Dear readers,

    It’s almost May, which means summer is approaching. Yet the weather here is still around 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius). Occasionally, I have to put on a bulky winter coat, which I thought I had put away for good a long time ago.

    It’s almost May, which means it’s also time to start preparing for the new school year! Yes, course registrations are here, again. Instead of telling you about classes this time, I thought I’d share some information about the different types of calculators you might come across as a student.

    I’ve used three types of calculators for classes. The first one is a scientific calculator. In addition to basic arithmetic functions (like the Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion above), the calculator can take logs, calculate sine, cosine, tangents and so on. A scientific calculator is sufficient for many classes, from middle school to college. However, if you’re taking math classes like algebra and calculus, a graphing calculator may come in handy.

    A graphing calculator is wider and thicker than a typical scientific calculator, and it has a lot more functions. As its name implies, one of its powers is graphing. Plug in a function, such as y=x2, and the calculator will graph the parabola. Then you can adjust the scales of the axes and find the intercepts, maximums, minimums, etc. Besides graphing, the calculator can handle matrix calculations, perform statistical tests, generate random variables, and so on.

    While the third type of calculator doesn’t let you play games, it is most relevant to business students. The financial calculator shares many of the same qualities as a scientific calculator, but has the ability to compute concepts like present value, yield, and internal rates of return. Sometimes a graphing calculator can perform the same calculations; you just need to understand what equations to plug in.

    Finally, you might be wondering how much these calculators cost. Scientific calculators cost around US$10-20; financial calculators are about US$40. Not surprisingly, graphing calculators are not only heavier, but also a lot pricier than the other two — they cost over US$100, depending on the model.

    So which calculator is the best? It really depends on what you need it for, but my personal favorite is definitely the graphing calculator because it is versatile and easy to use.

    Sincerely,

    Bingyin