Features:

  • Ideal for curricula in which graphing technology may not be permitted.
  • MultiView display shows multiple calculations at the same time on screen.
  • MathPrint shows math expressions, symbols and stacked fractions as they appear in textbooks
  • Ideal for high school through college: Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Calculus, Biology, etc.
  • Convert fractions, decimals and terms including Pi into alternate representations.
  • Select degrees/radians, floating/fix, number format modes.
Must-have for chemists/engineers

If you're STEM and you don't have this calculator you are making a grave mistake. You can't use graphing calculators on many of the higher-level tests, and this calculator is very powerful with lots of built in constants and great floating point accuracy. It will also automatically simplify fractions for you and give results in exact fractional terms (especially trig functions) that most calculators would output as an approximated value (i.e. cos(30) = sqrt(3)/2 whereas a TI-84 or TI-30 would give 0.866). You can hit the key above enter to get the approximated value from that. "Remember, you can't just use the table function to get this because your calculator will output an imprecise result." - Not with the TI-36X pro. Table function for days. "Make sure you memorize Avagadro's number, you need that to calculate molar mass and molecules." - 2nd > constant > 4 > enter = 3.02214179e23 "Don't get in the habit of storing values to memory with your TI-84, you won't be able to do that on the test" - 8 constants you can store to calculate values to greater accuracy than if you spent the time to type in 10-digit values. I often get a more precise result than some of my professors who use lower grade calculators (verified by Wolfram Alpha/etc; obviously half the time I get a different result I'm just wrong =] ) And I'm just a sophomore scratching the surface of this thing's capabilities, a couple of my professors and a friend of mine with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics say it never stops being useful late into your career.

The best calculator any science major could ask for.

Easily the best calculator on the market in terms of performance/price ratio. I own an array of calculators, TI-84, Nspire Cas Cx, TI-36, and I use this one 99% of the time. Never having to worry about battery is irreplaceably useful, and it's far faster than any newer, more powerful calculators that I've used. However, it can solve integrals, derivatives, and perform many of the more advanced functions that the more expensive models can. Speed: The built-in constants macros, the fraction box, inverse function, variable assignments, etc give you a real edge on tests because you have significantly less to do to setup calculations. Also the speed of entering and receiving data is unmatched. I plug this thing to other students every time there's a reasonable opportunity.

Excellent scientific calculator.

I always have used Casio calculators (have now the fx-991spx Classwiz Iberia, made in Spain, very similar to the 991 EX) but, more for curiosity and fun, than need decided to get the TI 36X Pro. After some time needed for the learning curve with this calculator, I think that overall it's an excellent scientific calculator. The two machines follow different approaches, the Casio is more centralized and all the different types of calculation and operations related with them are in two keys, menu/setup and option. The menu is presented with icons, complex, vectors, matrices... and once you are in a mode the option key gives all the type of operations related. On the TI those modes and operations related are spread for different keys and in general to do a calculation will need much more tapping than the Casio (on this one I don't remember any key that demand multi-tapping). However after one learns to work with the TI the logic is excellent and pleasant. The TI is better to retain in memory the operations even after shutting-off, the Casio allows to work out 4 degrees polynomials, matrices, vectors, equation systems... while the TI only works with three (which I think are enough in most cases). All in all, the decision for one or the other depends on what you are used to working with, Casio or Texas Instruments. Both are higly recommended.

TI-36X - Solution to non-graphing calulator requirement.

Hands down the best non-graphing calculator available. I have a TI-89 and was bummed that I would not be able to use it during my Calculus classes. Too bad nobody told me that before I started classes. So I had to find an alternative to the TI-89 and this was the solution because it is able to perform most of the functions required for calculus classes and meets the non-graphing calculator requirement. I love having this calculator so much that I purchased a 2nd one for use at work. I have one in my school bag and one at work, so when I have some down time or a short break I can still do some problems without having to shuffle my calculator around all the time. I would either forget to move it from my school bag or leave it at work where I would not be able to use it whenever I needed it, so the 2nd calculator solved that issue. If you are looking for a non-graphing calculator, look no further because this can do derivatives and integrals. It also has many other features like the degrees or radians modes, normal or scientific notation along with significant digits for the scientific notation. This calculator can do it all except the graph portion. I also like the decimal to fraction function a lot.

