User Manual

Chapter 1: Operating the TI
-
86
19
01OPER.DOC TI-86, Chap 1, US English Bob Fedorisko Revised: 02/13/01 2:18 PM Printed: 02/13/01 2:59 PM Page 19 of 2201OPER.DOC TI-86, Chap 1, US English Bob Fedorisko Revised: 02/13/01 2:18 PM Printed: 02/13/01 2:59 PM Page 19 of 22
When an entry is executed on the home screen, the
answer is displayed on the right side of the next line.
When you execute an instruction,
Done
is typically
displayed on the right side of the next line.
If an answer is too long to display on the screen, an
ellipsis (...) is displayed, initially to the right. To view
more of the answer, press
"
. When you do, an ellipsis
is displayed to the left. To scroll back, press
!
.
Entry
Answer
Entry
Answer
Entering Numbers
A symbol or abbreviation of each key’s primary function is printed in white on the key. For
example, when you press
\
, a plus sign is pasted to the cursor location. This guidebook
describes number-entry keystrokes as
1
,
2
,
3
, and so on, instead of
Y Z [
.
Entering Negative Numbers
To enter a negative number, press
a
(the negate key), and then press the appropriate
number keys. For example, to enter
L
5
, press
a
5
. Do not attempt to express a negative
number using
T
(the subtract key).
a
and
T
are two different keys with different uses.
The order in which the TI
-
86 evaluates negation and other functions within an expression is
governed by the Equation Operating System
è
(Appendix). For example, the result of
L
4
2
is
L
16
, while the result of
(
L
4)
2
is
16
. If you are unsure about the order of evaluation, use
D
and
E
to clarify the intended use of the negation symbol.
The mode settings control th
e
way the TI
-
86 interprets
expressions and displays
answers (page 34).
The TI
-
86 on-screen division
symbol is a forward slash
(
à
)
, as in a fraction.
Always use parentheses to
clarify negation when you us
e
conversion instructions
(Chapter 4).