Apologia: Graphing Exercises

Both the Chemistry and Physical Science classes had an introduction to the STAT mode or function on the TI 83/84 graphing calculators. The first exercise is for students to enter data in the STAT mode and graph.  I used these data sets, Graph Problems, first.  TI 83 Stat Help for TI 83 or TI 84 is an introduction with screen shots for comparison which includes a guide to the keys on the calculator.  Both classes spent time entering and plotting data sets, such as Creating Line Graphs.   This you-tube video Scatter Plots, Regression on the TI 83 TI 84 is almost word for word the instruction.  ( I did not have the kids turn on the diagnostic tool to inspect the correlation coefficient-but should have!  This coefficient appears on the TI 82 with the regression equation.)  One thing we did was to show kids several ways to clear the calculator's memory, as demonstrated Clear Memory.  Note there are several choices under 'Clear Memory' on the calculator.  We took time to clear the lists, the data, reset to the default settings, etc.  This is useful if a kid gets creative and changes or deletes lists; the easiest fix is to either clear all RAM or reset the calculator to its default settings.  The kids spent time testing regression models that fit their data.  Basicly, the point was to introduce the kids to the graphing calculator and how it functions.  So, why use a graphing calculator at all?  After all, most of these functions can be performed in a spreadsheet.  A calculator is much more portable.  A TI 84 has a big advantage with its direct connection to Vernier sensors, Data Collection.

 Incidently, there is a TI 83 graphing app available for iPads for $5.99--much cheaper!  It was a little different than either the TI 83 or TI 84 models.  I have an older TI 85 model one student worked with; it is much more difficult to enter data or even do a simple regression equation on the calculator.  One of the kids in the Chemistry class likes to tinker and he happily researched the TI 85 instructions for graphing on the iPad while the rest of us did the exercises on the TI 83 or 84.  (I have several graphing calculators for my classes that I've purchased on Shop Goodwill or Ebay.  I love the online Goodwill store!  It is important to register and check the shipping prices!  Goodwill does not keep a record of any bank or credit card information.  Each time I make a purchase I enter my credit card.  Just recently, some of the stores associated with the Goodwill website have started accepting PayPal.)