Texas Instruments TI-Nspire CX User manual

Page 1
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM)
Calculator Guide
Texas Instruments TI-Nspire CX Handheld
(Operating System 4.0)
This short guide is designed to instruct you on how to set up your handheld to perform
calculations that you will typically do in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
This guide will not attempt to explain the underlying Numerical or Mathematical concepts.
Page
1 Layout of the keypad, highlighting keys used in this guide
2 The Document Settings Menu
3 Restoring the General Settings to Factory Default Settings
4 Using the TI-Nspire for Calculations with Factory Default Settings
5 Using the TI-Nspire in Normal Calculation Mode
6 Using the TI-Nspire in Fixed Decimal Place Mode
7 & 8 Using the TI-Nspire in Scientific Notation Mode
9 Using the TI-Nspire in Engineering mode
10 Using the TI-Nspire in Degree Mode for Calculations
10 Using the TI-Nspire in Degree Mode for Drawing Graphs
11 Calculating Reciprocals
12 Converting numbers between Decimal and Binary
13 & 14 Preparing the TI-Nspire for Assessments
15 Removing the TI-Nspire from Press-to-Test mode
Page 1 - Layout of the keypad, highlighting keys used in this guide.
Touchpad/
Cursor Control
Scratchpad
Tab
Control
(press to
access blue items)
“to the Power of”
Exponent
Home
Menu
Delete
Catalogue
Fraction Template
(press /p)
Force Decimal
Approximation
(press /·)
Enter
Negative

Page 2
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 2 - The Document Settings Menu
The Document Settings Menu controls how the TI-Nspire displays answers to calculations.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
This will open a new pop-up menu, as shown !
Press 2to select Document Settings
You will now see the Document Settings menu.
You can either press e, or you can use the
Touchpad, to move to different options.
You can press !to open up a drop-down menu, and
then use "and #to move through the settings.
You can either press ·,or you can click on the
centre of the touchpad x, to make your setting choice.
This guide will demonstrate how several of these menu settings can be used to
control how answers to calculations are displayed.
You can also access the Document Settings menu from within any Document or
Scratchpad, without having to go back to the Home screen.
Simply use the touchpad to move the cursor arrow over the cog/battery icon in the top
right corner.
Then click on the centre of the touchpad to select the icon, which will then open up the first
pop-up menu.

Page 3
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 3 - Restoring the Document Settings to Factory Default Settings
It is often helpful to reset the general settings to avoid unexpected behaviour when starting
a new calculation task.
This resetting action is called ‘Restoring settings to factory default settings’.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select
Select to restore the settings.
Select
Select to apply the restored settings.

Page 4
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 4 - Using the TI-Nspire for Calculations with Factory Default Settings
Restore Factory Default Settings by first going to the
Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
Notice that Calculation Mode is set to Auto
This means that the TI-Nspire will try and give answers exactly, without writing them as
decimals.
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 2p3and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the answer is displayed as an exact
fraction.
Press /then ·.
This selects ≈and displays the last calculation’s
answer as a decimal approximation.
You can force the TI-Nspire to give a decimal answer
straight away by simply including a decimal point
somewhere in your calculation - even at the end of a
number will do.
For example, you could
EITHER type in 2^p3 which will display
OR type in 2p3^ which will display
€
2.
3
€
2
3.

Page 5
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 5 - Using the TI-Nspire in Normal Calculation Mode
We are taking ‘Normal Calculation Mode’ to mean here that the TI-Nspire will give answers
to all calculations as decimal approximations, rather than exact values.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
For Display Digits select Float
For Calculation Mode select Approximate
Select and then .
These settings will display all answers as decimals, with up to 12 decimal places on show.
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 2p3and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the displayed answer has been rounded to
12 decimal places.
The TI-Nspire actually knows the answer to 14 digit
accuracy, and it uses these extra known digits to
round the answer correctly.

Page 6
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 6 - Using the TI-Nspire in Fixed Decimal Place Mode
In this example, we will select 3 decimal places.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
For Display Digits select Fix 3 (scroll down the list to below all the Float settings)
For Calculation Mode select Approximate
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 1^2345and then press ·,
the display should look like that shown !
Notice that the number has been rounded to 3 decimal
places.

Page 7
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 7 & 8 - Using the TI-Nspire in Scientific Notation Mode
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
For Display Digits select Float
For Exponential Format select Scientific
For Calculation Mode select Approximate
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 12345 and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the number has not been rounded, as the
Float setting was chosen.
If you wanted Scientific Notation to 3 decimal places,
press c5 2
For Display Digits select Fix 3
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 12345 and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the displayed result has been rounded to 3
decimal places.

Page 8
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
If you wanted Scientific Notation to 3 significant figures
places, press c5 2
For Display Digits select Float 3
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 12345 and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the displayed result has been rounded to 3
significant figures.
If you wanted to do the calculation
You would type:
1^23i4 p5^67iv8
and then press ·.
Note that pressing i4 means the same as
…pressing ·becomes….
Alternatively, you could enter the calculation using the
fraction template. Type:
/p 1^23i4 e 5^67iv8
to give a screen like that shown !
and then press ·.
The above results are displayed with 3 significant
figures (Float 3) in Scientific mode.
The same result in just Float mode would look like !
€
(1.23 ×104)÷(5.67 ×10−8)
€
×10
4

Page 9
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 9 - Using the TI-Nspire in Engineering mode
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
For Display Digits select Float
For Exponential Format select Engineering
For Calculation Mode select Approximate
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
When you type 12345 and then press ·, the
display should look like that shown !
Notice that the number has not been rounded, as the
Float setting was chosen.

