Re: TI-92 beats Mathematica! (Sort of)
[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: TI-92 beats Mathematica! (Sort of)
Mathematic sucks! I dont see why so many colleges force calculus students
to learn it to solve problems. More can be accomplished, by just getting a
standard calculator for all the students to use such as a TI-82, 83, or
85 (possibly the TI-92, but not likely), or HP-48. This way students dont
have to learn a whole bunch of useless commands for mathematica to work,
that they cant even use on tests!
On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, Nester, Darryl wrote:
> In the process of solving a problem, Mathematica produced the expression
>
> ArcTan[1/Sqrt[3 + 2 Sqrt[2]]]
>
> I wanted to see if this could be simplified, but Mathematica wouldn't give
> me anything different. (Perhaps someone who knows a few more Mathematica
> tricks could get an answer.) The TI-92, though, immediately responded with
>
> Pi / 8.
>
> Additionally, I found that Mathematica wouldn't simplify Tan[Pi/8], while
> the TI-92 gives
>
> Sqrt(2 - Sqrt(2)) / Sqrt(2 + Sqrt(2))
>
> (which can be rewritten as 1/Sqrt(3 + 2 Sqrt(2)).
>
> --
> Darryl K. Nester E-mail: mailto:nesterd@bluffton.edu
> Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics WWW: http://www.bluffton.edu/~nesterd
> Bluffton College Phone: 419-358-3483
> Bluffton, OH 45817-1704 Fax: 419-358-3232
>
References: