The graphing calculator applications have been kept as generic as possible for use with any of the popular graphing calculators. Certain standard calculator terms are capitalized in this book and are described below. Your calculator may use slightly different terminology.

The viewing or graphing WINDOW is the part of the Cartesian plane shown in the display screen of your graphing calculator. XMIN and XMAX are the smallest and largest x-values shown, and YMIN and YMAX are the smallest and largest y-values shown. These values can be set by using the WINDOW or RANGE command and are changed automatically by using any of the ZOOM operations. XSCALE and YSCALE define the distance between tick marks on the x- and y-axes.

	XSCALE and YSCALE are each set at 1, so the tick marks are 1 unit apart. The unit distances in the x- and the y- directions on the screen may differ.
Viewing Window [-10, 10] by [-10, 10]

The viewing window is always [XMIN, XMAX] by [YMIN, YMAX]. We will set XSCALE and YSCALE so that there are a reasonable number of tick marks (generally 2 to 20) on each axis. The x- and y-axes will not be visible if the viewing window does not include the origin.

Pixel, an abbreviation for picture element, refers to a tiny rectangle on the screen that can be darkened to represent a dot on a graph. Pixels are arranged in a rectangular array on the screen. In the above window, the axes and tick marks are formed by darkened pixels. The size of the screen and number of pixels varies with different calculators.

TRACE allows you to move a flashing pixel, or cursor, along a curve in the viewing window with the x- and y-coordinates shown at the bottom of the screen.

Useful Hint: To make the x-values in TRACE take simple values like .1, .2, and .3, choose XMIN and XMAX to be multiples of one less than the number of pixels across the screen. For example, on the TI-82 and TI-83, which have 95 pixels across the screen, using an x-window like [29.4, 9.4] or [24.7, 4.7] or [940, 2940] will TRACE with simpler x-values that the standard windows stated in this book.

ZOOM IN allows you to magnify any part of the viewing window to see finer detail around a chosen point. ZOOM OUT does the opposite, like stepping back to see a larger portion of the plane but with less detail. These and other ZOOM commands change the viewing window.

VALUE or EVALUATE finds the value of a previously entered expression at a specified x-value.

SOLVE or ROOT finds the x-value that solves f(x) 5 0, equivalently, the x-intercepts of a curve. When applied to a difference f(x) 2 g(x), it finds the x-value where the two curves meet (also done by the INTERSECT command).

MAX and MIN find the maximum and minimum values of a previously entered curve between specified x-values.

NDERIV or DERIV or dy/dx approximates the derivative of a function at a point. FnInt or òf (x)dx approximates the definite integral of a function on an interval.

In CONNECTED MODE your calculator will darken pixels to connect calculated points on a graph to show it as a continuous or "unbroken" curve. However, this may lead to "false lines" in a graph that should have breaks or "jumps." False lines can be eliminated by using DOT MODE.

The TABLE command lists in table form the values of a function, just as you have probably done when graphing a curve. The x-values may be chosen by you or by the calculator.

The Order of Operations used by most calculators evaluates operations in the following order: first powers and roots, then operations like LN and LOG, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction - left to right within each level. For example, 5 ^ 2x means (5 ^ 2)x, not 5 ^ (2x). Also, 1/x 1 1 means (1/x) 1 1, not 1/(x 1 1). See your calculator's instruction manual for further information. Be careful: Some calculators evaluate 1/2x as (1/2)x and some as 1/(2x). When in doubt, use parentheses to clarify the expression.

Much more information can be found in the manual for your graphing calculator. Other features will be discussed later as needed.