TI-84 Plus CE guides and tutorials
Learn the exact button sequences for IB Math with worked examples, calculator screens, and questions to try yourself.
Basics
- How to use the buttons on your calculatorWhat the modifier keys do, the everyday entry keys, and how to fix a typo without retyping the line.
- A tour of the main screensWhere everything happens: the home screen, the graphing screens, the statistics lists, and the menus that hold the rest.
- Calculator settings for IBThe settings to lock in once, and the angle mode you must check before every problem.
- Reusing and editing calculationsChain calculations with the last answer, recall earlier entries, and edit in place instead of retyping.
- Common mistakes to avoidThe wrong minus key, the wrong angle mode, the wrong standard deviation, and each device's own classic traps, and what each wrong answer looks like.
- Recovering from a crashGetting a locked-up calculator working again in an exam, with no computer to hand: cancelling a calculation that only looks stuck, the reset button that reboots it safely, the key combinations that wipe it and need a PC to undo, and how to stop it happening.
Everyone
- Calculating logarithmsEvaluate log10x, lnx, and logbx in any base for positive arguments.
- Working with sequencesEnter a sequence, open its table, and scroll until the first row where the sequence value is greater than a chosen threshold.
- Summing a sequenceUse the calculator's Σ command to add the terms of a sequence over a specified range.
- Solving 3×3 equationsSolve a linear system with a unique solution using the calculator's dedicated solver (TI-84 PlySmlt2, Nspire linSolve, Casio EQUA).
- Graphing functionsEnter a function in the Y= / f(x) editor and plot it on a chosen viewing window.
- Evaluating a stored functionStore a function in the graph editor, then recall it on the calculation screen to evaluate f(a) at a chosen point.
- Finding roots of a polynomialUse the calculator's polynomial root finder to enter the coefficients of a polynomial and read all real roots.
- Finding intersectionsPlot two functions and read every intersection by zooming to standard, zooming out until the crossings fit, then drawing a Zoom Box around the cluster and using the calculator's intersect tool.
- Finding maxima and minimaGraph a function, tighten the viewing window around the turning points, then use the calculator's maximum and minimum tools to read each coordinate.
- Finding roots of a functionPlot a function, widen the x-window until every x-intercept is on screen, then use the calculator's root / zero tool to read each solution.
- Descriptive statistics from dataEnter one-variable data into a table or list, run the calculator's one-variable statistics command, and read the mean, standard deviations, and count.
- Descriptive stats with frequency tableEnter values in one table column and frequencies in a second column, run one-variable statistics with a frequency list, and read the weighted statistics.
- Linear regression and rEnter paired data into two table columns, enable the calculator's correlation diagnostics, run linear regression, and read the regression equation and r.
- Exponential regressionFit y=a⋅bx to paired data and read the fitted parameters.
- Normal distribution probabilitiesUse the normal CDF command to calculate probabilities P(a<X<b) from a normal distribution.
- Inverse normalUse the inverse-normal routine to find the value k with a given cumulative probability P(X<k).
- Binomial probabilitiesUse the binomial pdf and cdf routines to find P(X=k) and range probabilities P(a≤X≤b).
- Evaluating f′(a) numericallyUse the calculator's derivative template to evaluate f′(a) at a specified point.
- Evaluating a definite integralUse the calculator's numerical integral command to evaluate ∫abf(x)dx.
AI only
- Using the finance (TVM) solverEnter a loan or savings scenario into the finance / TVM solver with the correct cash-flow signs, then solve for any one unknown: payment, term, rate, or future value.
- One-sample t-testUse the calculator's test menu to run a one-sample t-test from summary statistics and read t and the p-value.
- One-sample t-test from dataEnter raw data into a list and run a one-sample t-test on it, letting the calculator find xˉ and sx before reading t and the p-value.
- χ2 goodness-of-fit testRun a χ2 goodness-of-fit test on observed and expected counts entered in lists.
- χ2 test of independenceRun a χ2 test of independence on a contingency table entered as a matrix.
HL only
- Complex-number arithmeticEvaluate any numeric complex expression (sums, products, quotients, integer powers, and mixed Cartesian / polar terms) straight off the home screen, provided it contains no unknowns.
- Modulus and argument ∣z∣, argzRead the modulus ∣z∣ and principal argument argz of a complex number straight off the calculator (radian mode), then assemble the polar form reiθ.
- Euler's methodUse a sequence table to iterate Euler's method for a first-order differential equation.
AI HL only
- Matrix arithmeticStore two matrices and evaluate a matrix expression such as A3B on the calculation screen.
- Determinant and inverse of a matrixEnter a matrix A, compute detA to confirm it is invertible, then compute A−1.
- Sinusoidal regressionEnter periodic paired data, run sinusoidal regression, and read the fitted model y=asin(bx+c)+d.
- Poisson distribution probabilitiesUse the Poisson cdf routine to find bounded probabilities P(a≤X≤b).
- Two-sample t-testRun a two-sample t-test on two sets of summary statistics to compare two population means.
- Confidence interval for μUse the t-interval routine to find a confidence interval for the population mean μ from summary statistics.
- Euler's method for coupled systemsUse sequence tables to apply Euler's method to two linked first-order differential equations.
- Phase portrait for a coupled systemUse sequence mode to plot one component of a coupled system against the other.