The Best Calculators for Engineering Students

Calculators are expensive, especially when you need lots of capabilities.  No one has the money to buy a calculator only to find it doesn’t have the options you’ll need 2 semesters down the road. 

To eliminate this frustration I put together this list of the best calculators for STEM students.  Any of these will work great for your studies. 

Let’s check them out!

TI-36X Pro Calculator

 

This little calculator has tons of functions engineering students need without costing a fortune.  Here are a few of the great features:

• 4 line display – This is huge!! I just hate those 1 line display calculators. If something doesn’t look right in your calculations you can’t look at previous entries to see if a typo was made. The 4 line display eliminates that issue all together. Such a time saver – no need to re-enter everything to make sure everything is correct.
• 3 types of solvers – You can choose from the numeric equation and polynomial solvers as well as the system of linear equation solver. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve used this system of linear equation solver! If you’ve taken Statics and covered 3-D equilibrium problems you understand the need for this kind of solver. Huge time saver! It eliminates the need for you to sit there and solve equations simultaneously. This is the only TI brand scientific calculator with this capability.
• Numerical differentiation and integration – Another huge feature not usually found in scientific calculators. This allows you to quickly integrate and differentiate functions and get a numerical result. Now it won’t give the symbolic answers your calculus professor might want but it will allow you to check your final results. I say this is a great function!
• Vectors and matrices – Engineering students are constantly working with matrices and vectors. The TI-36X pro allows you to do vector and matrix calculations quickly and easily.
• Exam acceptance – This calculator is allowed on the following exams: SAT, ACT, AP, and the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

TI-89 Titanium Calculator

A great calculator is what I think of when I think of this one. Tons of features that you need come with this great device. Some the key features include:

• Computer Algebra System (CAS) – CAS allows you to do calculations symbolically. I can’t stress enough how helpful this is.  With this feature you’ll be able to generate equations and results in variable form. Think of those word problems with no numbers that you probably hate…CAS makes these problems a lot easier!
• Powerful 2-D and 3-D graphing capabilities – Not much needs to be said about this…if a picture is worth a thousand words then a nice graph is worth a thousand equations. Graphs provide that visual insight to the problems you are trying to solve.
• Calculus and Linear Algebra Functions – Need to find a derivative? Done! Need to find an integral? Done! Need to find the determinant of a large matrix? Done! Too many functions to list here but believe me, the list would be extensive if I wrote out all the capabilities.
• Applications – Students can download many applications from the TI website to increase the capabilities of the TI-89 calculator. A sample of the available applications:
  • Calculus Tools – sequences, series, vector calculus, Fourier series, etc.
  • CellSheet – adds spreadsheet capabilities
  • EE Pro – everything the EE major needs
  • ME Pro – an app made specifically for mechanical engineering students
  • And more!

If you you buy the TI-89 check out my tutorials that show you how to do vector operations and solve equations. These methods will save you tons of time on exams and homework!

TI-Nspire CX CAS Calculator

The most powerful CAS TI calculator available. If you want the calculator that does it all this is it! This is the calculator I recommend to students looking to buy a graphing calculator. I love the TI-89 Titanium but this one is loved by students for its color display, pdf capabilities, rechargeable batteries, etc. Too many capabilities to mention but here is a sampling:

• All the stuff I said about the TI-89 – minus the applications part
• Notation – you can enter equations in just like you would write them on a piece of paper. No more of the ^ in all your equations that have exponents. This makes it much easier to spot typos.
• Drop down menus – just like on a computer you can create folders to store documents and pages so that you can retrieve them later
• Digital images– want to import an image and overlay graphs and equations? You can do that!
• Graphs – Powerful graphing functions let you animate points on graphs to explore a point’s behavior.
• Student Software – Allows you to use your Nspire on the computer

They’re all Good Choices…

I have each of these calculators and I use them all the time.  They have saved me so much time! 

All three are options that will work for you throughout college and as you transition into a career.

Buy one and I know you’ll be happy with your choice! Happy calculating!