I will be taking my PE exam soon (civil engineering) Problem is I have been using a TI-82 calculator all through college, on my EI exam etc..... Now they go and ban a huge list of calculators which includes all the TI, HP, casio's etc that have the ability to store a string of text and communicate it in any way, it will not be permitted. They also may not have an IR port/ cable ......they are doing this not for the sake of people using the calc's to do the math but for the sake of people copying tests into calculators and selling the info So now im like damnit, I am going to have to do all that math (integrals, matrix's) by hand which is a big pain in the ass..... My question is, what is a good calculator you would recommend that has ability to do matrices, integration etc that would be allowed.....or are their any even available that would pass?.... Thanks guys! -Adam
If you can't have an IR port or text storage, I'd suggest the old warhorse HP-15C. It's RPN like all the HP scientific ones so you'll have to deal with that. Oh, and it's not in production any more either but that's why God invented eBay. There are probably newer ones too but I haven't bought a calculator since my HP-28S (text and IR so no good for you) in 1987.
I was under the impression that they gave you a calculator when you signed up or registered. You will need some practice with the thing. Sucks, as it takes the HP calculators to be within a couple inches to transfer IR data. You'd think a bunch of engineers would know that info. In school, it always took me longer to integrate by the HP than to use the pencil/table. Matrix is the time saver. David
an abacus .....that would be awesome to walk in there with that hehe.....yea the matrix stuff is definately the time saver....I was looking at the hp's but I hate that Reverse polar notation.....it may be nice but im not used to it
I would suggest stepping down a model or two on your current calculator until you meet there requirements. I would not trade brands. Stick to what you are familiar. I am poor boy, so I was always at the short end of the stick with my calculator when it came to Matrices. Had to do them by hand. At least the PE is supposed to be multiple choice. I think I will take it next year. You can always guess B or C. Rule of thumb, stick with one letter when you don't know better. Good Luck!
Re: Re: Need calculator suggestion yep I guessed B on the EI for any I didnt know and it has worked thus far so im stickin to it .....good luck on your test as well