CAS, or graphing calc not allowed? Get this!

I'm a university junior computer science major. My workload is extremely math heavy. Almost four years ago when I started at community college, I knew nothing about advanced math, or calculators. I bought the cheapest calculator at Walmart which indicated that it was allowed for use on college tests, (SAT, ACT, etc.). I believe it was the Casio fx-115ES PLUS. Not a bad calculator, and comparable to this one, but it has many shortcomings IMO. A year or so later, by the time I started taking calculus classes I bought a graphing calculator, (ti-nSpire). I really enjoy that calculator too. I was turned onto the ti-36x pro by a professor I had a couple years ago. Since it basically fills the same niche has the Casio that I already have I never saw any reason to buy it. Besides, for the past few years I've mostly relied on the nSpire. This Fall I began taking physics classes for some of my major requirements. The teacher doesn't allow the nSpire, or any CAS calculator on the tests. I like to use the same calculator in the coursework/homework that I'll be using on future tests, just to have that muscle memory when it's showtime. I pulled out the old Casio and dusted it off, and after the past few years with the ti-nSpire, lets just say I was less than inspired by using the Casio. The biggest thing that I dislike about the Casio is that you can only see the present problem that you're working on at any given time. I got used to being able to scroll up and see previous problems/solutions, and being able to navigate the cursor up to a previous solution, press enter, and have it inserted into another equation, or whatever that I'm currently working on. Hopefully that makes sense. In any event, the ti-36x pro does this too! You can see the three most recent problems that you last worked on, in addition to the one you're currently working on. And you can scroll back to any spot in the history, up until the point where you last cleared it. You can also easily insert solutions, or portions of previous problems into the current. For me this is crucial during test taking. It is the best type of calculator work flow for myself, and although something similar to this can be achieved with the Casio, I was never able to get it to work with out feeling cumbersome. There are several other things that I like about this calculator over the Casio as well. In some aspects I like it even more than the ti-nSpire. Mostly just because using this calculator is so smooth and simple. If I don't need to take limits, anti-derivatives, or indefinite integrals, or plot actual graphs, I would choose the ti 36x pro over the nSpire, just because it is so simple and elegant to use. I've not used a ti-84 much. Never owned one, but have played with them a few times. As far as I can tell, this thing is basically a ti-84, without graphing capabilities. In short, if you need a calculator for algebra, engineering, physics, trig, some calculus, etc., but you can't use a full fledged CAS, or even a regular graphing calculator, this is the best option.

More powerful than you think

Of course if you're looking at this, you already know it does trigonometric functions, exponents and logarithms, complex equations with parentheses etc., and maybe a few other things. Dig a little deeper and you'll see it can do lists, tables of values for functions, and even matrix operations. But how about systems of equations solvers, polynomial (root) solver, definite integration, and differentiation? How about one-and-two variable statistical analysis, best-fit regressions, and distributions? Imaginary numbers, polar coordinates. And conversions: length, temperature, pressure, speed, all in different systems of units. It has a ton of constants onboard; Plank, Boltzman, gravitational, electron charge, etc. In different systems of units. If you're taking an engineering test, this thing is great even if you don't read the instructions. But if you do, and actually learn to use half the functions, I'm convinced you will have a serious leg up in the exam. I'm not even sure NCEES knows what all this thing can do. Why analyze statistics by hand when I can just input a bit of data and tap a couple keys to get all the metrics? Why look up pressure and temperature constants and conversions when they're already in the calculator? Systems of equations? Probabilities? No problem. 1) Buy it, then 2) read the instruction manual.

