TI-36X Pro, SHARP EL-W516X, CASIO fx-991EX -- differences and an issue with the Casio

Two main goals with this video:
(1) Provide a simple demonstration that shows how the TI-36X Pro differs from the SHARP EL-W516X and CASIO fx-991EX in terms of how one reuses previous results;
(2) Show a problem with how the CASIO fx-991EX handles the storage of previous results

[@neddonato731]

The solution to your Casio problem: Scroll up to the previous calculation, and press the = button before you press STO. Yes, it's one extra button press, but for most engineering problems, you're pressing wayyyy less buttons per problem on the Casio FX115ES Plus & Casio FX991EX than any TI calculator. And this is coming from someone who used TI exclusively for like 20 years, and switched to Casio a couple weeks ago.

[@efstathioszavvos4878]

I'm sorry, I don't understand how this works. Ans is a variable, if you go back and do what you say, it will just re-evaluate the calculation with your current Ans.

[@AnnaVahtera]

@@efstathioszavvos4878 It's not abot Ans, the Calculator evaluates the equation again, when you press =, ergo the Ans variable becomes equal to that. So if you did: 1+1= Ans == 2 1+2 Ans == 3 If you then scroll up to 1+1 and hit = again, it would make Ans == 2 again, and you can then store it to whatever you need. It makes the "problem" this video presents a non-issue. The video creator just didn't know you can do that on the Casio.

[@efstathioszavvos4878]

@@AnnaVahtera The video creator is doing something different, which is what we are talking about and you guys don't seem to realise. The result he is trying to save includes Ans in its expression and this changes things. Obviously you haven't tried to replicate it. If Ans is already say 2 and you do Ans+1 this will result in Ans=3. Then if you do something else and go back to save 3, pressing = as you say will re evaluate Ans+1 and this will increase Ans to 4. If you actually try to replicate what he is doing and try to save it you will realise it is not possible. Just try this on a Casio. Do 1+1=2. +1= which will give you Ans +1=3. Then do some other irrelevant calc. like 10/2=5. If you now go back to 1+1=2 of course you can save that fine as you say. But go back to the result 3, Ans+1=3 ,and try to save that. You will realise that pressing = the way you guys say just re evaluates Ans+1 and because Ans was already 3 now it becomes 4 and pressing again makes it 5 and so on. So you will find that this method doesn't work for saving a previous result if that result's expression includes an answer from a previous calculation as Ans.

[@Crazytesseract]

Once you do Ans/3 on the Casio, you need to store it to memory (STO A) without pressing [=]. Even if you do press [=], then you need to first store the result by pressing [Ans] STO A*, before moving to the next step (Ans gets updated in subsequent calculations). *Note: After pressing [=] key, if you store Ans/3 directly, instead of Ans, it evaluates Ans/3 again which would be incorrect. You need to be careful whenever the Ans term is displayed on the screen. Ans variable holds the most recent calculation value after pressing [ =], [M+], [STO] variable, or [CALC] without variables. So you need to store the values immediately when you get the answer, and remember to press Ans STO A to store the most recent value.

[@williamweatherall8333]

thanks for that tip. I never thought of doing this. To make this even easier on the casio, you can use the built in conversions inline in a single calculation.

[@that.unknown]

I like how the TI lets you see exactly what numbers you are reusing and the calcs that gave that number. I was having a hard time choosing which would be a better buy between the Ti-36x and Casio but your video has sold me the Ti.

[@scottcollins7513]

Glad you found it helpful. For engineering work and/or science classes, I would prefer the TI over the Casio. For high school Algebra II, PreCalc, and Calc, I would go with the Casio. But, they are both great calculators for the money. Thanks for leaving a comment.

[@that.unknown]

@@scottcollins7513 Thank you so much. Based on your review I bought the Ti-36x pro . It has been impressive so far.

[@scottcollins7513]

@@that.unknown I hope it works out well for you. It's less flashy than the Casio 991EX, but the ability to use previous expressions and results (especially) in subsequent calculations is the big advantage of the TI (and when you turn it off or it times out you don't lose any of that history). Thanks for letting me know!

[@n0ame1u1]

Thank you for this video! I need to get a scientific calculator for some courses that don't allow graphing calculators, and the feature of easily reusing calculations is very important for me.

[@GeoCalifornian]

If the Casio auto times out, and you turn it back on, all your calculation history is deleted, gone, destroyed! --not so with the TI-36X Pro; TI preserves your calculation history. /Bravo!

[@scottcollins7513]

Great point. I realized after I uploaded the video that I should have demonstrated this.

