1/23/2015

Casiofx991MStipsandtricks

Project Nayuki

Casio fx-991MS tips and tricks

Introduction
The Casio fx991MS is a scientific calculator with many powerful
features. Some of these can greatly reduce the effort when solving
problems, while others can be abused in interesting and fun ways.
Being able to use these features can also be helpful on tests and
exams where scientific calculators are allowed but more powerful
graphingcalculatorsarenot.
Onthispage,Iwillshowyousomeadvancedandclevertricksthat
youcandowiththecalculator.AlthoughthearticleisfortheCasio
fx991MS calculator (and all the tricks mentioned here are
guaranteed to work on it), the calculator features and underlying
mathematical principles for the tricks are quite general and can be
appliedtomanyothercalculatorsaswell.(Youwillbeabletodoso
whenyouunderstandthetrickandyourcalculatorsfeatures.)

Official Casio manuals

I assume that you know the basics of how to use the calculator. If
not,pleasereadtheusermanualsandreviewhowtousethefeatures
on the calculator. The official Casio manuals are available in PDF
formathere:

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UsersGuide(PDF)

UsersGuide2(AdditionalFunctions)(PDF)

Donotcontactmetoaskabouthowtousethecalculator.Iassumeyouknowhowtoreadthemanuals
andfindthebuttons.

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Contents
Standardtricks
Solvepolynomialsandlinearsystems
Solvearbitraryequations
Evaluateafunctionatmanypoints
Randomnumbergeneration
Degreeminutesecondconversion
Numericaldifferentiation
Numericalintegration
Displayandkeytest
Iteratingformulas
Simpleiterations
Arithmeticsequence
Geometricsequence
Repeatedsquaring
Logisticmap
Newtonsmethoditeration
Fixedpointiteration
Taylorseriesiterations
Exponentialfunction
Cosinefunction
Sinefunction
Fibonaccisequenceiteration
Greatestcommondivisoriteration
Miscellaneoustricks
l33tsp34k
Store80numbers
Wishlist

Standard tricks
Thesetricksarejustbuiltinfeaturesofthecalculatorthatarenotentirelyobvious,becausetheprevious
generationofscientificcalculatorsdidnothavethesefeatures.

Solve polynomials and linear systems

Tosolveaquadraticorcubicpolynomialequation:
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1. GotoEQNmodeandscrollovertotheDegree?section(MODEMODEMODE1).
2. Enterthedegree(2or3).
3. Enterthe3or4(real)polynomialcoefficients,fromhighestdegreedownward.
4. Scrollupanddownthroughthesolutionset.Complexvaluedsolutionsareincluded.
Tosolveasystemoflinearequationsin2or3variables:
1. GotoEQNmodeandstayattheUnknowns?section(MODEMODEMODE1)
2. Enterthenumberofvariables,whichisalsothenumberofequations(2or3)
3. Enterthe6or12coefficientsofthesystemoflinearequations.
4. Scrollupanddownthroughthesolutionvector.
Polynomials equations and linear systems are frequently occurring problems in mathematics and
sciences,whichmakesthiscalculatorfeatureoneofthemostusefulones.

Solve arbitrary equations

Tosolveanarbitraryequationofonevariable:
1. Entertheequationontheformulaline.(e.g.,3X8=5)
2. PressSOLVE(SHIFTCALC).
3. Giveaninitialguessforthevariableandpresstheequalsbutton.Trytogiveavaluenearanactual
solution,orelsesolvingwillbesloworwillfail.(Howeveriftheequationislinear,thenanyinitial
valueworks.)
4. PressSOLVEagain(SHIFTCALC).Youmayneedtowaitafewseconds.
5. Readtheresult.(e.g.,X=4.333333333)
ThecalculatorusesaformofNewtonsmethod(asmentionedinthemanual)tosolvetheequation.The
algorithmcaneasilyhang,fail,orgiveawronganswer,sobewareitisnotanautomaticsolverforall
equations.
Tip:Althoughlinearequationsaresimpletosolveintheory,lettingthecalculatorsolveitforyoucan
stillsaveyousomealgebraicmanipulation.Heresanexampleproblem:The3anglesinatriangleare
A,B,andC.BistwiceofA.CistripleofB.FindthevalueofB.Thesolutioncanbefoundbysolving
theequationB2+B+3B=180.