Amazing calculator

I can't believe how useful this calculator is! I'm taking two graduate engineering courses and this calculator was recommended by the professor. I'm so glad I bought it. It makes it SO EASY to solve polynomials, quadratics, and even integrals!! Highly recommended. I still don't know how to use all the functions of this little number cruncher, but it has served me well.

Excellent calculator!

This is a fantastic calculator. I'm a university math and statistics teacher and I've been requiring my students to get a TI-84 for a decade. There are classes for which the TI-84 is for which the TI-84 is irreplaceable but sometimes, this calculator is more than enough, even university statistics and math classes. This calculator does a lot of what the 84 does, short of graphing and hypothesis tests. But even hypothesis tests are easy with this calculator because this calculator provides binomial and normal distributions given the mean, standard deviation, and percentiles. It even gives z scores given percentiles and things like that. And regarding math in general, this calculator has math print, converts between fractions and decimals, and does all sorts of other things as well. I have been delighted with it. It's funny - I got it on sale as a secondary calculator for working on grades but now I bring it to most classes to show my students how much it can do.

Excellent FE Exam approved option

I love this calculator. I grew up with a TI-83 Plus and believe the TI-36x Pro is the best one for the FE Exam. I tried the Casio fx-115ES Plus for 9 months, per the advice of an excellent prof (mechanical and civil background), and while it has certain advantages I find the 4 line display on the TI-36x Pro alone is reason enough to use it instead. I can complete complex problems more efficiently and with less errors than with the Casio - it is easier to backtrack, check what was entered before, and select equations/numbers from previous lines to be carried into new calculations. With the Casio I would often accidentally clear the screen with the "on" button, out of habit, which deletes the previous entries from memory; even when this was not the case I found it difficult (impossible?) to paste prior entries into current calculations. Also, the Casio's list of less-common scientific constants must be referenced to a numerical list of symbols (no names given) on the cover, while the TI-36x Pro lists constants with symbols/names spelled out in the menu itself - much more convenient. This calculator can accept up to 3x3 matrices and can solve systems of linear equations with three unknowns using the entry [A]^(-1)[B]. The way it handles complex numbers is also very convenient, allowing for easy conversion between rectangular and polar form. The only major downside I've discovered so far is, in matrix mode, the TI-36x Pro cannot accept imaginary numbers as inputs. This is true of many other calculators as well (including the Casio fx-115ES Plus). It's problematic when analyzing AC electrical circuits using mesh (KVL) or nodal analysis (KCL). [Update: The TI-89 Titanium can handle these complex systems with cSolve (but is not FE approved).] One annoying aspect: there is only one button for storing answers as variables, so if you want your entry to be stored as anything other than "x," you have to press the variable button repeatedly until the desired letter shows up (for example, for "b," you have to press the button 6 times, which cycles "x > y > z > t > a > b"). [Update: Discovered 2nd -> Recall lists all variables - much faster for recalling them than cycling is. As far as I can tell, however, first-time storage (###->var) does require cycling as stated above.] This is only a minor qualm though; the overall benefits of this calculator easily outweigh the few negative aspects.

Great Calculator for Engineering degree and Beyond

By far my favorite calculator. I am an Electrical Engineer and got one of these when I was an undergrad because I was told we cannot use any "fancy types" of calculators on the FE exam. This got me through Calc 1, 2, 3, and DE, among other engineering courses. I'm currently pursuing my Masters in EE, and guess which calculator I still use? To be honest, if you require some advanced calculations, you might as well use a computer program, not a handheld calculator. I also have a Casio FX-115ES Plus, which is nice too, but I still turn to this one as my primary. Only downside is this sometimes doesn't register key presses when you are inputting a lot of data, so take it slow or calculate what you have then do the next part separately. Still, for ~$20 it's the perfect calculator to last through your college years, and beyond. I actually own two of them now.

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