Texas Instruments TI-83-Plus Operating manual

CHAPTER
0
Introduction to using
TI Calculators
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.10
0.11
Key Differences Between Models
Keyboard and Notation
Setting the Mode
Screen Contrast and Battery Check
The TI-89 Titanium
Home Screen Calculations
Sharing Data
Working with Lists
Using the CD Datasets
Memory Management
Common Errors
Introduction
In this chapter we introduce our calculator companion by giving an overview of Texas
Instruments’ graphing calculators: the TI-83+, -84+, and -89. Read this chapter carefully in order
to familiarize yourself with the keys and menus most utilized in this manual. These skills include
Home screen calculations and saving and editing lists of data in the STAT(istics) editor.

2 Chapter 0 – Introduction to TI Calculators
0.1 Key Differences Between Models
All calculators in the TI-83/84/89 series have built-in statistical capabilities. Although a few
statistical functions are “native” on the TI-89, most of the topics covered in a normal Statistics
course require downloading the Texas Instruments Statistics with List Editor application which is
free. Download requires the TI-Connect cable. See the web page
http://education.ti.com/us/product/tech/89/apps/appslist.html for more information. This manual
assumes the statistics application has been loaded on the calculator. If you have the newer TI-89
Titanium edition, the statistics application comes pre-loaded, and the TI-Connect cable is
included with the calculator.
The TI-83 and -84 series calculators are essentially keystroke-for-keystroke compatible;
however, the 84 does have some additional capabilities (some additional statistical distributions
and tests, for example) with the latest version of the operating system, version 2.41 which is also
available for download at education.ti.com.
There are some major differences in calculator operation and menu systems which will, in some
cases necessitate separate discussions of procedures for the TI-83/84 and TI-89 calculators.
Some of these will become apparent in the next section. Not only are there differences between
the three series, but there is also a difference in operation between the TI-89 and the TI-89
Titanium edition. On the Titanium, all “functions” on the calculator are essentially applications
– when a regular TI-89 is turned on, the user is on the “home screen” similar to that for the TI-83
and -84. When the Titanium edition is first turned on, one must scroll using the arrow keys to
locate the desired application – we’ll say more about this later.
0.2 Keyboard and Notation
All TI keyboards have 5 columns and 10 rows of keys. This may seem like a lot, but the best way
to familiarize yourself with the keyboard is to actually work with the calculator and learn out of
necessity. The keyboard layout is identical on the 83+ and 84+. The layout of the 89 (and 89
Titanium) keyboard is similar, but some functions have been relocated. You will find the
following keys among the most useful and thus they are found in prominent positions on the
keyboard.
-The cursor control keys |, ~, }and †are located toward the upper right of your
keyboard. These keys allow you to move the cursor on your screen in the direction which
the arrow indicates.
-The okey is the leftmost key on the top row of 83 and 84 keyboards. It is utilized more
in other types of mathematics courses (such as algebra) than in a statistics course;
however you will use the 2function above it quite often. This is the STAT PLOT
menu on the -83/84 series. We will discuss 2functions shortly. On TI-89 calculators,
the Y= application is accessed by pressing ¥ƒ. The STAT PLOT menu on the TI-89
series is found inside the Statistics application.
-The Ékey is in the bottom left of the keyboard. Its function is self-explanatory. To
turn the calculator off, press 2É.

Commonly Used Keys 3
-The Íkey is in the bottom right of the keyboard. You will usually need to press this
key in order to have the calculator actually do what you have instructed it to do with your
preceding keystrokes.
-The skey is in the upper right of the keyboard. On the TI-89, GRAPH is ¥….
As mentioned briefly above, most keys on the keyboard have more than one function. The
primary function is marked on the key itself and the alternative functions are marked in color
above the key. Actual color depends on the calculator model. Below we describe how to engage
the functions which appear in color.
The y
yy
yKey
The color of this key varies with calculator model, but in all models it is the leftmost key on the
second row. If you wish to engage a function which appears in the corresponding color above a
key, you must first press the ykey. You will know the second key is engaged when the cursor
on your screen changes to a blinking Þ. As an example, on a TI-83 or -84 if you wish to call the
STAT PLOTS menu which is in color above the okey, you will press yo.
The ƒ
ƒƒ
ƒKey
You will also see characters appearing in a second color above keys which are mostly letters of
the alphabet. There are some situations in which you will wish to name variables or lists and in
doing so you will need to type the names. If you wish to type a letter on the screen you must first
press the ƒkey. The color of this key depends on the model of calculator and corresponds
to the color of the letters above the keys. You will know the ƒkey has been engaged when
the cursor on the screen turns into a blinking Ø. After pressing the ƒkey you should press
the key above which your letter appears. As an example if you wish to type the letter Eon an 83
or 84, press ƒ˜(because Eis above ˜. To get the same letter Eon an 89, press
ƒe.
Note: If you have a sequence of letters to type, you will want to press yƒ. This will
engage the colored function above the ƒkey which is the A-LOCK function. It locks the
calculator into the Alpha mode, so that you can repeatedly press keys and get the alpha character
for each. Otherwise, you would have to press ƒbefore each letter. Press ƒagain to
release the calculator from the A-LOCK mode.
Some General Keyboard Patterns and Important Keys
1. The top row on 83’s and 84’s is for plotting and graphing. On 89’s these functions are also
on the top row, but are accessed by preceding the desired function with ¥.
2. The second row from the top has the important QUIT function (yzon 83’s and 84’s,
yNon 89’s). On 83’s and 84’s it also contains the keys useful for editing ({, y
{(INS), |, ~, }and †). INS and DEL on 89’s are both combination commands: INS
is 20 and DEL is ¥0.

