Teaching with Calculators - Fall 2006

In this issue

Lay the Groundwork for Successful Financial Calculating

HP’s popular online financial calculator course, Introduction to Finance with HP Financial Calculators, is now available as an on-demand program on HP Calculator’s Virtual Classrooms on Demand Web site. It is available free, 24/7, for students and professionals who want to develop a proficiency in solving basic financial calculations.

Taught by Gene Wright, an experienced educator and corporate financial officer, the course takes the student through the financial equations they need to handle basic financial problems. The course teaches the student how to do house payments, mortgage loans with points, bond price and yield, currency conversions, depreciation, deferred annuities and many other useful tasks using the HP 12c Platinum, HP 10bII or HP 17bII+ calculators.

The course is especially useful for business students who need to brush up on their calculator skills at the beginning of the school year.The course is especially useful for business students who need to brush up on their calculator skills at the beginning of the school year.

HP 50g’s Computer Algebra System Calculator Perfect for Calculus

The new HP 50g graphing calculator includes a Computer Algebra System (CAS) that allows the manipulation of mathematical expressions in a symbolic form. HP calls the input mode for CAS the “textbook” entry mode. And it is very useful in calculus. In this issue we have an example of a calculus problem that you’re likely to see on AP® Calculus tests and how to easily solve it using the HP 50G’s textbook entry mode.

Now -- 10 Good Reasons to Buy an HP Calculator

Not convinced that HP makes the best calculators? If the fact that HP is a leader in electronics innovation and that most HP calculators feature the exclusive Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) input isn’t enough, take a look at eight more reasons why you should own an HP calculator. And check out the HP Firsts historical timeline to see how HP Calculators have been a part of the company’s legacy.

The new HP 39gs graphing calculator makes it easy to explore the Fibonacci Sequence, thanks to the Sequence Aplet that’s built into the calculator. In this exercise, we look at the Golden Ratio as the limit of the quotient of successive terms of the Fibonacci Sequence – and, in the process, we make an important extension. 

Share Your Ideas for Success

If you have an interesting story to tell about how you use calculators to teach, Teaching With Calculators would love to hear about it. You can submit a story or idea by contacting us at: CalcInfo@hp.com. Don’t have time to write it up? We would be glad to interview you. If your story is selected, we will print it in an upcoming issue of Teaching With Calculators.