Help, my TI-83/Ti-84 does not graph
It’s 8 pm. Dinner is over. You’re sitting down to watch a movie or Monday Night Football, and then it happens. . . “Mommmmmmmmm (or daddddddddddd), my calculator isn’t working. I have my math homework due tomorrow and my graph isn’t showing up.”
“This can’t be that bad,” you think. “I passed high school math. Heck, I even installed the Quicken accounting system at work. How complicated can a calculator be?”
The last time you looked at your son’s TI-83 or TI-84 was in August at the office superstore; she was at the front of a shopping cart with three ring binders and notebook paper on top of a pile. It didn’t look too bad then, but now you look closer and there are all kinds of keys you’ve never seen on a calculator before. At the bottom is something familiar: an array of normal-looking number keys, and to the right are the usual add, subtract, multiply, and divide keys. But what the hell are “MODE”, “DEL”, “STAT”, “ZOOM”, “TRACE”, etc. ? What are you going to do? Who are you going to call?
Relax.
Here are a couple of really simple things to do; but remember, the title of this article is “Help, my TI-83/Ti-84 won’t graph”, and that’s really all this article covers.
graphic buttons
Look at the top row of buttons on the TI-83/TI-84 calculator. There should be five of them, set apart from the other buttons; and should have the following tags:
[Y=] [WINDOW] [ZOOM] [TRACE] [GRAPH]
This is where all of your activity is going to take place.
The three main problems
Most of the time, when a graph is not displayed, there are three reasons:
- graphic function.The graph function has not been entered correctly or has not been entered at all.
- Graphic not on. The graph function was entered successfully, but graphing is not activated.
- Viewing window. The function display window is set to the wrong size or location.
We will deal with these one at a time.
Check that the graph function has been entered correctly
push the [Y=] at the top of the calculator. This takes you to the Y= editor screen. You should see a screen that looks like this:
Plot1 Plot2 Plot3
Y1= 2X+1
Y2=
Y3=
Y4=
Y5=
Y6=
The expression “2X+1” is just an example, but you need to see some kind of expression on the Y= editor screen, not just a bunch of blank “Y=” lines. If all you see is the following, then you need to add an expression:
Plot1 Plot2 Plot3
Y1=
Y2=
Y3=
Y4=
Y5=
Y6=
If you want to test a really simple expression to make sure the calculator can plot, use “Y1=X”. This should draw a nice 45 degree line straight through the origin of the graph screen.
Verify that the graphic function is activated
It is possible that the graphic representation of the function is not activated in the Y= editor screen. This error is a bit subtle. Look at the “=” sign in the equation you are trying to plot. The “=” sign should be highlighted.
If not, you need to place the cursor on the “=” sign and press the button [ENTER] key, to highlight it.
The viewport should be set to the correct size and location
If the viewing window is the wrong size or location, the calculator can plot but you won’t see it on the screen.
There are many ways to set the viewport, but an easy and reliable method is to simply “Zoom Out”, until you see the function you are trying to graph. push the [ZOOM] at the top of the calculator. Then press “3” to zoom out. Repeat until you see the function you are trying to graph. You should now have an idea of which window you need to use to view the plotted function. push the [WINDOW] at the top of the calculator and adjust the display features as needed.