4 Chapter 0 – Introduction to TI Calculators
3. The key in the first column on 83’s and 84’s leads to a set of menus of mathematical
functions. Several other mathematical functions (like ¡) have keys in the first column. On
a TI-89, 2z leads to the Math menu.
4. The keys for arithmetic operations are in the rightmost column (¥¯¹Ã).
Note: When displaying input, the ¥shows as /, and the ¯shows as *. On both 89 models,
when the command is transferred to the display area the * is replaced with a · and division
looks like a fraction.
5. The …key will be basic to this course. Submenus from this allow editing of lists,
computation of statistics, and calculations for confidence intervals and statistical tests. On
89’s with the statistics application, one starts the application using the key sequences ¥O
and selecting the Statistics application. On the 89 Titanium, quit the current application
(yN) and locate the Stats/ListEd application, and press Íto start the
application. On 83’s and 84’s the second function of the …key is LIST. This key and
its submenus allow one to access named lists and perform list operations and mathematics.
6. The key on 83’s and 84’s allows one to access named variables. On TI-89’s this is
2| which is named °, which is used to access names of lists and variables.
7. 2calls the distributions (Distr) menu. This is used for many probability
calculations. To get this menu on a TI-89, press ‡from within the Stats/ListEd
application.
8. The ¢key is located directly above the ¬key on 83’s and 84’s; on 89’s it is above the o
key. It is used quite often for grouping and separating parameters of commands.
9. The ¿key is used for storing values. It is located near the bottom left of the keyboard
directly above the Ékey on all the calculators. It appears as a !on the display screen.
10. The Ìkey on the bottom row (to the left of Í) is the key used to denote negative
numbers. It differs from the subtraction key ¹.
Note: The Ìshows as –on the screen, smaller and higher than the subtraction sign.
11. On TI-89 models, switching back and forth between two apps is easiest done by pressing
2O.
12. The "key on TI-89 models switches the application from wherever you are to the home
screen immediately.
0.3 Setting the Mode
If your answers do not show as many decimal places as the ones
shown, or if you have difficulty matching any other output, check
your MODE settings. On an 83 or 84, press the zkey (second
row, second column). If your calculator has been used previously by
you or someone else the highlighted choices may differ. If your
screen has different highlighted choices use the }and †keys to go
to each row with a different choice and press Íwhen the
blinking cursor is on the first choice in each row. This will move the highlight the first choice in
each row. Continue until your screen looks like the one at right. Press yz(QUIT) to
return to the Home Screen.
On TI-89’s, the default is to give “exact” answers. For statistical calculations, we will want
decimal approximations. To set this, press 3. Press „to proceed to the second page of

Screen Contrast and Battery Check 5
settings, then arrow to Exact/Approx and use the right and down arrows to change the setting to
3:A roximate. Press ¸to complete the set-up. The sequence is shown below.
0.4 Screen Contrast and Battery Check
To increase the contrast, press and release the ykey and hold down the }key. You will see
the contrast increasing. There will be a number in the upper-left corner of the screen which
increases from 0 (lightest) to 9 (darkest).
To decrease the contrast, press and release the ykey and hold down the †key. You will see
the contrast decreasing. The number in the upper-left corner of the screen will decrease as you
hold. The lightest setting may appear as a blank screen. If this occurs, simply follow the
instructions for increasing the contrast, and your display will reappear.
When the batteries are low, the display begins to dim (especially during calculations) and you
must adjust to a higher contrast setting than you normally use. If you have to set the contrast
setting to 9, you will soon need to replace the four AAA batteries. With newer versions of the
operating system, your calculator will display a low-battery message to warn you when it is time
to change the batteries. After you change batteries, you will need to readjust your contrast as
explained above.
Note: It is important to turn off your calculator and change the batteries as soon as you see the
“low battery” message in order to avoid loss of your data or corruption of calculator memory.
Change batteries as quickly as possible. Failure to do so may result in the calculator resetting
memory to factory defaults (losing any data or options which have been set).
0.5 The TI-89 Titanium
On the TI-89 Titanium, most important functions which on other
calculators are accessed by keystrokes, are applications (A s).
When the calculator is first turned on, you will be presented with a
graphical menu of these applications, as at right. Paging through the
screen to find the one you want can be tiresome and time consuming.
There is a way to customize this screen so that you only see those
applications you want to see.
Press ƒ. Press the right arrow key to expand menu selection
1:Edit Categories. You will be presented with a list of
possible categories. Press ªto select option 3:Math.

