Getting Started with Your TI-83/84 Calculator
Dr. Laura Schultz
This course will rely heavily on using the TI-83 or TI-84 graphing calculator for
statistical applications. I strongly advise that you acquire a 3-ring binder to store the
calculator handouts that I will be distributing throughout the semester. This initial
handout is intended to get you started using your calculator. Let’s begin by considering
the heights (in inches) of a recent Rowan University men’s basketball team:
66
70
73
74
70
75
76
74
75
74
75
75
75
79
78
Working with Lists
1. Enter the above data into a list named BBHT. Press S and then 1 to
access the stat editor. Insert a new list to the left of L1 by highlighting L1
and then pressing `d. You will be prompted at the bottom of the
screen to enter the name of the new list; all list names must start with a
letter and cannot exceed 5 digits. For this example, type BBHT and press
e. Proceed to enter the given height data into this list. When you are
finished, check over your entries to make sure they are all correct, and then press `M to
return to the home screen.
2. It is often useful to sort a data list in ascending order (lowest to highest).
Let’s sort our BBHT list in ascending order. Press S and use ; to scroll
down to 2:SortA(. Press e, and you will return to the home screen.
Type in the name of the list you want to sort and then press )e. If
you wanted to sort the data stored in L1, you would type `1 to enter L1
into the command line. When you are working with a named list, the
procedure is slightly more complicated. For this example, press `S to
access the 9 menu. Then, scroll down to BBHT and press e. Doing
so will paste LBBHT into the sort command. Press )e, and your
calculator will tell you that it is done sorting the list.
3. Let’s take a look at the sorted list. Press S and then 1 to return to the
stat editor. Use ; to scroll down to view all the entries in your data list.
Take a moment to find the mode(s) for the data set. The height value that
appears the most frequently is 75, so the mode of this data set is 75 inches.
4. If you want to erase the contents of a list, highlight the list name and press
the C key. Pressing the d key will delete the list from the stat editor altogether. If you
accidentally delete one of the numbered lists, press S, scroll down to 5:SetUpEditor, and
press e to restore the list. We’re not finished with the BBHT list, so don’t clear it yet.
Copyright © 2007 by Laura Schultz. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 3
Descriptive Statistics: The 1-Var Stats Command
Let’s compute some descriptive statistics for our data set. The 1-Var Stats
command provides “one-stop shopping” for finding the mean, median, standard
deviation, and five-number summary of a data set. Press S and use > to
scroll right to the CALC menu. Then, press e to select 1: 1-Var Stats. Use
the procedure described on the previous page to enter the name of the list
containing your data (LBBHT for this example) and then
press e. Your calculator will return two screens
full of output; use the ; and : keys to scroll through
it all. We will spend the first few weeks of the
semester working with the various descriptive statistics
generated by the 1-Var Stats command.
Statistical Displays: Generating a Histogram
We will be working with numerous types of statistical displays this semester. For starters, here are
directions for generating a histogram. Let’s consider the grade-point averages for a random sample of
50 University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire undergraduates:
3.02
2.12
3.78
2.77
3.42
3.62
2.25
3.38
2.57
3.25
2.41
3.28
3.67
3.26
3.33
3.81
1.38
3.36
2.90
3.77
3.04
2.33
1.92
3.35
1.74
2.97
3.19
2.70
2.84
2.54
3.19
3.02
2.79
3.59
3.55
2.06
1.40
3.34
2.73
2.78
3.72
3.14
2.92
3.66
2.57
2.50
2.55
3.16
2.89
3.18
1. Start by entering the above data into a list.
2. Press `! to access the , menu, and press 4 to turn all the
plots off. Then, press `!1 to select Plot1. Turn this plot on by
selecting On and pressing e. Next, choose the plot Type. Select the
last icon on the first row (it looks like a histogram) and press e. At the
Xlist prompt, type in the name of the list containing the data you want to
graph (my list is named GPA). Let Freq equal 1 for now.
3. Press #9 to use the ZOOM STAT command to plot your histogram. If
you press $, you can use the > and < keys to read the class limits
(min and max) and frequency counts (n) from the histogram. Note that the
default histogram is not very meaningful; your calculator needs you to
specify meaningful class limits and class widths. You can do so by changing
the WINDOW variable settings. For this example, press @ and proceed
to enter the information shown in the screenshot to the right. (Consult your
lecture notes for advice on how to figure out which WINDOW settings to use.)
4. Press % to generate the revised histogram. Do NOT use the ZOOM
STAT command; doing so will erase all of the WINDOW variable settings that
you just entered and return the same default histogram. Press $ and
use the > and < keys to confirm that this histogram corresponds to the
frequency distribution we generated during class.
Copyright © 2007 by Laura Schultz. All Rights Reserved.
Page 2 of 3
Troubleshooting
1. If you accidentally delete a list from the stat editor, you can restore it by pressing S5e.
2. If you cannot get a stat plot to work, check to make sure that only one of the stat plots is turned
on. Also, press ! and make sure that all of the Y functions are empty. Use the C key to clear
out any functions you find and then press the % key.
3. If your calculator is not displaying numbers correctly, press the M key
and check to make sure the mode settings match those shown on the display
to the right.
4. Some common error messages:
★ DIM MISMATCH: Occurs when you try to generate a histogram, timeseries plot, etc., from two lists of unequal length. In other words, you incorrectly entered the
data. Go back to the stat editor and fix your lists.
★ INVALID DIM: Occurs when you make a reference to an empty list. Go to the stat editor and
figure out which list actually contains the data you are trying to work with.
★ STAT: Occurs when two or more incompatible stat plots are turned on at the same time. Go to
the stat plot menu and turn off any undesired plots.
★ DOMAIN: You probably won’t encounter this error until later in the semester, but I include it
here for completeness. This error occurs whenever you enter a probability (or proportion) that
is not between 0 and 1. You will also receive this error message if you don’t enter a whole
number for the number of successes (x) or trials (n).
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Copyright © 2007 by Laura Schultz. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3