Teaching with Calculators - Fall 2005

In this issue

HP's Emulators, Classes and Tutorials Can Help Boost Student Calculator Skills

Web Site Is a Valuable Resource of Self-Guided Instruction

One of the frustrations that many professors have is that some students come into their upper level classes without a good grounding in how to use the calculator for basic scientific and financial calculations.

Tim Wessman, a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and Chris Camporeale, from Canton High School in Canton, Conn., were honored with first place prizes in HP Calculators' 2005 Create-a-Calculator contest.

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Learn More About the Winners

New HP Training Courses Target Engineering and Real Estate Exams

If your students are having anxieties about their qualification exams, HP Calculators can help. Three new computer-based training (CBT) courses will be available on the HP Calculator Web site to help students successfully prepare for using their calculator in the exams to solve engineering and real estate problems. Notify your students now so they are aware of this helpful resource. HP Calculators featured in these courses are authorized for use in the corresponding exams.

• Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practice of Engineering (FE/PE) Exams - Contains sample questions from the FE/PE exams and how to solve them using the powerful HP 33s scientific calculator.
  » More
• Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Exam -- Includes sample questions from the IREM real estate exam and is geared to the HP 10bII financial calculator.
  » More
• General Real Estate Calculations -Includes common real estate oriented problems and how to solve them using the popular HP 10bII financial calculator.
  » More

Not only did J'Neal Hachquet, of Reno, Nev., and Bob Z. (last name withheld by request) of Groton, Conn., take advantage of HP's free virtual classroom courses, but they also won free HP calculators. Hachquet won an HP 17bII+ financial model and Bob Z. received an HP 39g+ graphing calculator.

They had attended virtual courses taught by HP Calculators' distinguished trainers. These courses are held monthly.

You and your students can sign up for these online virtual classroom courses and automatically be entered for a monthly drawing. Participants must attend the entire duration of the class to be eligible. *

Here are current courses available at the HP Calculators Web site:

• Pre-Calculus using the HP 39g+
• Calculus using the HP 49g+
• Algebra II using the HP 39g+, 48gII and 49g+
• Introduction to Finance
• Circuit Analysis with the HP 49g+
• The Power, Versatility, Differences of the HP Graphing Series
• Pre-Algebra, Algebra I using the 39g+

* No purchase is necessary. The calculator prize will be chosen based on the course attended. HP reserves the right to substitute any prize for equal or greater value.

HP and Kaplan Team Up for a Discount

Kaplan AEC Education, a leading exam preparation provider, is offering HP 33s calculator buyers 10 percent off Kaplan study materials for both the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam, when they buy the course materials from the www.kaplan-hp.com Web site.

Hewlett-Packard and Kaplan AEC Education have created this exclusive discount Web catalog for HP 33s calculator customers preparing for the engineering exams.

The HP 33s is the most powerful RPN scientific calculator available and is permitted for use on the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) exams.

The offer is valid through May 31, 2006. The HP 33s Scientific Calculator is available at the following national retailers: Wal-Mart, Fry's Electronics and select campus bookstores.

Figuring markup and margins are common business calculations, but sometimes students are confused about the interrelationships among these terms and cost and selling prices. The HP 10bII makes it easy to see the relationship of these concepts to cost and the ability to make a profit.

Margin calculations are expressed as a percent of price. If any two of the variables, cost, price or margin are entered into the HP 10bII, the unknown value can be computed. The keys used are CST (cost), PRC (price) and MAR (margin) conveniently located on the second row down from the top. Values are stored into these locations by entering the amount first and pressing the corresponding key. Once the two known values have been entered, pressing the third key will compute the unknown value. To view the values entered into these locations, press the recall (RCL) key followed by the CST, PRC or MAR key.

Markup calculations are expressed as a percent of cost. If any two of the variables, cost, price or markup are entered, the unknown value can be computed. The keys used are the CST (cost), PRC (price) and MU (mark-up) keys. Values are stored into these locations by entering the amount first and pressing the corresponding key. Once the two known values have been entered, pressing the third key will compute the unknown value. To view the values entered into these locations, press the recall (RCL) key followed by the CST, PRC or MU keys.

HP Calculator Web Site Improved

HP Calculators has updated its Web site to make it easier for customers to find the content that is relevant to their calculator needs. Information on the site is now departmentalized for students, educators and professionals. These sections contain news, courses and offers specific to your segment.

The Web site at www.hp.com/calculators also is organized both by type of calculator and the needs of the calculator user. Calculators are also listed in financial, graphing and scientific categories.

Keep checking the Web site and future editions of this newsletter for more improvements in the coming months.

See HP Calculators at These Events

HP Calculators will be on the road at these important events. You will have a chance to speak to product specialists and test out the features of our quality calculators.

The American Math Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC)

November 10-13, 2005 - San Diego, California
Town and Country
Resort & Convention Center
500 Hotel Circle North
Booth: 411

2006 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES)

January 5-10, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Road
Booth: #31111, South Hall

2006 Joint Math

January 12-15, 2006
San Antonio, Texas
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
200 E. Market Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
HP Booth: #218
Exhibit Hall C