Which calculator guide do I need?

How do I find out which calculator model I have?

The model name is printed on the front of the calculator. If it has worn off, or you just want to be sure, these four checks settle it in a few seconds:

1. Look at the screen. A black and white display means one of the older models: TI-84, TI-84 Plus, TI-84 Plus Silver Edition or TI-83 Plus. A color display means a TI-84 Plus CE, CE Python, TI-84 Evo or TI-Nspire CX II.
2. Look at the top of the keypad. A touchpad ringed by esc, tab, menu, doc and ctrl, plus one key per letter at the bottom, means a TI-Nspire CX II. The CAS model has CAS in its name.
3. Look at the on key. If it carries a small house and turning the calculator on shows a grid of icons, you have a TI-84 Evo. The Evo also has its own n/d fraction key and a USB-C port.
4. Look for an apps key. A color TI-84 with an apps key and no icon home screen is a TI-84 Plus CE. The Python edition has Python in its name.

Which guidebook and reference card fit my calculator?

All four guidebooks are written by Marco Wenisch and come as a paperback and a Kindle edition. The links to each title are on our books page.

Why is there a separate book for every model?

The math is the same on every model, but the keystrokes are not. A guide written for a different calculator leaves you translating every step, and one wrong key is enough to get lost. Some examples from the guidebooks:

• Fractions. On the TI-84 Plus and the CE, alpha y= (F1) opens the FRAC shortcut menu with the n/d template. The CE also pastes the template directly with alpha X,T,θ,n. The Evo has a dedicated n/d key, and its toggle key ◄► switches a result such as 5/6 to 0.8333333333 and back.
• The Equation Solver. On the black and white TI-84 Plus, the solver shows 0=, so you first move everything to one side. On the CE you type the left side into E1 and the right side into E2. On the Evo the solver is an icon on the home screen, opened with on 5.
• Apps. The CE lists its apps behind the apps key. The Evo has no apps key: its tools, such as the Polynomial Root Finder and the TVM Solver, are icons on the home screen.
• Normal distribution. On the CE, normalcdf( is in 2nd vars (DISTR). On the Evo, DISTR moved to alpha stat, and the path is DISTR › 1: Normal › 2: normalcdf(.
• Finding a zero. On every TI-84 it is 2nd trace (CALC) › 2: zero. On the TI-Nspire CX II you open a Graphs page and choose menu › 6: Analyze Graph › 1: Zero.

That is why each Fredinax guidebook shows the screenshots and key images of one model family only.

Do I need the TI-Nspire CX II or the CX II CAS chapters?

The TI-Nspire CX II Guidebook covers both models. The difference shows up in the answers. On the CAS model, √8 comes back exact as 2·√2. On the model without CAS, fractions still stay exact (250/8 gives 125/4), but square roots and π come back as decimals, so √8 gives 2.82843.

Chapter 8 of the book is written for the CAS model: derivatives and antiderivatives as formulas, factoring and expanding, exact solutions, tangent lines, limits and deSolve. If your calculator has no CAS, chapters 3 to 5 show the numerical way to derivatives, zeros, equations and integrals.

What do all Fredinax guidebooks have in common?

• Short explanations. Each topic gets the steps and the reason behind them, without padding.
• Key images inside the text, so you can follow along on the calculator without hunting for a key.
• Keystroke sequences for the calculations you actually need, easy to find again later.
• Screenshots that show what the screen should look like at each step.
• The same core path: first steps and settings, graphing, analyzing functions, solving equations, integrals, matrices, and statistics and probability.

On top of that, each book covers what is special about its model. The Evo Guidebook explains Points of Interest and the home screen apps. The CE Guidebook has a section on the Python app of the CE Python. The TI-Nspire CX II Guidebook explains documents, problems and pages and has a full chapter on the CAS.

Do I need a guidebook, a reference card, or both?

The guidebook is for learning: it explains a topic step by step and shows the screens you should see. The laminated reference card is for looking up: it lies next to the calculator during homework and shows the key sequences you use most.

A routine that works well: learn a topic with the book, then work problems with the card until you stop needing it. What is on each card is described in why a laminated quick reference card helps.

Where can I read more about each model?

• How do you learn the TI-84 Plus CE quickly? A learning path with keystrokes for graphing, the CALC menu, solving and statistics, including the CE Python.
• How do you get started with the TI-84 Evo? The home screen, the new keys, Points of Interest and what changes for CE users.
• How do you use the classic TI-84 Plus? The black and white models and how they differ from the CE.
• How do you learn the TI-Nspire CX II and CX II CAS? Documents, problems and pages, exact answers and the CAS.
• Why a laminated quick reference card helps What is on the TI-84 Evo and TI-84 Plus CE cards.
• Calculate 84 AI: product overview The AI graphing calculator app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, intended for use with TI-84, that scans a problem and shows the keystrokes.