The TI–83 is presented first. This calculator has the fewest options and therefore takes only a few screen shots to describe.
The TI–83 Plus is presented second. This calculator also has few options but the TI–83 Plus implemented the archive memory and we will pay an extra little bit of attention to that.
The TI–84 Plus, in all of its renditions (includng for the newest one, the color version), differ depending upon the software installed on the calculator. For the non-color models we will look at two different versions of that software, version 2.43 and 2.55 MP, the latter being the most recent available for those calculators. We need to look at the two versions because the earlier one is amost identical to the software on the TI–83 Plus, but the newer version has many more options and features. During this discussion we will look at the settings that should be used to "dumb down" the recent software so that the calculator behaves as a TI–83 Plus.
The newest TI–84 Plus C calculator has new software, version 4.0, and a new screen with more resolution and color. You can "dumb down" this version to behave somewhat like the old TI–83 Plus, but you cannot make the screen look just like that of the older calculator. This inability to mimic the older calculator means that students with the new calculator will have to look for similarities, not identical images, between their screens and published screen shot taken from the older calculators.
TI 83 | |
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Pressing the
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The display in Figure 2 has values that are unique to the TI 83 calculator used
to generate that image, and unique for the state of the
calculator at the moment that the image was taken.
We can see that the particular calculator has 18,199 bytes
of memory free at this time.
For the purposes of the Math 160 class, having 4,000 or
more bytes free should be sufficient to
run any programs or generate any data that we will be asked to do.
The screen also shows that the allocated memory amounts
to 240 bytes for some numeric variables, 998 bytes
for some list variables, 248 bytes for some Y-Variables,
and 7,666 bytes for some stored
programs.
As a demonstration, we will look at the stored programs and delete one of them.
To do this we want to return to the MEMORY screen by using the same key sequence
we used before, |
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In Figure3 we have not only returned to the MEMORY screen, we have used the
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Figure 4 offers us different selections of things we can delete. We
have used the ![]() ![]() |
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The display in Figure 5 shows us the list of the programs currently
loaded onto the calculator.
In addition, the list gives us the size, in bytes, of each program. The COLLATE2
program uses 1,291 bytes, whereas the COLLATE3 program uses 1,074 bytes.
We have used the ![]() ![]() WARNING: There is no "undo" to this action. On the TI–83 deleting a program completely removes the program from the calculator. There are three ways to reload the program: you could type it in again (known as the bad way), you could transfer the program from another TI–83 or 83 Plus or 84 Plus calculator, or you could transfer the program from a computer to the calculator. |
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Having deleted the COLLATE3 program in Figure 5,
we now see that the calculator list of programs is missing the
COLLATE3 program. We also note that the GNRDN4
program is currently highlighted. Were you to
accidentally hit the enter key at this point you would delete that program too.
We want to get out of this screen.
In this case we would actually like to return to the MEMORY screen, so
we can press the ![]() ![]() |
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We have seen this screen before. We want to check our memory allocation.
Therefore, we press ![]() |
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This is the updated information about the memory allocation on the calculator now that we have
deleted COLLATE3. In particular, comparing Figure 8 with Figure 2, we have more available
memory (now we have 19, 273 bytes of available memory), and
we have less memory allocated for stored programs (we are down to
6,592 bytes for this).
We can get out of this screen, and return to just using the calculator via the
key sequence |
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Once we are back in standard calculator mode, we can hit the
![]() Note that later in the Math 160 course there is a program that modifies the setting of the second line of this screen to set the number of decimal digits displayed to 3 rather than to let that value Float, a setting that causes values to appear with as many decimal digits, up to the limits of the calculator, as is needed. After you are finished with that program you would need to return to this screen to change the setting back to the Float option. |
TI 83 Plus | |
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Pressing the
![]() ![]() Before we go further into the use of the working and the archived memory,
we will look at the first option, About.
In Figure 10, the highlight is on that option so we can just press the
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This screen tells us that this is indeed a TI–83 Plus calculator, that it is running
version 1.19 of the operating system software, and we learn the product number and
the ID number for this calculator. Finally, at the bottom of the screen we see that we are directed to
the web page education.ti.com for help.
Depending upon the age of the calculator, there are a number of different versions of the operating system software for the TI–83 Plus. All of them behave the same way as far as this dicussion goes.