6 Chapter 0 – Introduction to TI Calculators
On this screen, use the down arrow to page through the list of
applications. When you find one you want to be displayed, press the
right arrow key to place a checkmark in the box. The screen at right
shows that the Data/Matrix Editor and the Home screen have
been selected. For this statistics course, you will want these
applications, along with the Stats/List Editor and Y=
applications. Press ¸when you have finished making your
selections.
On this calculator, pressing 2N (Quit) will return you to the applications selection screen.
0.6 Home Screen Calculations
The following example illustrates some techniques which will be useful in performing home
screen computations. We also point out the importance of correctly using parentheses in
calculations.
Example 0.1:
70 64.5
2.7
−
We will calculate the value in two ways. In doing so, we will intentionally make a mistake to
show you how to correct errors using the {key. We also discuss the Ans and Last Entry
features.
Type 80-64..5 (two intentional mistakes). To correct these, use the |
cursor key to move backward until your cursor is blinking on one of
the double decimal points. Press {(on an 89, either ¥0 or
position the cursor to the right of the character to be deleted and press
0) and the duplicate decimal point will be deleted. Now press |
until the cursor is blinking on the 8. Type a 7, and it will replace the
incorrect 8. On an 89, move the cursor to the right of the error, press
0and then type the correct 8. Press Ífor the
numerator difference of 5.5 as shown in the top of the screen below.
Press ¥. (Note that “Ans/” appears on the screen). Type 2.7 and press Ífor the result of -
2.037.
Note: Ans represents the last result of a calculation which was displayed alone and right-
justified on the Home screen. Pressing ¥without first typing a value called for something to be
divided, so Ans was supplied.
To do the calculation in one step, press yÍ. This calls the
“last entry” to the screen. (in this case Ans/2.7). Press yÍ
again to get back to 70-64.5. Press the }key to move to the front of
the line. On an 89, press 2A.

Sharing Data 7
On an 83 or 84, you will need to press y{(for INS); 89’s are always in insert mode. You
will see a blinking underline cursor. Type £to insert a left parenthesis before the 7. Press †
(2B on an 89) to jump to the end of the line. Type ¤¥2.7 to see the result. Press Ífor
the same result as before.
0.7 Sharing Data
Sharing data between calculators (TI-83/84)
Data and programs may be shared between calculators using the
communications cable which is supplied. The TI-83 and 84 series
can share any TI-83/84 information with the exception of flash
applications and their associated variables.
On the TI-83+, the I/O port is at the base of the calculator. On the TI-84+, you can use either the
USB port or the I/O port on the top to link to another 84 series calculator. To link to an 83
series, you must use the I/O port. Connect the appropriate cable to the ports. On both
calculators, press y„ to activate the LINK menu.
On the receiving calculator, press ~to highlight RECEIVE, then press Í. The calculator
will display the message “Waiting...” The rolling cursor on the upper right indicates the
calculator is working.
On the sending calculator, use the arrow keys to select the type of
information to send. For example sending lists, either arrow to
4:List and press Íor press . The screen at right will be
shown.
To select items to send, move the cursor to the item, press Íto select it. After selecting all
items to send, press ~to highlight TRANSMIT, then press Í.
Sorry, TI-83’s and 84’s cannot communicate with TI-89’s.
Sharing Data between calculators (TI-89 Series)
Data and programs may be shared between calculators using the
communications cable which is supplied. The TI-89 can only
communicate with the other TI-89’s and TI-92s.
Connect the supplied cable to the port at the base of each calculator.
On both calculators press y|to activate the VAR-LINK menu.
On the receiving calculator, press …to select Link, Dto highlight
Receive, then press Í. The screen reverts to main VAR-LINK
Menu with a “Waiting to receive” message at the bottom.
On the sending calculator, use the arrow keys to select the item to