[@KishoreKumar-ve1xb]

No it's not fool

[@Crazytesseract]

Casio non program calculators are widely allowed in exams in many countries. In Asian countries like India and Japan, you are not supposed to to be able to store any history on your calculator in the exams. However programmable Casio calculators like the fx-5800P can retain calculation history even with power turned off. It is not allowed in exams in Asian countries. I don't know if fx-5800P is available in the USA.

[@GeoCalifornian]

ZzyxxwVvutts -then Casio should make calculators for the U.S. market and for the Asian market, just like T.I. does... Most don’t know but the Canon F-788dx retains calculation history, and it is an exact duplicate of the Casio fx991MS in all of the scientific functions, but with a slightly different keypad layout.

[@GeoCalifornian]

Kishore Kumar -Do your homework... then get back to us.

[@laurenth7187]

I would use the M+ button for intermediate calculation, of course having in mind to always clear M before starting calculation.. but the TI looks fine with his sort of stack.

[@rodrigofernandez9800]

I´m definetly going for the TI, thanks for the video

[@scottcollins7513]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for letting me know!

[@jessstuart7495]

I always do unit cancellation on paper. I don't trust myself not to flip one of the conversion factors when I'm entering stuff into the calculator in multiple steps like this.

[@kf4hzu]

After using the up key to find the old equation and answer, press equals first and then store the value. Yes it is one more step but the functionality is there to store previously calculated values.

[@scottcollins7513]

Agree, but only if the previous calculation does not include ANS in the expression. That was my specific criticism. The Sharp does not exhibit this same issue.

[@francohic]

calculator AFICIONADO's made my day

[@scramjet4610]

Great comparison, thanks.

[@scottcollins7513]

Thank you - glad you found it useful.

[@Dragoloov]

You just have to store each value before going to the next. You type the equation you want, then you store immediately without pressing the equal sign.

[@Crazytesseract]

Thats the care everyone has to remember to take. So it is a bit annoying compared to TI.

[@Crazytesseract]

Using metric conversions in Casio, you can get a more accurate value of 9912.4 J.

[@MusikPiratCH]

Yes, but this was not the issue. By the way the TI 36 Pro also has metric conversions (even the TI 30X Plus Mathprint has those conversions)! I don't know about the Sharp. But I assume conversions are also available ... ;)

[@prosto1076]

You can you ":" operator to write a sequence of formulas. "11931/123 : Ans/3.28", if you want to Ans means the value before and don't worry about parentheses

[@scottcollins7513]

I never think to use the colon for multiple expressions, but that is an interesting observation. Thank you.

[@detronbrian]

I see I am not the only one to color in the Ti-36x Pro +-*/ keys! those can be so hard to see. I hate the reflective coating.

[@scottcollins7513]

Agreed. I could not see it well enough, so the orange day-glow paint came to the rescue.

[@detronbrian]

@@scottcollins7513 to me, that is the biggest fault of the Ti-36X Pro. reflective keys that make it hard to see. I am a huge fan of HP calculators, but I have a lot of Ti, Casio,Sharp, Canon, and other brands too.

[@JohnUsp]

Try the new one: TI-30X Pro MathPrint

[@johnbatchler2833]

It depends on exam when it calls for exact answer not appro ximate answer

[@rockmusicrocks5434]

How do you remove the slide cover for the ti?

[@scottcollins7513]

It is not a slide cover like the Casio and Sharp. I would describe it as clipping on -- you flex it to release it and then you can clip it to the back side. It is clever and works well. Plus it has rubber pads on the cover as well as the calculator.

[@rockmusicrocks5434]

Scott Collins thanks!

[@tomlake2732]

On the TI you don't have to enter the conversion factors or constants such as c yourself. They're built in.

[@scottcollins7513]

Same with the Sharp and the Casio. They differ in implementation, but all three have the same general functionality.

[@tomlake2732]

@@scottcollins7513 Yeah, I was just wondering why you didn't use the constants and conversions in your video.

[@scottcollins7513]

@@tomlake2732 Now, I understand and appreciate your point. Two reasons why I did not: (1) I was using a contrived example to demonstrate how the TI, Casio, and Sharp differ in their use of previous results, so there was no interest in being efficient per se, and (2) I totally forgot about them since I am not in the habit of using them. Chances are I could have used them and still been able to make the primary point of the video, which would have made the video even more informative. I will keep your suggestion in mind in case a situation to demonstrate it comes up in the future. Good point and thanks for the comment, Tom.

[@etch4]

I love this video. You must do better. 3:08 Sharp .5AB^2 Pls no multiplications with vars You can actually pick a value on the Sharp. Clr all 11931/123/3.28 50/2.2 Current stack 29.57 22 8/11 sto A (22 8/11) Current stack 29.57

[@scottcollins7513]

Thanks for the detailed steps of a different approach. I mostly just wanted people to see how the calculators handled "the stack" differently. I like TI best for this, then SHARP, and, in a distant 3rd, CASIO.

