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Jim Thompson
jim2@jimthompson.net
www.jimthompson.net
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-----Original Message-----
From: HTYCGARY@aol.com [mailto:HTYCGARY@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 3:29 PM
To: jim2@jimthompson.net
Subject: Re: Comparison of navigation handheld calcuators

In a message dated 1/31/2004 6:30:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, jim2@jimthompson.net writes:

I just picked up a C$15 Sharp EL-520V calculator at Radio Shack for my CN
learning phase for these reasons:

 

 

For exactly the same reasons that Jim stated, I decided that I needed an easy-to-use and standardized calculator when teaching JN and N for the USPS.  I settled on the Casio fx-300MS.  This calculator gives all of the advantages Jim mentioned and it allows the Law of Cosines formulas to be input "exactly" as they are written.  If the formula calls for a parentheses you enter a parentheses, if it says cosLat you enter cosLat (some calculators require Latcos).  It also "understands" mathematical hierarchy so you can rewrite parts of the formulas for quicker input, by eliminating parentheses, if desired.  I relabeled four of the memory registers "LHA LAT DEC Hc."  By entering these four values to five decimal precision (USPS standard) in the appropriate memories you can eliminate many input errors when working with the formulas.  Example: (cosRECALL LHA.......rather than cos and then having to reenter all of the digits each time.  This also allows us to go through problems in class keystroke-by-keystroke, which is a great advantage when trying to bolster the students confidence.

 

 

Gary Harkins C400 #140 "Cygnus"
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