Calculator recommendation for Engineering majors

Looking for input on the preferred/recommended calculator for Engineering majors at the academy?

I assume you/your DS/DD is already at the Academy so this won't really answer your question, but I'll include this paragraph from the Appointee Booklet in case new Appointees see this and it piques their interest and makes them start wondering.

New cadets will be issued a scientific calculator prior to the start of classes in August. This calculator will be sufficient for all core courses at the Academy and use of alternate calculators in 100- and 200-level core courses is restricted. Therefore, there is no requirement for you to purchase a calculator or bring one with you. Some cadets majoring in engineering and sciences will require a more advanced “scientific” calculator, which can do simple linear regressions or graphing functions, but these can be purchased here if required. However, if you already own an advanced scientific calculator, we recommend it be mailed to you after BCT, or brought to you during Parents’ Weekend.

DS is c/o 2022. We are aware of the requirement in the appointee handbook but he needs a new calculator to finish off his senior year. He was using a TI-84 plus but I’m hesitant to replace it with the same one if he needs a different model at the academy. Given that these calculators are ~$150 I’d rather buy him what he needs for the long term.

does his HS offer any to loan?

Does your DS need the advanced capabilities of the TI-84 for his remaining couple of months of high school? The Class of 2021 were issued Casio FX-115ES Plus calculators, which are significantly less expensive than the TI.

jaglvr said:

does his HS offer any to loan?

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Good question, I’ll have to ask DS.

baseball_mom said:

Good question, I’ll have to ask DS.

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I know our HS has loaner TI-84 for those that can’t afford to buy something. They have to sign a document but then can use for the course.

Good luck.

FMHS-79 said:

Does your DS need the advanced capabilities of the TI-84 for his remaining couple of months of high school? The Class of 2021 were issued Casio FX-115ES Plus calculators, which are significantly less expensive than the TI.

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DS is taking AP Calculus BC and will need it for high school finals as well as the AP Test in a few weeks. The Casio that you mention doesn’t have a graphing feature which I thought would be necessary for Engineering majors unless the graphing feature is not permitted at the academy.

Perhaps you missed WinstonWolfePF's post.

WinstonWolfePF said:

New cadets will be issued a scientific calculator prior to the start of classes in August. This calculator will be sufficient for all core courses at the Academy and use of alternate calculators in 100- and 200-level core courses is restricted.

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I read restricted as "cannot use" but maybe I'm mistaken. Sounds like he'll need such a calculator eventually but he can purchase it there.

I don't think that helps with your current problem of senior year but perhaps you can buy him the graphing calculator in hope that he'll be able to use it at the academy in the (somewhat distant) future. Of course you might be able to contact the academy (bookstore perhaps?) to see what graphing calculators they have there.

Then again, someone more knowledgeable may chime in here yet.

How about your DS contacting the Engineering Dept at the Academy? I'll bet there's someone there who can help after he explained his situation. (He should call, definitely not you.) Congratulations & Good luck!!

Some Engineering Jokes

The Optimist, the Pessimist, and the Engineer:
The optimist says, “The glass is half full.”
The pessimist says, “The glass is half empty.”
The engineer says, “The glass is over-engineered; it's twice as big as it needs to be.”

Mechanical vs. Civil:
What's the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.

Hunting:
An engineer, a statistician, and a physicist went out hunting. They spot a buck and each take turns trying to bag it. The physicist goes first. He pulls out his lab book and quickly calculates the trajectory of the bullet assuming it is a perfect sphere in a vacuum. The bullet falls 20m short of the deer. The engineer goes second. He pulls out his engineering pad and book of projectile assumptions. After a few minutes he’s ready, takes aim, & fires. The bullet lands 20m past the deer. The statistician triumphantly leaps in the air shouting, “We got it!”

Choices:
Two engineering students were crossing campus when one asked the other, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit!"

https://www.engineering.com/Designe...ArticleID/14889/Top-10-Engineering-Jokes.aspx

I think you're overthinking it. I'm a second year mechanical engineering student and have yet to use an engineering calculator (despite being allowed one in several of my classes). I think your son will be fine with any basic engineering calculator that has graphing capabilities.

I agree with Hoodlum. Most of the upper division math courses required by engineering, like Calc 3 and Engineering Math, will likely use computer programs like MATLAB and Mathematica to do most of the heavy lifting.

I don't remember needing one of those "$100+" graphing calculators at all during my entire time at the Academy and I was an applied math major who switched from astronautical engineering.

I recommend a calculator that is familiar and easy to use. There is no requirement to have a graphing calculator for core classes or even most upper-level math and engineering classes. Core classes only allow the basic scientific "honorlator" on tests, but other high-level math and engineering classes calculator policies vary by department. For the math and physics departments, we could pretty much use whatever we had on tests (and my TI-89 with the ability to do integrals and derivatives was SOOOOO helpful).

My recommendation is to have a calculator with at least basic graphing and matrix operations that is familiar and easy to use, unless majoring in physics, then get one that does integrals and derivatives as well.

baseball_mom said:

DS is c/o 2022. We are aware of the requirement in the appointee handbook but he needs a new calculator to finish off his senior year. He was using a TI-84 plus but I’m hesitant to replace it with the same one if he needs a different model at the academy. Given that these calculators are ~$150 I’d rather buy him what he needs for the long term.

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Do not buy him anything. He won’t be able to use it and calculators are issued.