Some instructions for the TI-83/84 in Kunkle's MATH 104

Some instructions for the TI-83/84 in Kunkle's MATH 104

Based on similar notes by Prof. Renling Jin.

last change Apr 12, 2010
Resetting your calculator's memory for an exam.
  1. MEM
  2. 7:Reset
  3. arrow right to ALL
  4. 1:All Memory
  5. 2:Reset
  6. Wait for the screen to show the "RAM cleared" message.
Reseting your calclator erases all programs and variables and resets modes to their original default values. Depending on your batteries' strength, you might have to readjust the screen's brightness after this step. Hit 2nd and then hold the up-arrow or the down arrow.
Storing numbers in lists.
  1. STAT
  2. 1:Edit
  3. Enter data in a list, e.g., L1.
    Arrow up/down to go to different elements in the list.
    Arrow left/right to go to different lists.
  4. QUIT when done.
Finding the mean, standard deviation, and variance of a discrete random variable X. (§6.1)
  1. Store x-values in a list, say L1, and the corresponding probabilities P(x) in another, say L2.
  2. STAT
  3. arrow right to CALC
  4. 1: 1-Var Stats
  5. L1,L2 ENTER
    (Type L1 and L2 by hitting 2nd 1 and 2nd 2.)
  6. The resulting mean μ is displayed on the screen as x.
    (That's unfortunate, since x is really the symbol for the sample mean.)
    The standard deviation σ is displayed as σx.
    Square the standard deviation to find the variance.
Plotting a histogram of data in a list. (§2.2)
  1. Store data values in a list (say L1).
  2. y=, delete any functions from this list, then QUIT
  3. STAT PLOT
  4. 1: Plot1 ENTER
  5. Edit PLOT1 as follows:
    turn the plot on
    highlight the histogram icon (that's the icon in the upper right)
    at Xlist: type in L1 (Type L1 by hitting 2nd 1)
    at Freq: type in 1
    QUIT when done
  6. Edit PLOT2 and PLOT3 in STAT PLOT as necesary to turn all other plots off.
  7. WINDOW then the following:
    Set Xmin = the left endpont of the first bin.
    Set Xmax = the right endpont of the graph. Xmax needn't be the right endpoint of the highest bin, but it must be greater than the largest data point.
    Set Xscl = the width of each bin. Pick a nice number around (Xmax-Xmin)÷(desired number of bins). 8 or 10 bins usually looks nice, but you can use more for a larger data set.
    Set Ymin = 0.
    Set Ymax = a number large enough to nicely display the tallest bar in the histogram, usually a little more than the greatest frequency.
    Set Yscl = 1.
    Set Xres = 1.
    QUIT when done
  8. GRAPH to display histogram
  9. TRACE (and arrow left/right) to observe the frequency and endponts of each bin
Finding the sample mean, sample standard deviation, and other decriptive stats for a list of x-values. (§§2.3-2.5)
  1. Store x-values in a list, say L1.
  2. STAT
  3. arrow right to CALC
  4. 1: 1-Var Stats
  5. L1 ENTER
  6. Now scroll up and down to read various descriptive stats.
    The resulting sample mean is displayed on the screen as x.
    The sample standard deviation s is displayed as Sx. Square the sample standard deviation to find the sample variance.
    n is the number of data points.
    minX, Q1, Med, Q3, maxX are the minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum, respectively.
    The range is maxX - minX. The Interquartile Range (or IQR) is Q3-Q1.
Plotting a boxplot of data in a list. (§2.5) This is very similar to plotting a histogram. If you like, you can view a boxplot and histogram simultaneousy by having two plots (e.g., Plot1 and Plot2) turned on at the same time.
  1. Store data values in a list (say L1).
  2. y=, delete any functions from this list, then QUIT
  3. STAT PLOT
  4. 1: Plot1 ENTER
  5. Edit PLOT1 as follows:
    turn the plot on
    highlight the boxplot icon in the lower left (the other won't show outliers, I think).
    at Xlist: type in L1 (Type L1 by hitting 2nd 1)
    at Freq: type in 1
    at Mark: highlight any of the three.
    QUIT when done
  6. Edit PLOT2 and PLOT3 in STAT PLOT as necesary to turn all other plots off.
  7. WINDOW then the following:
    Set Xmin < the smallest data point and Xmax > the largest data point.
    Choose Xscl to determine the spacing of hash marks along the x-axis.
    Set Ymin = 0 and Ymax = anything.
    Set Yscl = 1 and Xres = 1.
    QUIT when done
  8. GRAPH to display histogram
  9. TRACE (and arrow left/right) to observe the min and max (excluding any outliers), median, quartiles, and outliers (if any).
Finding a z-based confidence interval for p. (§8.2)
  1. STAT
  2. arrow right to TESTS
  3. arrow down to A: 1-PropZInt, then ENTER
  4. Enter x = number of successes
    Enter n = sample size
    Enter C-Level = confidence level
    Arrow down to Calculate, then ENTER
Finding a t-based confidence interval for mu. (§8.3)
  1. STAT
  2. arrow right to TESTS
  3. 8: TInterval
  4. arrow right to Stats , then ENTER
  5. Enter x = the observed sample mean
    Enter Sx = the observed sample standard deviation
    Enter n = sample size
    Enter C-Level = confidence level
    Arrow down to Calculate, then ENTER
Performing a z-based significance test regarding p. (§9.2)
  1. STAT
  2. arrow right to TESTS
  3. arrow down to 5: 1-PropZTest, then ENTER
  4. Enter p0 = the value of p in the null hyothesis
    Enter x = observed number of successes.
    Enter n = sample size
    Choose your alternative hypothesis:
    arrow to ≠p0 then ENTER for Ha : p ≠ p0
    arrow to > p0 then ENTER for Ha : p > p0
    arrow to < p0 then ENTER for Ha : p < p0
    Arrow down to Calculate, then ENTER
  5. Display includes a reminder of which Ha you chose, the value of the test statistic z, the P-value (reported with a lowercase p, unfortunately), the observed value of "p-hat" and n.
Performing a t-based significance test regarding μ. (§9.3)
  1. STAT
  2. arrow right to TESTS
  3. arrow down to 2: T-Test, then ENTER
  4. arrow right to Stats , then ENTER
  5. Enter μ0 = the value of μ in the null hyothesis
    Enter x = observed sample mean.
    Enter Sx = observed sample standard deviation
    Enter n = sample size
    Choose your alternative hypothesis:
    arrow to ≠μ0 then ENTER for Ha : μ ≠ μ0
    arrow to > μ0 then ENTER for Ha : μ > μ0
    arrow to < μ0 then ENTER for Ha : μ < μ0
    Arrow down to Calculate, then ENTER
  6. Display includes a reminder of which Ha you chose, the value of the test statistic t, the P-value (reported with a lowercase p, unfortunately), and some of the information you typed in earlier.
Finding a probability in a t-"table" (§9.3)
  1. DISTR
  2. Either arrow down to 6:tcdf(, then ENTER
    Or type 6
  3. Enter a lower bound for t, an upper bound for t, and the degrees of freedom. Separate these three numbers with commas.
  4. Type the close-parenthesis ) then ENTER
For example, tcdf(-1000,-1.3, 14) returns .1072987963, which means that the probability of observing a t between -1000 and -1.3 when there are 14 df is 10.729%. This is exactly the calculation I would make to find the P-value in a one-sided lower-tail significance test when the test statistic turns out to be t=-1.3