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cuervo · 01-23-2005, 08:43 AM

Okay, I was going off memory. For rectangular numbers, the TI-83 does have an i character and will display numbers in the a+bi format.

But, for polar notation, it really is not very good, and it is difficult to mix the two. On the TI-86, you can do something like (a+bi)+(c"angle"d) with no problems, which is common when calculating impedances and power triangles in electricity. ("angle" being the "less than sign" which UBB wants to display as an html tag.)

When I stated it is more oriented for radians, if you are doing a polar calculation, the input must be in radians, regardless of the mode setting.

Thus, doing a calcuation with (5e^45i) would not be the same as (5e^.785i). The TI-83 would interpret the 45i as 45 radians, regardless of whether you're in degrees or radians.

The answers the TI-83 gives back can be in radians or degrees, depending on mode.

So, after all that, I just tell my students to buy and 85, 86, or 89, not an 83 (or 84 now that they've come out).

01-23-2005, 08:43 AM	#26 (permalink)
cuervo Tilted Location: NC	Okay, I was going off memory. For rectangular numbers, the TI-83 does have an i character and will display numbers in the a+bi format. But, for polar notation, it really is not very good, and it is difficult to mix the two. On the TI-86, you can do something like (a+bi)+(c"angle"d) with no problems, which is common when calculating impedances and power triangles in electricity. ("angle" being the "less than sign" which UBB wants to display as an html tag.) When I stated it is more oriented for radians, if you are doing a polar calculation, the input must be in radians, regardless of the mode setting. Thus, doing a calcuation with (5e^45i) would not be the same as (5e^.785i). The TI-83 would interpret the 45i as 45 radians, regardless of whether you're in degrees or radians. The answers the TI-83 gives back can be in radians or degrees, depending on mode. So, after all that, I just tell my students to buy and 85, 86, or 89, not an 83 (or 84 now that they've come out). Last edited by cuervo; 01-23-2005 at 07:06 PM..