Using your scientific calculator


Purpose
Form (for submitting information about your calculator)
Calculators currently described here
Manuals (and other sources of information)
   Bottom of page; return links and contact information


Purpose

This page is for information about scientific calculators. The level of information is primarily that needed for introductory chemistry. There is a form, which guides people to figure out the key features of their calculator. There is also a section where information about various calculators is accumulated. This section is based on forms that have been submitted to me.

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Form (for submitting information about your calculator)

The form serves two purposes. First, by filling it out, you will be guided to learn key features of your calculator. Second, by submitting the form, you will share the info with others.

The form is available as a Word DOC file: Word DOC file, calculator information. To submit the information to me... You can fill in the DOC, and then e-mail it to me. Don't worry about format as you type things in; I will enter all your information into the proper web page, and have you check it. (I really do need an e-mail address to contact you.)

Privacy. Nothing that you submit is posted automatically. I read your submissions, and post what is appropriate. I will ask you to verify (proofread) what I post. I will include your name only if you give me permission to do so (there is a place on the form for this), and I will not include your e-mail (or use it in any way, except for me to communicate with you about your submission).

Old calculators? Yes, information about old calculators is quite welcome. Many people use older calculators, and information about them can be hard to find.

Questions? If you are just asking a question, I suggest that you send me a regular e-mail, using the contact information at the bottom of the page, rather than using the form.

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Calculators currently described here

Information is currently available here for the following calculators:
   (Asterisk * on a model number indicates that a picture of the calculator is available here.)
Casio:    fx-82a    fx-115    fx-115/MS    fx-300MS    fx-450    fx-9750g plus
Hewlett-Packard:    11C * (includes a FAQ)    32SII *
Microsoft:    Windows calculator * (Accessory on a PC running Windows.)
Sharp:    EL-506G    EL-531V (Adv D.A.L.)
Texas Instruments:    30-Stat    30xa    36X    TI-81 *    TI-83 *    TI-85 & TI-86 *

Posted pages about individual calculators are based on information submitted to me. In general, I have not checked this information myself.

If you have additional information about any calculator listed here, or have a correction or question, please e-mail me. You can use the form, or just send a regular e-mail, as you wish.

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Manuals (and other sources of information)

Manuals. Some calculator manuals are available online. (In some cases you may be able to find a manual for a model, from the same company, which is close enough to yours to be useful.) Some online stores, such as Amazon, have manuals available for the calculators they sell. Some of the manufacturers have some manuals available; some of these sources are listed here. The last group listed, labeled "Miscellaneous", lists sites with information about multiple brands.

General... A good simple strategy is to put the brand and model of your calculator along with a term such as manual into your favorite search engine. This will often yield sources of the manual. Look around. If possible, get the manual from the company web site. (Some links may be offering the manual for sale.) Example: search on     Texas Instruments ti36x manual

* Casio:
   http://https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manuallist.php?cid=004. A Casio site. The set of manuals here presumably includes current and perhaps some recent models.
   https://community.casiocalc.org/topic/467-old-manuals/. CasioCalc.Org describes itself as the "Universal Casio Network". This page lists some sources of Casio manuals. Try them, even the ones they say may not be working.
* HP (Hewlett Packard):
   https://www.hpmuseum.org/. The Museum of HP Calculators. Among the resources is an extensive collection of manuals, which they sell at a modest cost. The Museum is full of history about this pioneering line of modern scientific calculators. The main focus is 1968 to 1986, though one section takes the story back to 1614. Maintained by David G. Hicks (and not affiliated with Hewlett Packard).
* Sharp:
   https://sharpcalculators.com/support/manuals
* Texas Instruments:
   http://www.datamath.org/Manuals.htm for old models.

Miscellaneous (sites with information about multiple brands):
   https://www.nodevice.com/user-manuals. The Nodevice site seems to emphasize computers, but has some resources for calculators -- and other consumer items. In addition to "user manuals", it has sections for drivers and service manuals, and more; see menu bars.
   https://www.wass.net/manuals/index.htm. Vintage Electronic Calculator Manuals. Focuses on old calculators.

Other information

Another good source of information on a wide range of calculators is from Jack Tedeski and Carol Kuiper, Miami University (Ohio). It is called A Quick-Start Guide for Common Calculators. They list far more calculators than I do, but the emphasis is the use of statistical functions. This emphasis makes the site less useful for intro chem students, but I am sure that many will find their listings helpful. The site is apparently no longer active, but is archived, with lots of useful information, at https://web.archive.org/web/20120911160448/http://www.users.muohio.edu/kuiperc/CalculatorHelp/index.html.

Some of the information above is from a calculator FAQ at Viktor T. Toth's web site http://www.rskey.org/CMS/index.php/the-library/5.

If you know of other sources of manuals or good information, please let me know.


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Last update: April 19, 2022