>
>When I last taught calculus, Newton hadn't reached partial derivatives
>yet, so I don't know of any examples of antiderivatives which the 92 won't
>do, but I too would like to see an example of an antiderivative that is in
>a calculus text that the 92 won't do. I saw none posted on this list.
>
>Philip Mahler
>Middlesex Community College
>Bedford, MA
Hi Phil & others,
Recently I had occasion to try to integrate x^(n+1) on the TI-92 in a
context where n could be any number greater than 1. The calculator refuses
to do it though it will integrate x^n without hesitation. A quirk of the
software, no doubt.
Also, I have found that even very simple definite integrals can take an
incredibly long time. If you're not familiar with this behavior, try
integrating
x^6 - 2x^5 + x^4 + 3x^3 - 4x^2 + x - 5
with limits of 0 and 1. About any polynomial of degree 6 or greater will
be slow. Such integrals arise frequently in connection with things like
volumes of solids of revolution. I usually let my students "discover" this
difficulty at some point to point out that the Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus is useful even when you have a marvelous machine like this.
Jerry
Jerry Thornhill
jerry_thornhill@sw.cc.va.us
Southwest Virginia Community College
Box SVCC
Richlands, VA 24641-1510
540-964-7328
Jerry Thornhill
jerry_thornhill@sw.cc.va.us
Southwest Virginia Community College
Box SVCC
Richlands, VA 24641-1510
540-964-7328
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