Preface - Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus Manual

Preface

Statistics is an important field of study, now more so than ever. We are surrounded by statistical
information in work and in our everyday lives. Many of us work in professions that require us to
understand statistical summaries, and some of us work in areas that require us to produce
statistical information.
The art of teaching statistics has changed dramatically in recent years, with computational
software eliminating the need for many of the previously taught techniques. The answers to
many of the complex computations come easier and faster students with today's calculators
performing most of the work in elementary statistical analysis. The challenge to the instructor is
to get the student to acquire a greater understanding of what (s)he is doing, with the calculator
tending to the details of the computations.
The TI-83, TI-83 Plus, and TI-84 Plus calculators, by Texas Instruments, are leading examples of
the progress in statistical technology. Texas Instruments has provided us with advanced devices
at an affordable price that are capable of powerful statistical work and yet is still easy to use.
This text will run through the statistical capabilities of the TI-83, TI-83 Plus, and TI-84 Plus
calculators. The calculators are almost identical with regards to the type of statistical functions
they will perform and the keystrokes needed to call those functions.
This text will follow the order of topics presented in Mann's Introductory Statistics, sixth edition,
published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., but should also prove useful with other texts. It will not
explain the underlying statistics but instead focus on how best to use the TI-83, TI-83 Plus, and
TI-84 Plus calculators in computing them.
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