[@telefondose2803]

Re-using values previously calculated on casio is easy. Press the equal sign button and then store, an extra step but works almost as efficiently as with the TI. What the most useful feature (probably close to cheating) with the Casio is that it can operate on a lot of data quickly and efficiently in TABLE mode. I am an electrical engineering student and was stunned to see a lot of people wasting their time in the exams calculating convolutions and other systems theory related tasks without the TABLE function where I had completed the exam in 1/3 the time with my casio. Same with the experimentation stuff with manual data recordings, I just put the data in directly and can calculate every property I wish to calculate on the data instantly. Sometimes it's annoying because the TABLE function only has 1700 bytes of memory, but it is OK for something like 100 data points or so. The ANS thing is certainly annoying, but I simply learned to exclusively use variables. Like that I won't run into issues considering ANS.

[@scottcollins7513]

I am definitely showing a particular (and rare) instance where the Casio, as I see it, is inferior to the TI and Sharp. But, that was the point. It was something I stumbled onto and found interesting. You have me curious about how you are using the TABLE feature. Can you give a simple, but more specific example of what you are doing? For example, let's say we were calculating resistance (R=V/i) and power (P=V*i), given V and i. Are you entering both variables (V and i) and both formulas as columns in TABLE? It might be something I'd like to show in a future video if I can get a better understanding. Thanks.

[@telefondose2803]

@@scottcollins7513 Actually the TABLE function supports any expression you wish to calculate, with references to specific cells, with $-marks etc. it can even calculate integrals, sums, products and so much more (like for distribution functions)...... An example may be some set of frequency dependant impedances where i would enter the inductance value in a single, fixed cel (e.g. $E$1). I may enter the \omega in the first column and calculate the according impedance of each component in the other columns (separate imaginary and real part, since TABLE does not support complex domain numbers). I can then simply fill the formula for all frequencies i have entered in the first column and quickly draw the bode plot. A more simple excercise for the table function may be the calculation of some scalar quantities (e.g. areas, or something like voltages you have said), but non-scalars may be represented using the different columns, although I quickly am out of memory when trying to use the table functionality to calculate non-scalar stuff. The TABLE functionality is really powerful for what else this calculator has to offer. The available memory is the most limiting factor here sadly as the functionality itself has almost infinite possibilities considering this is a non-programmable calculator. After some time you will get adjusted to the specifics (try it out yourself!), there are some tricks to save memory (like filling values instead of formulas, or writing the formulas more efficiently etc.) to get around this limitation.

[@scottcollins7513]

@@telefondose2803 Thank you for taking the time to detail all of that. You have inspired me to give that function some long-overdue attention. Take care.

[@avitolourenco]

@@scottcollins7513 will not work, given he used ans so you cannot use the trick of presssing equals again given it will now use the latest ans and not the ans value at that previous stage.

[@babysealclub11]

Its kinda like using a PC vs MAC. You are just imputing the functions the wrong way in the Casio. You are imputing them thinking it's like the ti. Most people are just trained to use a ti that's why this looks like a big problem when in reality it's not. I use both of these calculators. Both have pros and cons. The Casio by far is a much stronger device but the real flaw is when you turn it off (or inactive shut down) or switch application it erases previous calculations were as the ti stores them. That feature alone makes the ti a really good calculator.

[@scottcollins7513]

Definitely, they each have their pros and cons. No "one to rule them all" here. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

[@chautran7295]

I know-how. You go to the statistics and press ac then go ahead

[@prosto1076]

Ans needs to reuse a formula with a new Ans value

[@Obcenbky]

Honestly, nothing but a false problem for Casio. Casio's "Natural Display" system expects user to put in the whole formula at one. You shouldn't try to divide the formula into parts and calculate them separately.

[@scottcollins7513]

It is an interesting point of contention and shows how different users view the Casio vs TI approach differently. In the end it probably comes down to how one uses the calculator and for what primary purpose. I can make any of the 3 calculators work for me -- sort of like choosing between Toyota, VW, and GM -- they have their pros and cons, but they'll all get you to your destination. Thanks, Obcenbky, for weighing in on the debate; good to hear the perspectives of others.

[@lilsweeny1678]

Casio all day long

[@mimakeo]

Casio looks sleek TI does the job best Sharp... Eh

[@scottcollins7513]

Sharp has the best keyboard feel and layout and cursor control (dpad layout and right speed of repeat when you hold it down).