For those students in Algebra or Geometry, a scientific calculator is suggested.  Please make sure that the calculator has a square root button before purchasing it.  You should be able to find one at Target, Office Max, Office Depot, or Walmart for under $15.00.  Make sure that you also etch your name on the calculator in case it is lost or stolen.

If you plan on taking Algebra II or higher, I would suggest either the TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, TI-84 Plus, or TI-84 Plus Silver Edition because the keystrokes are the exact same on those calculators.   The TI-84 Silver Edition is more expensive, but it has the most applications, memory, and power available. Believe it or not, the manual that comes with your calculator is very helpful and should be able to answer most of your questions.  If you lost your manual, the links below will take you to a Texas Instruments electronic manual for that specific calculator.

TI-83
TI-83 Plus
TI-83 Plus Silver Edition
TI-84 Plus/TI-84 Plus Silver Edition
TI-86

Common Error Messages (on the TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, TI-84 Plus, or TI-84 Plus Silver Edition):

1. DIM MISMATCH - most likely this occurred because the dimensions of either your lists or matrices don't match.

2. DIVIDE BY ZERO - believe it or not, we have talked about this in class!

3. INVALID DIM - this message may occur if you are trying to graph, but you have your stat plot turned on.  This can be turned off by pressing 2nd Y= (Stat Plot) and then #4.