Page 10
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 10 - Using the TI-Nspire in Degree Mode for Calculations
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
You are now viewing Document Settings
For Angle select Degree
Select and then .
Page 10 - Using the TI-Nspire in Degree Mode for Drawing Graphs
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press Bto select the Scratchpad Graph
Press bto select 8: Settings
--- OR ---
Press 1to select New Document
Press 2to Add Graphs
Press bto select 8: Settings
You are now viewing Graphs & Geometry Settings
For Graphing Angle select Degree
Select and then .
The important thing to note here is that you use the
bbutton to change the Graphing Angle settings, but
to change the Calculation Angle settings, you use the
cog/battery icon or the home screen to access the
Document Settings screen.

Page 11
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 11 - Calculating Reciprocals
The ‘reciprocal of a number’ is a fraction formed by putting the number in the denominator
of a fraction.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and then to Restore factory default
settings.
For Display Digits select Float
Select and then .
Access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
To calculate the reciprocal of 123
EITHER type in /p1e123to display
OR type in 123lv1to display
OR type in 1p123to display
…..and then press ·.
You can convert the answer from a fraction to a
decimal, by doing the following…
EITHER press /then ·
This selects ≈and displays a decimal approximation.
OR Press b
Press 2to select Number
Press 1to select Convert to Decimal
This should give a screen as shown !
Press ·to convert the fraction to its decimal.
Notice that the number has not been rounded, as the
Float setting is currently chosen.
…pressing ·becomes….
€
1
123
€
123
−1
€
1/123

Page 12
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 12 - Converting numbers between Decimal and Binary.
Go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Select and to restore the settings.
Select and then .
To convert the decimal number 123 to binary, first
access the Scratchpad Calculator by pressing ».
Type in 123
Press kto access the catalogue, as shown !
Press Bto quickly locate the commands that start
with the letter B.
Move down the list to highlight !Base2
Select !Base2 by pressing ·
Press ·again to complete the conversion.
Notice the binary number is prefixed by 0b
[the number zero and the letter b]
To convert the binary number 11011 to decimal, type:
0B11011·
As the handheld is already in decimal mode, it will
display the decimal equivalent to binary 11011.
If you want to have the TI-Nspire work exclusively in
Binary, go to the Home screen by pressing c.
Press 5to select Settings
Press 2to select Document Settings
Scroll down, and for Base select Binary
Select and then .

Page 13
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 13 - Preparing the TI-Nspire for Assessments
‘Press to Test’ mode temporarily disables all current
documents and denies access to programming
libraries.
Switch the TI-Nspire handheld off.
Whilst holding down the dkey, press c
This will give the screen shown on the right !
THEN STOP.
DO NOT SELECT YET.
You need to configure the correct restrictions first.
You will deselect only four options, as these are all
allowed:
"Disable inequality graphing
"Limit trigonometric functions
"Disable logbx template and summation
functions
"Disable Polynomial Root Finder and
Simultaneous Equation Solver
Leave the remaining seven items selected.
Click on .
This will cause your TI-Nspire to re-boot.
After a short time, it will display the screen shown on
the right !
Click on .
This will give the screen shown on the right !
Notice the small padlock icon in the top right hand
corner.
Also the yellow LED at the top of the handheld will be
flashing with two short pulses.
You are now ready to use your TI-Nspire in an exam.

Page 14
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 14 - Resetting Press-to-Test Mode between Assessments
When Press-to-Test mode is first enabled, the memory is cleared and the TI-Nspire is
ready for an assessment.
After that assessment, your TI-Nspire may contain information on the Scratchpad or in
saved Documents.
This information needs to be cleared before going into the next assessment, whilst
keeping the same Press-to-Test mode settings.
To reset the memory, keeping the same Press-to-Test
mode settings, do the following:
Switch the TI-Nspire handheld off.
Whilst holding down the dkey, press c
This will give the screen shown on the right !
Select
After a short pause, it will show this screen !
Your TI-Nspire is now ready to use in your next
assessment.

Page 15
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Page 15 - Removing the TI-Nspire from Press-to-Test mode
The only way to exit Press-to-Test mode is by physically connecting your TI-Nspire to
another device. You will need a USB cable and another TI-Nspire Handheld.
Connect your TI-Nspire to another TI-Nspire handheld
using a USB cable.
Switch both TI-Nspires ON.
Open the Scratchpad on one of the TI-Nspire
handhelds.

This will give the screen shown on the right !
Press ~to open the Documents menu.
This will give the screen shown on the right !
Select 9: Press-to-Test
Select 1: Exit Press-to-Test.

This will cause each TI-Nspire in Press-to-Test mode
to re-boot. After a short time, it will display the normal
Home screen.
You have now Exited Press-to-Test mode.

Page 16
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0
Further Information on Press-to-Test Restrictions
The following information is from the official TI-Nspire User Guide, and it will clarify the
functionality of the TI-Nspire that is not available to you when in Press-to-Test mode.

Page 17
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0

Page 18
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0

Page 19
N Hopley. Sep 2015. TI-Nspire OS4.0