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New Casio FX-83GTCW Black Scientific Calculator

£8.245£16.49Clearance
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That’s EIGHT key presses instead of two – not to mention having to remember which menus to go into. Casio describes the fx-83GT CW as “the new upgraded version of the Casio fx-83GT X” and the fx-991CW as “the new upgraded version of the Casio fx-991 EX”. That seems misleading to me, when the models are so completely different. It would be far more honest to call them “the replacement for” their predecessors.

Remember I mentioned that a graphical calculator is much more complex to operate than a scientific one? The CW models have narrowed that gap considerably – and not in a good way! The CASIO FX-83GT CW comes with additional features, including a high-definition display and improved menu navigation. Approved for Key stages 3 & 4, recommended for GCSE, National and Higher, Junior and Leaving. There’s no S-D button for simple conversion of results between fractions and decimals. The answer always defaults to a fraction, and to get it into decimal format you have to either (a) press FORMAT, use the arrow keys to select the preferred format and press OK or EXE, or (b) press Shift then EXE to get a decimal approximation (i.e. rounded decimal form) – but the latter option will only work correctly if pressing EXE doesn’t prompt the calculator to carry out another calculation.Another one that’s been brought to my attention: the functionality of the button has been changed so that it no longer “attaches” itself to the preceding number. It’s not actually wrong but it’s a change that will be very confusing for many students! Of course, graphing software is an extremely useful teaching and learning tool, but Desmos is free and much more intuitive to use than a graphical calculator, and Autograph, also available free, is a very powerful alternative, so in my opinion there’s really no need for a graphical calculator. So what do I need to know about these new CW calculators? Recommended and approved for Key Stages 3 and 4 (including GCSE, National and Higher, Junior and Leaving)

If you require any further information relating to the Delivery service used, please call us at +44 (0)20 8208 9567. Sept 2023: A fellow Maths tutor on Facebook recently had a meeting with a Casio representative to discuss these new models. We are told that the intention was to make them more like a phone to use (though I find it hard to see much resemblance myself) and that younger children who aren’t already accustomed to a particular scientific calculator layout have adapted well to its use. However, we are talking about 11-year-olds, and I find it hard to imagine that they’ve been using many of the functions needed for Higher GCSE and A-level Maths! As I mentioned previously, lots of functions – too many to list here – now require more key presses than they did before. A particularly annoying one is nCr (to calculate the number of combinations of r items chosen from a set of n – used in binomial expansion and the binomial probability distribution). Previously it was the Shift function above the ÷ key, but now it takes the following series of key presses to get to the same place: The A-level model now has the generic equation solver function in the same place as the quadratic and simultaneous equation solvers, rather than in an apparently random position above the CALC button.

Until the current GCSE and A-level specifications came in (2015 and 2017 respectively), the standard calculator in most English schools for both GCSE and A-level for a good few years had been the Casio fx-83GT Plus – or the fx-85GT Plus, which was exactly the same except that it had a solar panel as well as battery power. For more information on what calculators are permissible in exams, take a look at my Clueless about Calculators blog post. Finally, a colour warning The large Natural Textbook Display shows mathematical expressions like roots and fractions as they appear in your textbooks which increases comprehension because results are easier to understand.

When the new specifications came in, Casio brought out new upgraded calculators called the Classwiz series. The GCSE model was the Classwiz fx 83/85GT X, and included a few extra features that the GT Plus didn’t have, although the GT Plus was (and is) still perfectly adequate for GCSE. Some schools and colleges required, and some still require, their A-level students to buy more expensive graphical calculators – calculators that can plot graphs on their screens, such as the CG50 – since these are often perceived to give the student an advantage. This may well have been true in the past, but the exam boards have got wise and nowadays exam questions are carefully worded so that the possession of a graphical calculator doesn’t give the candidate a significant advantage.If you have exams coming up, then this calculator can be used. It is recommended and approved for Key Stages 3 and 4, which includes GCSE, National and Higher, Junior and Leaving. In short, the new CW calculators are a lot more complicated to use than the older X models, and don’t offer any significant improvements that I can see.

The Casio fx-83GT CW ClassWiz is the new upgraded version of the Casio fx-83GT X (the UK’s best-selling scientific calculator), containing additional features, to include a high definition display and improved menu navigation. Allowed in every UK exam where a calculator can be used. Recommended and approved for Key Stages 3 & 4 (including GCSE, National and Higher, Junior and Leaving). Are you in need of a scientific calculator? Well, with the new and upgraded version of the Casio FX-83GT X, this calculator includes additional features and a high definition display as well as an improved UI.

Complete the short form that accompanies your product. Please ensure that you complete all of the sections, as this will guarantee the timely processing of your return/exchange. Gain a better understanding of mathematical expressions on the display screen, for example; roots and fractions as they appear in your textbooks, this will increase your comprehension because the results are easier to understand and in plain sight. From the comments I’ve seen on social media from other Maths teachers, I’m far from alone in having a strong preference for the older Classwiz fx-83/85GT X and 991EX models over these new CW calculators. Casio doesn’t appear to have done much field testing of the new models before launching them on the world! The new A-level specification required the candidate to use a calculator featuring certain statistical functions that the GCSE model didn’t have, so the new standard model for A-level was the Classwiz fx-991EX. This also included some additional functions to help with solving equations, so it could be useful for GCSE too.

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