hELL0-Texas Instrument TI-36X Solar Calculator-Add It Up!

</b>Yes, I admit it! I own a Texas Instrument TI-36X Solar Calculator. This scientific calculator has probably helped many students pass their algebra, trigonometry, and chemistry classes. However, I am not a student in any of these courses. Embarrassingly, I really only bought this calculator for its simple arithmetic functions, such as multiplying and adding (as well as writing messages which can be seen when turned upside down). Nonetheless, I believe that this is a good quality calculator, and it is a good value.

The first thing that I noticed about this calculator is the nice black exterior. A calculator has to be black . I would never want to be caught with a gray or a white one. Perhaps, I like to accessorize, or maybe its black color makes me look serious at whatever I am doing (1 + 1 = ?). This calculator has a sliding case with a nice embossed insignia for Texas Instrument. The case keeps the light out of the solar panel, and thus the calculator is turned off.

I love the fact that this is a solar powered calculator. I never liked the calculators with those dime-sized batteries. I would always have trouble finding replacement batteries, thus I would usually throw the calculator away when the batteries died out.

This calculator has a 10-digit capacity. It also can store up to 3 numbers. The buttons are this calculator are nicely sized and colored. Actually, the keys are grouped by color. The numerals 0-9, as well as the . key and the +/- key are in gray. The basic operators (X, -, +, =) have a key color of green. There is a 2nd function key which is yellow, and a 3rd function key which is blue. The remaining keys are black. I really like the large keys. I usually use this machine just for adding and multiplying, thus I could use one of those small credit card calculators, but I hate keys the size of a golf dimple.


What else can you do with this calculator?

I wish that I could remember even a quarter of my math/science material from high school. There are a lot of advanced functions on this calculator well suited for high school and even college courses, and I will try to generalize most of them.

1. You can do fractions! Amazing, huh. This is good news for stock investors who have to deal with prices like 9 1/16 or 33 5/8. The calculator keeps the numbers in its fraction format. It doesn't convert to decimals.
2. Powers and Roots! The fun functions like 1/X or x to the 2nd power, square of x can be calculated with this machine. I imagine that this is great for algebra students across the world.
3. Trigonometric functions! You can do a lot of trig functions. I did take trig in high school, but I forgot a lot of it. I see here that you can convert to different angle units, and utilize the sine, cos, and tan functions.
4. Logarithmic functions! I have actually seen some these functions used in computer science. Probably these functions are also used in advanced algebra. (log and ln)
5. Statistics! I am sorry , but that is one area that I used to be horrible at (stats lie, right?). I do see some common stats functions here however, such as the mean and standard deviation.
6. Conversions! Actually, this might be useful information. This calculator allows you to do common conversions like converting inches into centimeter or vice versa. Also, you can do my favorite conversion from degrees in Celsius to Fahrenheit degrees.
7. Different Number Systems! Usually, we rely on the decimal system, however this computer allows you to be in a hexadecimal, binary, octal number system mode. Again, this could be very useful to students in computer science.
8. Others (Boolean Logic, Scientific Notation, Degree/Minutes/Seconds, Polar to Rectangular and Rectangular to Polar conversions, hyberbolic functions). I haven't a clue what these are, but I thought that I would mention it. There are also many other functions on this calculator which I don't even know what they are (sorry!)

Who would I recommend this computer to?

I probably wouldn't recommend this calculator to people like myself who rely on a calculator to perform like an adding machine. However, if you prefer larger keys than a credit card sized calculator you may want to choose this calculator. I believe in my case that I like the larger keys, and I actually wouldn't mind playing with some of the other functions in the future. There is a nice manual with this calculator which explains all of the different functions.

I probably would recommend this calculator to high school/college students who are looking for a reliable calculator with advanced functions that can be utilized in a statistics, chemistry, algebra, trig, or computer science classes. However, you will probably want to check with your instructor to guarantee that this calculator has all of the functions that you need. One thing to note is that this calculator does not have any graphing capabilities. To many students, this may be a drawback. I must admit that graphing calculators are cool, even if you don't know what you are doing.

This calculator only cost me $12.99, and I purchased it three years ago. I imagine that you can find this calculator for a lower price. One thing to note is that there are usually calculator accessories on most computers that can do most of the functions on this calculator. If your computer didn't come equipped with this accessory, you can download calculator programs for free over the Internet. Nonetheless, the TI-36X calculator still has yet to let me down. Also, this calculator is solar and very hip.


Thank you and start computing,
doveman