We want to go back to look at more items on the MEMORY screen. Therefore,
we press the key sequence
|
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We have not only returned to the MEMORY screen, we have used the
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Figure 13 gives two pieces of information and then a list of options for the next action. The information is the amount of RAM memory, that is the amount of working memory, that is free and the amount of ARChive memory that is free to hold additional entities. The free working memory is called RAM FREE. On the calculator used to generate these images, at the moment of taking this image, there were 9,710 bytes of working memory free and 90,916 bytes of archive memory free. For the purposes of the Math 160 class, having 4,000 or more bytes free should be sufficient to run any programs or generate any data that we will be asked to do. |
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To demonstrate the use of archive memory, we will move a program, COLLATE2, from
working memory to archive memory. To get to the list of programs we have
used the ![]() ![]()
[Note that instead of moving the highlight, we could have just pressed the
|
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Figure 15 continues to display the amount of free working memory and
the amount of free archive memory. In addition, Figure 15 starts
an alphabetic list of the programs that are installed on this calculator.
Each program is given with its size, that is,
with the number of bytes needed to store the program.
Thus, CALCPSD uses 386 bytes, CALCVSDF uses 459 bytes,
COLLATE2 uses 1,176 bytes, and so on.
Programs that are in working memory are listed without an asterisk before the program name; programs that reside in the archive are listed with an asterisk before the program name. All of the programs in shown in Figure 15 are in working memory. Our plan is to move COLLATE2 from working memory to the archive memory. To do this we will have to move the highlight to point to the COLLATE2 program. |
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Using the ![]() ![]() |
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Now the COLLATE2 program name is given with a leading asterisk. The program has been
moved to the archive space. In fact, we can see this because the amount of free
working memory is now reported to have increased to 10,871 bytes while the
amount of free archive memory has decreased to 89,737 bytes.
Remember that an entity in the archive space is held
in the calculator but is not available
for us to use in a computation. As it turns out, we want
COLLATE2 back in the working memory.
Becuase it is the highlighted program in Figure 17 we can move it
back to the working memory, and move to
Figure 17a, by pressing the |
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Moving a program from working memory to the archive frees up space in
working memory while keeping a copy of the program on the calculator.
The copy in the archive is not available to use directly,
but it is available to be restored to working memory.
On the other hand we can simply delete a program from the calculator. This is dangerous because once removed the program is really gone. To restore the program we would need to re-enter it, or transfer it from another calculator, or transfer it from a computer. In Figure 17a the program COLLATE2 is still highlighted.
If we press the |
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The TI–83 Plus is cautious enough about deleting an entity that it
responds with the screen shown in Figure 17b. If we are not serious
about removing the program then we can just take the No option.
If we really want to remove the program then we press
the ![]() |
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Here the Yes option is highlighted and we press ![]() |
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In Figure 17d we note that COLLATE2 is no longer on the calculator. Furthermore, the
free working memory has now increased to 10,886 bytes. Note that the
amount of free archive memory remains unchanged. After all, we
deleted the program from working memory and we did nothing to the archive memory.
We can get out of this screen, and return to just using the calculator via the
key sequence |
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Once we are back in standard calculator mode, we can hit the
![]() Note that later in the Math 160 course there is a program that modifies the setting of the second line of this screen to set the number of decimal digits displayed to 3 rather than to let that value Float, a setting that causes values to appear with as many decimal digits, up to the limits of the calculator, as is needed. After you are finished with that program you would need to return to this screen to change the setting back to the Float option. |
TI 84 Plus (not the color version) | |
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Pressing the
![]() ![]() Before we go further into the use of the working and the archived memory,
we will look at the first option, About.
In Figure 19, the highlight is on that option so we can just press the
|
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This screen tells us that this is indeed a
TI–84 Plus Silver Edition calculator, that it is running
version 2.43 of the operating system software,
and we learn the product number and
the ID number for this calculator.
Finally, at the bottom of the screen we see that we are directed to
the web page education.ti.com for help.
Depending upon the age of the calculator, and upon whether or not the software on the calculator has been updated, there are a number of different versions of the operating system software for the TI–84 Plus. All of them behave the same way as far as the first part of this discussion goes. The big change will not become apparent until Figure 31.
We want to go back to look at more items on the MEMORY screen. Therefore,
we press the key sequence
|
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We have not only returned to the MEMORY screen, we have used the
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Figure 22 gives two pieces of information and then a list of options for the next action. The information is the amount of RAM memory, that is the amount of working memory, that is free and the amount of ARChive memory that is free to hold additional entities. The free working memory is called RAM FREE. On the calculator used to generate these images, at the moment of taking this image, there were 10,813 bytes of working memory free and 1,532K bytes (essentially 1.5 megabytes) of archive memory free. For the purposes of the Math 160 class, having 4,000 or more bytes free should be sufficient to run any programs or generate any data that we will be asked to do. |
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To demonstrate the use of archive memory, we will move a program, COLLATE2, from
working memory to archive memory. To get to the list of programs we have
used the ![]() ![]()
[Note that instead of moving the highlight, we could have just pressed the
|
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Figure 24 continues to display the amount of free working memory and
the amount of free archive memory. In addition, Figure 24 starts
an alphabetic list of the programs that are installed on this calculator.
