Vanity: Freeper Homework Help - Programming a Ti-83 Calculator

Me ^ | ME | ME

[ContentiousObjector]

Okay,

My daughters math teacher is on maternity leave and in the interim has been replaced with a retired economics professor.

Great, we need economics in American high schools, unfortunately this guy has gone way beyond getting the kids to calculate price elasticity or the production possibility boundary. He has assigned them to write a stand alone program for their Texas Instruments Ti-83 calculators to calculate equilibrium price.

The Ti-83 uses some bizarre proprietary semi-BASIC interpreter language, and after spending all night trying to figure out this damn thing and I am at my wits end.

Does anyone have any clue how to represent the generic equilibrium price algebra formula in whatever the hell you want to call this rudimentary Ti-83 programming language?

[ContentiousObjector]

It seems the entire mass of human knowledge is contained on this website, there must be someone who knows how to program this damn thing.

Personally, I can't figure out what the hell was wrong with using pen and paper, but I guess I am just a dinosaur

[Bob]

Have you tried a Google search on "TI-83 programming"? You might get a start there.

[ContentiousObjector]

all the google stuff I found seemed to require some pre-existing understanding of this thing.

I didn't even know what a TI-83 was until 6 hours ago,

[Bob]

ticalc.org looks pretty good. What sort of equations are you trying to solve? I may be able to help.

[ContentiousObjector]

The basic equilibrium price formula, that is easy to solve you can do that on paper.

The difficulty arises in the fact you have to write a program to do it automatically with the Ti interpreter language.

Demand Function: p = x - y Qd
Supply Function: p = x - y Qs

How to calculate that in the interpreter language is another issue.

I am looking over the sourcecode of a small algebra program for the Ti83 and it looks like a cross between Logo and GW Basic and might as well be written in Arabic

[Bob]

Let me see what I can do. The website ticalc.org has a simulator that should let me work out a program.

I'm not sure I know much about those two equations. Sorry, I never took much more than intro to economics and it's been ages. I guess I spent too much time on programming.

What are the ranges for x and y?

Are Qd and Qs constants? If so, what values should they be set to? If not, what are their ranges?

[Bob]

I've downloaded the emulator and programming guide. Give me a couple of minutes to see what I can do.

[knarf]

You guys are trying to hack a calculator?

Gimme another beer and turn up the volume ... this I wanna' see.

...and when it's done ... what can/will a young person do with the knowledge gained from this excersize?

[Mo1]

You guys are trying to hack a calculator? Gimme another beer and turn up the volume ... this I wanna' see.

LOL .. Gotta love Freepers

Hey Nully do ya know how to hack a calculator?

[Glenn]

all the google stuff I found seemed to require some pre-existing understanding of this thing.

At a time like this, use "http://groups.google.com"

Click on that link. It'll get you started.

[Real Cynic No More]

" ...and when it's done ... what can/will a young person do with the knowledge gained from this excersize?"

Maybe, just maybe, if someone doesn't do it for her, she just might learn how to use the calculator's programming features, that is, if her parents support the need, instead of bashing the teacher.

[Unknown Freeper]

Bump for frustrated parents who care. Good luck!

(Remembering I still have the calculator my mom gave me in 8th grade many many moons ago.)

[boris]

You want pain? Get rid of the TI and get an HP-48.

I had to get one when my HP-41 [greatest calc ever invented] died. The HP-48's programming language is LISP (for a while I thought it was Forth)--a dandy choice for engineering applications.

Not.

--Boris, in RPN

[woofer]

Bump for frustrated parents who care. Good luck!

I'd second that except that I have seen no indication that the student has had or will have any more interaction with the exercise other than: "Here Dad, make it work so I get a passing grade."

Sorry to be so brash, but let her do her own homework. How the heck is she going to learn?

[knarf]

What next .... learn to tie laced sneakers instead of using velcro?

Kids ... this is why we home school you.

No, you can't have a calculator. Let's start again ...

One times one is one,
One times two is two,
One times three is three,
...........

[Schnucki]

If you don't have any luck, let me know via freepmail and I'll set you up.

[null and void]

Hey Nully do ya know how to hack a calculator?

Nope. One of my classmates tried to crack an HP-35 (back when they were new). He was trying to figure out what was going on by monitoring the input and output pins.

He ended up describing it as pseudorandom white noise...

[ContentiousObjector]

she can do the algebra in her head, she has an A in the course, and I would add she spent several hours trying to figure it out before giving up.

Last time I checked programming in bizzare languages to make a calculator do what you can already do in you can already do in your head was not central to mathmatics.

This is grade 10 math, not second year microeconomics

The teacher is well intentioned I am sure, but I don't think he appreciates these are not college students.

[ContentiousObjector]

Qs is quantity supplied, Qd is quantity demanded.

An equation would look something like;

If demand is Qd = 550.000 - 5.000P and supply is Qs = 150.000 + 10.000P. What is the equilibrium price and what is the equilibrium quantity.

On this level the first half of each function is going to be three digits and three decimal places and the second half of each function will have one or two digits and three decimal places.

I really apprecaite your help,

[Trust but Verify]

I have a headache........