Major Error on Calculator involving Series

[Wes Loewer]

LCieParagon Wrote:This is fine and all, but like I have said, I have concerns as well. This calculator was approved for use by the College Board. My students plan on taking the AP test, and as such, are allowed to use this device on certain sections. My students can potentially receive incorrect responses by recording incorrect responses that your product displays.

I look forward to that bug being fixed as well.

For what it's worth, the College Board AP tests never ask any questions that require a CAS. I tell my AP Calc students that if they find themselves needing the CAS on the AP exam, then they're probably doing it wrong. The type of question in which a CAS would be an advantage typically shows up on the non-calculator sections.

That said, not all exams are AP exams. The bug does need to be fixed. I see that GeoGebra, which also uses xcas, used to give the wrong answer but now gives the right answer, so that looks promising.

For reference, the exam that Tim mentioned was the 2013 AP Calc AB Exam (http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalSer...lus_ab.pdf). Question 2a wreaked havoc with anybody who had a TI Nspire CAS or TI-89 and tried to solve by using |v(t)|=2. Anyone with a non-CAS calculator was fine. The numeric answer was only worth 1 point, but it locked up the calculator to the point that kids had to reset or pull a battery. What was really lost was time and mental focus.

LCieParagon Wrote:Additionally, no where in my post have I compared competitors' products to yours. I find your response in regards to that curt, and unnecessary. Furthermore, your response didn't illicit a "Like" as it has with other members on this forum.

I don't usually weigh in to things like this, but my first thought was "Whoa, did we read the same post?" The reason people "liked" it so much is because it was such a clear, concise, and patient response from a company person that actually knows about the product and is involved in its developement --- highly uncharacteristic in this day and age. Now that a week has passed, go back and read it again. Maybe it will read differently this time.

All the best to your students in May.