Hello all, as the title says I'm looking for a scientific calculator. A little background; I'm taking trig at the moment looking to get a degree in mechanical engineering. I'm currently using a 10 year-old $10 scientific calculator unable to graph and has confusing controls. The teacher will not allow phones or computers to be used on exams. What I'm looking to do is buy once, cry once with the limit of $250. I know nothing of calculators, what type would be needed for the future, good brands, and would like it to be simple(if possible) to use.Thank you for your time and inputs.

You can't go wrong with the Ti-84. It is a classic , simple to use, and should be fully capable of everything you need it to do. It has been the go to graphing calculator for many years so it will be easy to find plenty of help for the more complicated things. There are fancier versions out there like the Ti-89 but I am not extremely familiar with them.

On one hand the TI-89 is the best because it can give you the answers to most of your trig and algebra problems and do some simple calculus when you get that far.  On the other hand that calculator is so powerful that if you start to use it as a crutch it could inhibit your learning.  I like mine, YMMV.

Long time lurker, first time I've posted.

OP, get a TI-84. If you are considering a Mehanical Engineering major then you'll need one. The guy above me mentioned the TI-89, while this is a better calculator, it has a CAS which is a built in algebra system and many colleges will no longer let you use them in a math class, so your $120 calculator becomes an expensive paper weight. Also, you tend to end up using it as a crutch to take derivatives and do algebraic stuff, then when you get into classes where you need to take derivatives more complicated than Calc 1, it will give them to you, but in a screwed up way it's completely apparent it came from a calculator instead of doing them yourself. Learning to do them by hand is necessary, or you'll have a very tough time in Calculus 2 and 3.

I am a Junior in Electrical Engineering, I have one math class left, Differential Equations, and none of the class before that would allow a TI-89.

Get a TI-84, I can't stress it enough. The professor will be using one along with 99.9% of the rest of your Engineerig peers. You'll get to a point where the professor is teaching you to punch something into your calculator to look at the graphs and they will be using a TI-84. So if you're using anything else their directions won't work for the calculator you're using. An example of this is Fourier Series in Calculus 2. You'll be graphing multiple function of odd derivatives and see the convergence, at that point you'll want some direction. And hitting back on the TI-84 for Fourier Series, get the new TI-84 Plus CE. It's rechargeable with full color graphing so you can graph multiple functions and see what one is which, which will be very helpful in Calculus II, although not a necessity because I made it through the whole thing with a plain old non-color screen.

You can get a TI-84 Plus CE at Walmart for $110 ish, and the regular non-color for $10 less.

For a hint in Trig as well. Memorize all the special angles and values of Cosine and Sine around the unit circle of the special angles. You use them ALL the time in Calculus II and III, Not so much Calc I.

Ok, it's settled, I'm going to get the ti-84. Which is kinda funny because that was the one I was thinking of getting but wasn't sure if it was the one I needed. Next time if I have any questions, I'll be sure not to hesitate to ask in this section again as it was extremely helpful. Thank you all again.

The HP 35s is the most capable FE approved calculator. It's $50.

Currently studying ME.  

I use the Ti89 Titanium.  When I bought it it was $110 shipped from Amazon.  Looks like it has gone up now.  I like it, its got some neat features and its a powerful tool.  You can even download some ME specific apps for it.  Not sure if you can get those on the 84?

Another solid option is the Ti Nspire Cx CAS.  The CAS is the computer algebra system like the 89 has.  They have nice screens, nicer than the 89.  They have some features the 89 does not have.  The 89 has some features the nspire doesn't.  They cost almost the same, I don't like the rechargeable battery.  I like my 89 because I can carry spare AAA's.  I can swap them out in a test.  Cant recharge during one.

Most math classes you can't use any calculator period.  Not even your basic +-x/ ones.  For Linear algebra and Differential Equations we were allowed non-graphing scientific calculators.  Not to say that I did not use my Ti89 to help me check HW problems, but when it came test time I had to be able to do them without it.

My recommendation.  Get a TI 36X Pro.  Its like $20 on Amazon and will do basic calculus and linear algebra.  I used to have one, I loved it, i let my now Ex-Girlfriend use it and I never got it back.
If you still feel you need a fancy one I am going to say get the Ti 89 titanium. It is $10 more than the Ti 84+C Silver Edition and will do a whole lot more.  I like the pretty print it does, shows you what your equation would look like if you wrote it out.  I liked the CAS system it has when I took statics.  It made solving for 3 eqns and 3 unknowns a lot faster.  Maybe see if you know some people with a few of these calculators and see which one you like most?

Never get to where you depend on your calculator.  I have lost far to any points because I just use what the calculator spits out and wasn't checking my work.  Thats why I loved my Ti 36, it made me check my work as I went.

My everyday go-to calculator is a TI-36X.  I bought it a year or two ahead of the FE, passed the PE with it, and still use it every day.  It's not fancy, but it does everything I need.

TINspire has changed my entire outlook on calculators.  It is freaking amazing.

Used to use them quite a bit, but I don't think I've touched a graphing calculator in years.  Maybe once or twice for adding up cuts in lumber or something if I couldn't find anything else.  Relatively poor matrix math support, and no easy way to self-document and store the steps in a long calculation.  

Matlab/Octave I use pretty much exclusively now for anything that I can't do with a 5 function calculator.

I was going to say Ti-83+ then realized the 84 is the newest version. The 89 is not allowed in most classes. Come to think of it, my daughter who is in her 4th year of civil engineering is not allowed to use graphing calculators. I am a physics teacher and I do allow the 84.

TI 89 Titanium for engineering classes...

Calc classes at accredited universities typically don't allow calculators in the math dept.





You can add the ME/EE pro that had many formulas built in, plus note folio to hide cheat sheets.

 

TI-89 if they'll allow it. I had one in college calc and it helped a lot. It won't do the work for you, but more often than not it'll give you the answer assuming you can get the equation correct. It's nice to have a check when you do get your answer to see if they match.

Hell, a couple of times I was struggling with a problem, used the calculator to get the answer, then worked backwards.

I made it through a Civil engineering degree with a TI-86.



I then got a TI-89, because I got lazy and didn't want to do calculus/complicated algebra.

Hp-48 series with reverse polish notation  It's all I've used for 20 years since starting engineering school.  I would go with what everyone else is suggesting if I had to pick something new that is a allowed in class.  

When I took calculas classes they were closed book, no notes, no calculators.  Only got to use a calculator in other classes and in diffEq.

The list at the link below are the only calculators allowed onhttp://ncees.org/exams/calculator the  FE exam. May want to use one through the next few years if your aiming for a PE licence.
http://ncees.org/exams/calculator/

 

This.


When I started my Engineering classes the professor said get an HP (or Hewey as he/we affectionately called them) and learn how to use it.  


The HP-48GX was the best scientific calculator made, and mine is still going strong 20 years later.


RPN FTW.

HP35.

If you need more learn how to drive Excel.

And you will need more eventually.

I am using an old HP48 GX from back in the day.  It was one of the best $300 I ever spent.  Sad thing now is I downloaded the free app for my phone that does the same thing.  I am an RPN fan and learning to use the stack makes your life much easier.

IDHunt