Each program is given with its size, that is,
with the number of bytes needed to store the program.
Thus, CALCPSD uses 386 bytes, CALCVSDF uses 459 bytes,
COLLATE2 uses 1,176 bytes, and so on.
Programs that are in working memory are listed without an asterisk before the program name; programs that reside in the archive are listed with an asterisk before the program name. Therefore, CALCPSD is currently in the archive, while the rest of the programs shown in Figure 24 are in working memory. Our plan is to move COLLATE2 from working memory to the archive memory. To do this we will have to move the highlight to point to the COLLATE2 program. |
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To change Figure 24 to Figure 25 we pressed the
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The COLLATE2 program now has an asterisk before it, the working memory
has increased to 11,974 bytes and the archive memory has decreased to 1,521 kilobytes.
There is so much archive memory on this calculator that the change is hardly noticeable.
Press the |
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The TI–84 Plus calculator has so much archive memory that there
should be little or no need to ever remove a program from the calculator.
However, if you wanted to remove the program, you would use this same screen.
With the highlight pointing
to COLLATE2 we simply press the ![]() |
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The TI–84 Plus is cautious enough about deleting an entity that it
responds with the screen shown in Figure 28. If we are not serious
about removing the program then we can just take the No option.
If we really want to remove the program then we press
the ![]() |
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Here the Yes option is highlighted and we press ![]() |
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In Figure 30 we note that COLLATE2 is no longer on the calculator. Furthermore, the
free working memory has now increased to 11,989 bytes. Note that the
amount of free archive memory remains unchanged. After all, we
deleted the program from working memory and we did nothing to the archive memory.
We can get out of this screen, and return to just using the calculator via the
key sequence |
Specifically for Version 2.43 ![]() |
Once we are back in standard calculator mode, we can hit the
![]() Note that later in the Math 160 course there is a program that modifies the setting of the second line of this screen to set the number of decimal digits displayed to 3 rather than to let that value Float, a setting that causes values to appear with as many decimal digits, up to the limits of the calculator, as is needed. After you are finished with that program you would need to return to this screen to change the setting back to the Float option. |
Special material on the TI 84 Plus running Version 2.55 MP | |
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
One of the advances with the TI–84 Plus is
the ability of the calculator to accept a
new version of the operating system software. This means that any
TI–84 Plus can be upgraded, by the user,
to the newest version of the operating system available for the non-color versions of the
calculator.
At the time that this page was written, the most
advanced version, for the non-color calcuators,
of that operating system is 2.55 MP.
This version has some new and powerful features.
To see this we will switch to a calculator that has
that software installed.
Press Then press |
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
Here we confirm that the current calculator
being used has the 2.55 MP operating system software on it.
We exit this screen via the |
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
When we move to the MODE display, via the ![]() However, if we use the |
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
On this new second page of the MODE screen we find
the clock at the bottom, along with a whole new set of options.
The first option allows the user to decide if the calculator
should use a new feature, called MATHPRINT, to format
the display of some symbols on the screen. For example,
looking at two expressions, the square root of 275 and
the fraction 5/8 expressed as a fraction,
the "CLASSIC" display would have been:
![]() ![]() It may seem silly to forego the improvement in the display available through the "MATHPRINT" option. However, in writing all of the support pages for the course one needs to recognize that there are still students using the older calculators or using the older versions of the operating system on the newer calculators. Those students do not have the option to use the MATHPRINT feature because it is not on their calculator. Therefore, it is just easier to just assume that everyone is using the "CLASSIC" display.
To be consistent with the other calculators, use the
|
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
We can use the ![]() ![]() ![]() |
For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
In Figure 37 we see that the changes have been made. Now we use the
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For Version 2.55 MP ![]() |
Figure 38 shows the preferred settings for the options
on the TI–84 Plus running operating system version 2.55
for our section of the Math 160 class.
The |
TI–84 Plus C (the color version) | |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() These images have been reduced to save space for those who print out these pages. |
Figure 39 shows the splash screen that comes up on a new TI–84 Plus C
calculator. The difference in the quality of the display between this calculator
and the earlier versions presented above should be obvious. Not only do we have color, the
resolution of the screen is much higher than was that of the
earlier versions. From the TI–83 (introduced in 1996) through the currently sold
TI–83 Plus (introduced in 1999), the TI–84 Plus (introduced in 2004
and including the Silver Edition of the same) the TI screens have had a resolution of
95 pixels across the screen and 63 pixels top to bottom of the
screen. The TI–84 Plus C (introduced in 2013) produces graphs
with 265 pixels across the graph and 165 pixels from the top to the bottom of the graph.