8 Chapter 0 – Introduction to TI Calculators
send, then press †to “check” the item. The example at right will
send list1 and list2.
Now press …to select Link, then Íto select menu choice
1:Send to TI-89/92Plus which is highlighted by default.
An analogous procedure can be used to send applications between calculators. Applications
(such as the Statistics with List Editor) are selected from the ‰FlashA menu (press y„
for ‰.)
Sharing data between the calculator and a computer
Data lists, screen shots and programs may be shared between the calculator and either Microsoft
Windows or Macintosh computers using a special cable and TI-Connect or software. This can
be helpful since all data sets in the text are included on the CDCables for the TI-83+ are
available for either serial or USB ports and can be found through many outlets such as
OfficeMax, and Amazon.com. The software can be downloaded free through the Texas
Instruments website at education.ti.com. The needed USB cable and computer software are
included with the TI-84 and -89 models. See the section on using supplied data sets for more
information.
0.8 Working with Lists
The basic building blocks of any statistical analysis are lists of data. Before doing any statistics
plot or analysis the data must be entered into the calculator. The calculator has six lists available
in the statistics editor; these are L1 through L6 (list1 through list6 on an 89). Other lists
can be added if desired. The number of lists is only limited by the memory size.
The Statistics Editor
On a TI-83/84, press …, 1:Edit... will be highlighted. Press Íto select this
function.
To enter data, simply use the right or left arrows to select a list, then type the entries in the list,
following each value with Í. Note that it’s not necessary to type any trailing zeros. They

Working with Lists 9
won’t even be seen unless decimal places (found with the zkey) have been set to some fixed
number.
On a TI-89, press ¥O followed by the selection of the Statistics/List Editor Flash
Application followed by ¸. On the Titanium edition, select the Statistics/List Editor from
the main application menu screen. If this is the first time the editor has been accessed since the
calculator has been turned on, you will be prompted for a data folder as in the middle screen. The
default folder is main. Press Íto select main as the current folder, or press Bto allow a
new folder to be created. To enter a new folder name, arrow to the entry block and type the
name of the new folder. Your lists will be stored in the new folder and it will be set to default.
To change folders, press Bto select a folder. Then press Íto proceed to the list editor. If
the editor has been used since the calculator has been turned on, pressing Íto select the
application will automatically open the editor.
One word of advice: Most lists of data in texts are entered across the page in order to save space.
Don’t think that just because there are four (or more!) columns of data they belong in four (or
more) lists. Data which belongs to a single variable always belongs in a single list.
Entering Data into the STAT Editor
With the cursor at the first row of L1, type 8 and press Í. The
cursor moves down one row. Type 5 followed by Íand the 5
will be pasted into the second row of the list. Continue with 15, 7, 9,
and 14 as seen at right.
Correcting Mistakes with DEL and INS
In the screen above, we can delete the 15 by using the }key until it
is highlighted and then pressing {(¥0 on an 89).
To insert a 12 above the 7 move the cursor to the 7 then press y
{(20 on an 89) (to choose INS or insert mode). Note a 0 was
inserted where you wanted the 12 to go. Just type over the place-
holding 0 with the value you want.

10 Chapter 0 – Introduction to TI Calculators
Clearing Lists without Leaving the STAT Editor
Suppose you wish to clear a list, say L2, while you are still in the
STAT Editor. You should use the cursor to highlight the name of the
list at the top. With the name highlighted, press ‘and you will
see this. Press Íand the contents of the list will be cleared.
Make sure not to press {or the list will be deleted entirely and you
will have to use SetU Editor as described below to retrieve it.
Deleting a List from the STAT Editor:
If you wish to delete a list from your STAT Editor, simply highlight the list name and press {.
The name and the data are gone from the Editor but not from the memory. To recover a list
inadvertently deleted, use SetUpEditor as described below.
SetUpEditor
Setting up the editor will remove unwanted lists from view. It also
will recover lists which have inadvertently been deleted
On an 83 or 84, if you want the STAT Editor to be restored to its
original condition (with lists L1 to L6 only), press …·Í.
Often students find this necessary because they have inadvertently
deleted one of the original lists.
On an 89, in the Statistics Editor, press ƒ(Tools), then select
option 3:Setu Editor. You will see the screen at right. Leave
the box empty and press Íto return to the six default lists.
Generating a Sequence of Numbers in a List
From time to time one may want to enter a list of sequenced values
(years for example in making a time-series plot). It is certainly
possible (but tedious) to enter the entire sequence just as one would
enter normal data. There is an easier option, however. Use cursor
control keys to highlight L1 in the top line. Press y…~·.
You are choosing the LIST menu and then choosing the OPS
submenu. From the OPS submenu you choose option 5 which is
seq(.
This has been pasted onto the bottom line of the screen. Type in the
rest so that you have seq(X,X,1,28. Press Íand the
sequence of integers from 1 to 28 will be pasted into L2 as in my
screen. Find the Xon the „key on an 83 or 84, on 89’s it has its
own key. Notice that it was not necessary to clear the list first.