For our college algebra class, we will use many features of your graphing calculator. One of the first features we’ll use is creating a table of values.
There are five steps for creating a table of values for a function. We’ll go through the five steps, one at a time, with an example.
For the example, we want to create a table of values for B of t equals 6 t minus 1 all over 5 t plus 2. We want to create the table for t equals 3, 5, 7, and so on.
The first step is to rewrite the function so that the independent variable is x and the dependent variable is y. We’ll rewrite our example to be y equals 6 x minus 1 all over 5 x plus 2. Many times, we’ll skip writing this step.
The second step is to press the “Y=” button and type the formula for Y_1. On this TI-84 Plus CE calculator, I will use the fraction bar to type in the formula. On a TI-83 Plus calculator, I will type the numerator and denominator in parentheses. The two calculators will have different results in a moment. I’ll say more when we get there.
The third step is to type “2ND” and “WINDOW” to get to the table setup menu. This is the same on both calculators.
The fourth step is to type in the initial value for “TblStart” and the skip in x as “Delta Table”. For this example, the starting value is 3 and the skip is 2. This is also the same for both calculators.
The fifth and final step is to press “2ND” and “GRAPH” to see the table. On the TI-83 Plus, we get the outputs as decimals. For our class, the decimals are what we want.
On the TI-84 Plus CE, the output is fractions. Sometimes you want the fractions. In this class, we really want decimals. There are a few ways to get our outputs as decimals.
One way is to type the function in the same manner as with the TI-83 Plus.
Another way is to convert the fractions to decimals. Press the “Y=” button to edit the function. Move the cursor to the end. Type “MATH” and “2”. That will convert the answers to decimals. Press “2ND” and “GRAPH” to go back to the table. The outputs are all decimals now.
There are more uses and features for tables that we can use. We’ll save those for later in the semester.