Graphing calculators are allowed in high school exames in many countries. However, one has to know how to use the calculator in order to take advantage of its capabilities. That's the goal of this course, to show high school students how to use their Texas Instruments graphing calculator in a way that they can use it properly on the exams.

The course can be organized in two different models:

• 3 hour demonstration
• 10 hour course (5 sessions of 2h00 each)

Each session of the 10 hour courses is mostly practical, with participants solving several exercises on the calculator, as we explore more and more tools. In a 3 hour demonstration the same topics are ilustrated with examples but without the practical component.

Contents:

1. Introduction to the graphing calculator; differences beetwen the various models; precision of the results, significant figures and scientific notation; Solving second degree equations and systems of linear equations;
2. Graphs of functions; determining maxima, minima and roots; graphs of derivatives; graphs of sequences, either defined by a general formula or by reccurrence; table of values of a function;
3. Probabilities (combinations, permutations, factorial), statistics (mean, median, quartiles, standard deviation) and statistical plots (scatter plot, cumulative frequencies, box plot and histogram); normal distribution;
4. Aplications, text editing, communications link and software upgrade.

How to attend?

Usually I perform training courses only in Portugal. If, however, you'd like to have this course at your school, even in a foreign country, have your school or your parents contact me to see if it can be arranged.