeating decimal. Key in

0.428571428571 MATH 1 ENTER

Hopefully, you receive the answer 3/7

With such a plethora of useful functions, plus its graphing capabilities, the TI-83 Plus is almost too powerful for high school use. However, it will provide a veritable playground for future posts:)

Source: TI-83 Plus GUIDEBOOK, Texas Instruments, Inc., 1999.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.