Using your TI-86 calculator

Dr. Philip J. Owens
Adjunct Math Instructor
Austin Community College - Northridge

Introduction
Graphing
Finance
Matrices
Permutations and Combinations
Miscellaneous tricks



Introduction

Here's what your keypad looks like:
  • Each key is labeled; e.g. "F1"
  • Most keys have an 2nd label; e.g. "M1"
  • If you want the "F1" function, just press it
  • If you want the M1 function, press "2nd", and then "M1"
  • In the following, a key to be pressed will be colored in red, e.g. GRAPH  
  • Note that the M1 key is, in fact, 2nd followed by F1 
  • We will abbreviate the sequence 2nd F1 to M1 (colored blue as a reminder that it represents a "2nd" or alternate usage key).  This convention will be used for all 2nd key designations
  • The "arrow" buttons (one for each of four directions) are at the upper right -- they are variously used depending on context

Some screens show one or two menu lines at the bottom of the screen, e.g., for graphs:
 
  • Menu items will be selected by the corresponding "Fn" (bottom menu) or "Mn" (top menu) keys, e.g.
  • "WIND" is selected by M2
  • "ZOUT" is selected by F3 
  • Menu items to be selected will usually be described by their name, rather than by keystroke
  • Instead of saying e.g. "Press F1", I may just say BOX(colored in green to indicate that it is a menu item to be chosen by the appropriate key strokes)
  • Similarly, TRACE (in this menu context) will mean M4



Graphing
Graphing a function
Tracing a function
Zooming in on a graph


Graphing a function   (example is f(x)=x2)
 
Press GRAPH.  You will see this screen:
This screen lets you define a function by typing it in where the cursor (black rectangle is). 
Press x-VAR  and then  x 2
Select GRAPH (remember, this is 2nd followed by F5 )
Note that there is no scale indicated, but the default is 1, so each tick mark represents one unit.


Continue with the next section, "Tracing a function".



Tracing a function

You can see what the coordinates of various points are on a graph by tracing.
 
If the graph menu is not present, press GRAPH
TRACE will place a cursor on your screen, somewhere on the graph. 

See the cursor?  Note also that the coordinates of the point are given at the bottom of the screen.  The cursor is at the point (0,0).

You can move the cursor using the arrow buttons. 
Press the right arrow button (several times) 
Note that the cursor has moved (but is tracing the function) and the new coordinates appear. Notice also that the menu has disappeared!  Just press GRAPH again to see it. 
Continue with the next section "Zooming in on a graph".



Zooming in on a graph

You may "zoom" in on a particular part of the graph in order to see more detail.  There are two ways to zoom.

Way 1 (zoom in around a particular point):
Place the cursor at the point you wish to zoom in on (I moved it to the origin). 
If the graph menu is not present, press GRAPH
Select ZOOM
No zooming has been done yet; the bottom menu gives you details about the various zoom options you can choose.
Select ZIN ( F2) for "zoom in", then ENTER
You  now see an "expanded" portion of the graph from about x=-2 to 2 and y=-2 to 2 
If you want to go back to the previous graph, do GRAPH and ZOUT.

Way 2 (pick a particular "boxed area" to zoom in on)
GRAPH (to see the menu) ZOOM , and BOX
You won't see anything yet, but the calculator is ready for you to draw your box. 
Using the arrows, move to where you want a corner of your box to be, and press ENTER .
Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to where you want the diagonally opposite corner to be.  The calculator will draw a box as you go.
Press ENTER (and CLEAR to get rid of the menu) 
You now see (full-screen) the portion of the graph within the box.