Some note should be made here that the screen on the TI–84 Plus C calculator actually has a resolution of about 320 by 240 pixels but that the graphing area is only 265 by 165. Furthermore, that screen resolution is significantly lower than the resolution on most current smart phones. Given the better resolution on its screen, the TI–84 Plus C expands its main display (the non-graphing disply) to hold 26 characters across the screen and ten lines of characters down the screen. These values are different from the earlier versions of the calculator that only had 16 characters across the screen and 8 lines of text on the screen. The splash screen shown in Figure 39 explains two new features of the TI–84 Plus C calculator. In particular, there are now some shortcut menus, accessed by using the ALPHA key and then one of the F1 through F4 keys. Also, when you are using the menus, pressing the + key will often bring up a small help screen showing the appropriate syntax for that command. |
For color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
Pressing the
![]() ![]() Before we go further into the use of the working and the archived memory,
we will look at the first option, About.
In Figure 40, the highlight is on that option so we can just press the
|
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
This screen tells us that this is indeed a
TI–84 Plus C Silver Edition calculator, that it is running
version 4.0 of the operating system software,
and we learn the product number and
the ID number for this calculator.
Finally, at the bottom of the screen we see that we are directed to
the web page education.ti.com for help.
We want to go back to look at more items on the MEMORY screen. Therefore,
we press the key sequence
|
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
We have not only returned to the MEMORY screen, we have used the
![]() ![]() |
For color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
Figure 43 gives two pieces of information and then a list of options
for the next action. The information is the amount of
RAM memory, that is the amount of working memory, that is free and the amount
of ARChive memory that is free to hold additional entities.
The free working memory is called RAM FREE.
On the calculator used to
generate these images, at the moment of taking this image, there were
8,143 bytes of working memory free and 3,391K bytes (essentially 3.4 megabytes)
of archive memory free.
For the purposes of the Math 160 class, having 4,000 or
more bytes free should be sufficient to
run any programs or generate any data that we will be asked to do.
To demonstrate the use of archive memory, we will move a program, COLLATE2, from
working memory to archive memory. To get to the list of programs we have
used the
[Note that instead of moving the highlight, we could have just pressed the
|
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
Figure 44 continues to display the amount of free working memory and
the amount of free archive memory. In addition, Figure 44 starts
an alphabetic list of the programs that are installed on this calculator.
Each program is given with its size, that is,
with the number of bytes needed to store the program.
Thus, CALCPSD uses 386 bytes, CALCVSDF uses 459 bytes,
COLLATE2 uses 1,294 bytes, and so on.
Programs that are in working memory are listed without an asterisk before the program name; programs that reside in the archive are listed with an asterisk before the program name. Therefore, CALCPSD is currently in the archive, while the rest of the programs shown in Figure 44 are in working memory. Our plan is to move COLLATE2 from working memory to the archive memory. To do this we will have to move the highlight to point to the COLLATE2 program. |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
To change Figure 44 to Figure 45 we pressed the
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For color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
The COLLATE2 program now has an asterisk before it, the working memory
has increased to 9,422 bytes and the archive memory has decreased to 3,390 kilobytes.
There is so much archive memory on this calculator that the change is hardly noticeable.
Press the |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
The TI–84 Plus–C calculator has so much archive memory that there
should be little or no need to ever remove a program from the calculator.
However, if you wanted to remove the program, you would use this same screen.
With the highlight pointing
to COLLATE2 we simply press the
![]() |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
The TI–84 Plus C is cautious enough about deleting an entity that it
responds with the screen shown in Figure 48. If we are not serious
about removing the program then we can just take the No option.
If we really want to remove the program then we press
the ![]() |
For color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
Here the Yes option is highlighted and we press ![]() |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
In Figure 50 we note that COLLATE2 is no longer on the calculator. Furthermore, the
free working memory has now increased to 9,437 bytes. Note that the
amount of free archive memory remains unchanged. After all, we
deleted the program from working memory and we did nothing to the archive memory.
We can get out of this screen, and return to just using the calculator via the
key sequence |
For the color TI–84 Plus C ![]() |
When we move to the MODE display, via the ![]() The screen shown in Figure 51 has the options set the same way we set them back in Figures 36 through 38. |
©Roger M. Palay
Saline, MI 48176
December, 2013