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A lot of students (and teachers) are surprised to learn that the rules for calculators on the Advanced Placement test are actually a lot different from other standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. The surprising difference is that regardless of whether you are taking AB calculus or BC calculus, the only calculators allowed on the AP test are graphing calculators. That’s right, a simple scientific or four-function calculator is prohibited on the AP test while a TI-89 is perfectly legal.

Facebook-Ally in math education?

in Featured

September 10, 2010

The Hill is reporting that on Thursday math students and educators gained a new ally in the quest for better math education in America–Facebook. On Thursday, the popular social networking site sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for more funding for math, science, and technology education, expressing concerns that if action isn’t taken, America will fall behind its competitors in these key areas. Excerpts from the letter follow: The shortage of students entering STEM careers has long been recognized in Washington, Silicon Valley, and beyond.

TI-84+ jailbreaks the PS3

By Tech Powered Dad in Fun stuff

September 8, 2010

The process of “jailbreaking” or “rooting” devices such as iPods, iPhones, Android phones, and PlayStations has become increasingly popular among the tech savvy because it allows users greater freedom to install apps and perform customizations normally available only to developers. The amount of time and the procedure the process requires can vary from hours sitting at a computer to seconds on a website. Now comes word that hackers have found a way to jailbreak the Sony’s PS3 using something very familiar to Tech Powered Math readers–a TI-84+ (silver edition not required).

Video lesson: Finding the intersection of two graphs on the TI-Nspire

By Tech Powered Dad in algebra

September 7, 2010

In this video lesson, you’ll learn how to find the intersection of two graphs on the TI-Nspire graphing calculator. The two functions graphed here are a line and parabola, but you could use this same approach for the intersection of two lines, or virtually any functions the TI-Nspire can graph. It’s also certainly possible to have more than two functions graphed at a time. You just have to let the Nspire know which two functions you are trying to find the intersection of.

Video lesson: Finding the intersection of two graphs on the TI-84

By Tech Powered Dad in algebra

September 7, 2010

In this video lesson, you’ll learn how to find the intersection of two graphs on the TI-84+ graphing calculator. The two functions graphed here are a line and parabola, but you could use this same approach for the intersection of two lines, or virtually any functions the TI-84 can graph. It’s also certainly possible to have more than two functions graphed at a time. You just have to let the 84 know which two functions you are trying to find the intersection of.

Lyric probability processor

By Tech Powered Dad in news

September 6, 2010

Since the first electronic computers were developed over 60 years ago, they have operated in a fundamentally similar way. Lyric Semiconductor recently announced a new kind of computer processor that is a shocking change in the math behind computers. You may know that computers “speak” binary, meaning that at a fundamental level, they operate on the base two number system, a series of 0’s and 1’s. The reason for this is that those 0’s and 1’s can be easily translated into what sort of amounts to a long list of yes/no or true/false questions for the computer to crunch.

New pi world record

By Tech Powered Dad in news

September 2, 2010

All hail Shigeru Kondo, the new king of pi! According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr. Kondo, a systems enginer, has broken the world record for the most digits calculated of pi, finding the ratio of a circle’s circumference to diameter to a mind-blowing 5 trillion places. For those unfamiliar with pi, it is an irrational number, meaning that when expressed in decimal form, its decimal continues forever without ever reaching a repeating pattern.

Video review: TI-92

By Tech Powered Dad in calculator reviews

September 1, 2010

Click here for my written review of the TI-92.

ACT/SAT tip: backup calculator

By Tech Powered Dad in ACT

August 30, 2010

One of the rules students tend to overlook for the ACT and SAT is the backup calculator rule. Both tests allow you to bring a backup subject only to the rule that you can’t have both calculators out at once. This means as long as you’ve got one of the calculators under your desk, you are completely within the rules. This is a rule you really can’t afford to overlook for two reasons:

Video lesson: Solving polynomial equations on the TI-84

By Tech Powered Dad in algebra

August 28, 2010

When you are solving a quadratic equation, you have a lot of options. You can factor, complete the square, or use the quadratic formula. But what about polynomials with a degree (highest exponent) that is higher than two? These can be difficult to factor with the types of factoring you learn in a high school algebra class. This video lesson explains how you can use an app included with the TI-84+ Silver Edition to solve a polynomial equation.

Calculators for the AP Calculus test

Facebook-Ally in math education?

TI-84+ jailbreaks the PS3

Video lesson: Finding the intersection of two graphs on the TI-Nspire

Video lesson: Finding the intersection of two graphs on the TI-84

Lyric probability processor

New pi world record

Video review: TI-92

ACT/SAT tip: backup calculator

Video lesson: Solving polynomial equations on the TI-84

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