Operating the TI-83 Plus

Contents

Turning On and Turning Off the TI-83 Plus ..... 1-2
Setting the Display Contrast ..... 1-3
The Display ..... 1-4
Entering Expressions and Instructions ..... 1-6
TI-83 Plus Edit Keys ..... 1-8
Setting Modes ..... 1-9
Using TI-83 Plus Variable Names ..... 1-13
Storing Variable Values ..... 1-15
Archiving Variables ..... 1-15
Recalling Variable Values ..... 1-16
ENTRY (Last Entry) Storage Area ..... 1-17
Ans (Last Answer) Storage Area ..... 1-19
TI-83 Plus Menus ..... 1-20
VARS and VARS Y-VARS Menus ..... 1-22
Equation Operating System (EOS™) ..... 1-23
Error Conditions ..... 1-25

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TI-83 Plus

Normal Sci Eng

Float 0123456789

Radial Degree

Func Par Pol Seq

Connected Dot

Sequential Simul

Real a+bi re^0i

Full Horiz G-T

STAT PLOT F1 TBLSET F2 FORMAT F3 CALC F4 TABLE F5

Y= WINDOW ZOOM TRACE GRAPH

Turning On the Calculator

To turn on the TI-83 Plus, press ON.

• If you previously had turned off the calculator by pressing $ \boxed{2nd} $ [OFF], the TI-83 Plus displays the home screen as it was when you last used it and clears any error.

• If Automatic Power Down $ ^{TM} $ (APD $ ^{TM} $) had previously turned off the calculator, the TI-83 Plus will return exactly as you left it, including the display, cursor, and any error.

• If the TI-83 Plus is turned off and you connect it to another calculator or personal computer, the TI-83 Plus will "wake up" when you complete the connection.

• If the TI-83 Plus is turned off and connected to another calculator or personal computer, any communication activity will "wake up" the TI-83 Plus.

To prolong the life of the batteries, APD turns off the TI-83 Plus automatically after about five minutes without any activity.

Turning Off the Calculator

To turn off the TI-83 Plus manually, press $ \boxed{2nd} $ [OFF].

• All settings and memory contents are retained by Constant Memory $ ^{TM} $.

• Any error condition is cleared.

Batteries

The TI-83 Plus uses four AAA alkaline batteries and has a user-replaceable backup lithium battery (CR1616 or CR1620). To replace batteries without losing any information stored in memory, follow the steps in Appendix B.

Adjusting the Display Contrast

You can adjust the display contrast to suit your viewing angle and lighting conditions. As you change the contrast setting, a number from 0 (lightest) to 9 (darkest) in the top-right corner indicates the current level. You may not be able to see the number if contrast is too light or too dark.

Note: The TI-83 Plus has 40 contrast settings, so each number 0 through 9 represents four settings.

The TI-83 Plus retains the contrast setting in memory when it is turned off.

To adjust the contrast, follow these steps.

1. Press and release the $ \underline{2nd} $ key.

2. Press and hold ☐ or ☐, which are below and above the contrast symbol (yellow, half-shaded circle).

• lightens the screen.

darkens the screen.

Note: If you adjust the contrast setting to 0, the display may become completely blank. To restore the screen, press and release 2nd, and then press and hold ☐ until the display reappears.

When to Replace Batteries

When the batteries are low, a low-battery message is displayed when you:

• Turn on the calculator.

• Download a new application.

• Attempt to upgrade to new software.

To replace the batteries without losing any information in memory, follow the steps in Appendix B.

Generally, the calculator will continue to operate for one or two weeks after the low-battery message is first displayed. After this period, the TI-83 Plus will turn off automatically and the unit will not operate. Batteries must be replaced. All memory should be retained.

Note: The operating period following the first low-battery message could be longer than two weeks if you use the calculator infrequently.

Types of Displays

The TI-83 Plus displays both text and graphs. Chapter 3 describes graphs. Chapter 9 describes how the TI-83 Plus can display a horizontally or vertically split screen to show graphs and text simultaneously.

Home Screen

The home screen is the primary screen of the TI-83 Plus. On this screen, enter instructions to execute and expressions to evaluate. The answers are displayed on the same screen.

Displaying Entries and Answers

When text is displayed, the TI-83 Plus screen can display a maximum of 8 lines with a maximum of 16 characters per line. If all lines of the display are full, text scrolls off the top of the display. If an expression on the home screen, the Y= editor (Chapter 3), or the program editor (Chapter 16) is longer than one line, it wraps to the beginning of the next line. In numeric editors such as the window screen (Chapter 3), a long expression scrolls to the right and left.

When an entry is executed on the home screen, the answer is displayed on the right side of the next line.

1og(2) Entry .3010299957 Answer

The mode settings control the way the TI-83 Plus interprets expressions and displays answers (page 1-9).

If an answer, such as a list or matrix, is too long to display entirely on one line, an ellipsis (...) is displayed to the right or left. Press ▶ and ◀ to display the answer.