Precalc Syllabus
Pythagorean Theorem

Programming the TI-83 in BASIC

Mr. Rives

September 2005

Introduction:

Your TI-83 is a little computer.  It even has an operating system and is pre-loaded with software to make the computer usable.  You use that software all the time when you use the plus key, or the stats key, or the graphing functions, ... or any of the keys!   All the keys are tied to little programs that run on the computer.  And, by learning to program the TI-83 in BASIC, you are going to create new programs to extend the number of useful programs available on your calculator.

Buried beyond the site of the average user, there is a powerful interface into the TI-83 computer and its operating system -- that interface is a BASIC programming language.  With that language you can create your own software.  For example, you might create a program to print your name all over the screen, or to find the area under a parabola, or to pick random numbers, or to play space invaders, etc. You own a fully programmable computer, and the BASIC programming language is your doorway into its inner core. 

BASIC is just that, it is basic (i.e. simple and easy).  But BASIC is also an acronym that stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.  Programming in BASIC is the act of storing a list of instructions onto the calculator -- instructions which are to be performed whenever you need them to be.  You can think of it as a recipe.  When you run a BASIC program, the calculator will follow all the steps like a cook following the instructions to create a meal.  The TI-83 doesn't make food -- but it can make a mess!   Another way to think of BASIC is to think of it as a script.  When you write a BASIC program, you are writing a script that you want the computer to perform on demand.

Programming, then, is like creating scripts or recipes for the computer to follow.  The TI-83 stores the programs even when the calculator is turned off, and can run them again at any time.  Writing useful programs can be a real time-saver when doing math; programs can also be used to explore more complicated ideas, to test theories that require lots of number crunching, or any number of things.

The goal in this tutorial is to teach you how to program your calculator to solve problems in your Advanced Math book. 

Below is a list of links that will take you through all the programming exercises presented in class.  This list is under development as I create them as we go!

Program #1 -- Create a program to display a variable value, Wed, Sept 7th