Evaluate a function at many points

You can evaluate an arbitrary function (of one or more variables) at different arguments without re
enteringthefunctionsdefinitionrepeatedly.Procedure:
1. Entertheexpressiondefiningthefunction.(e.g.X2+Y)
2. PressCALC.
3. Foreachvariableintheexpression,giveitavalue.
4. Readthevalueoftheevaluatedexpression.
5. Toevaluatethefunctionatanotherargument,gotostep2(notstep1).
Forexample,thismakesitmucheasiertousetherationalroottheoremtofactororsolvepolynomials.
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Random number generation

ThepseudovariableRan#(SHIFT.)givesauniformlydistributedrandomnumberintherange[0,1)
with a step size of 0.001. It takes on a random value for each instance in a formula and for each
evaluationofaformula.(e.g.Ran#+Ran#hasadifferentdistributionthan2Ran#.)
Togetanintegerintherange[0,N),evaluateNRan#andmentallydiscardthefractionalpartofthe
result.Thiscanbeusefulansweringmultiplechoicequestions,e.g.Goleftorgoright?.
To

get

finer

step

size,

use

Ran#+0.001Ran#

(step

size

106)

or

Ran#+0.001Ran#+0.000001Ran#(stepsize109).

Degree-minute-second conversion
We inherited the sexagesimal (base60) system from the Babylonians. While it makes some division
problemseasierformentalarithmetic,generallyspeakingdecimalfractionsarefareasiertoworkwithin
practice. But for those times when you do need to work in sexagesimal or convert between it and
decimal,thiscalculatorcomestotherescue.Itsupportsnumberinputindegreeminutesecondformat,
andcanconverttoandfromdecimalformat.Seethemanualfordetails,orjustplayaroundwiththe
button.
Obviously, this feature is useful for doing calculations with angles expressed in DMS notation. But I
thinkitslesswellknownthatithelpscalculationsinvolvingtime,too.Dontyourememberthatthere
are 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute? These subdivisions are the same as the DMS
scheme.
To illustrate how DMS features can be used to solve timerelated problems, I present some example
exercises:
Youarrivedatworkat08:42:44andleftat17:24:59.Howlongwereyoupresentatwork?
Answer:172459084244,whichyields84215.Thismeans8hours,42minutes,
and15seconds.Pressingthebuttonswiftlyconvertsthisanswertoabout8.70hours.
Youstartdrivingat21:30:00ataspeedof30m/s,andyouneedtotravel150km.Atwhattimewill
youreachyourdestination?
Answer:2130+1501000303600,whichyields22:53:20(exact).

Numerical differentiation
Thenumericaldifferentiationoperation(SHIFTdx)takes2or3arguments:
1. ThefunctionofXtodifferentiate
2. Thepointwherethederivativeisevaluatedat
3. ThechangeinX(optional)
Forexample:d/dx(X^X,0.5)=0.216976666.(Thetruevalueisabout0.216977710.)

Numerical integration
Thenumericalintegrationoperation(dx)takes3or4arguments:
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1. ThefunctionofXtointegrate
2. Thelowerlimit
3. Theupperlimit
4. Theamountofpartitioning(optional)
If the amount of partitioning is n, then the number of partitions is 2n. See Users Guide 2 for more
details.
Exampleofusage,whilevaryingtheamountofpartitioning:
(X1,1,2,1)=0.7
(X1,1,2,2)=0.69
(X1,1,2,3)=0.6932
(X1,1,2,4)=0.69315
(X1,1,2,5)=0.693147
(X1,1,2,6)=0.6931472
(X1,1,2,7)=0.69314718
(X1,1,2,8)=0.693147181
(X1,1,2,9)=0.69314718
Thetruevalueisln2,approximately0.693147181.
Warning:Mostfunctionsintegratemuchmoreslowlyandyieldmoreerrorthanthisexample.

Display and key test

Toenterthecalculatorsdisplayandkeytestmode,pressandholdSHIFTand7,thenON.Toexitthe
testatanytime,pressON.(Note:Pressing7isnotnecessaryonsomeolderversionsofthiscalculator.)
Thefirstphaseisthedisplaytest.PressSHIFTtostepthroughthesequenceofLCDpatterns:
1. Allsegmentson
2. Allsegmentsoff
3. Halfofsegmentson
4. Theotherhalfofsegmentson
5. Manycopiesofasingledigit,from0to9
The last display test shows 999999999999. Pressing SHIFT again starts the second phase, the key
test. To complete the test, press every key (except ON) in order from left to right, top to bottom. The
numberonthescreenincrementseverytimeyoucorrectlyhitthenextkeyinthesequence.Dontpress
ONunlessyouintendtoquit!

Iterating formulas
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Amajordifferencebetweenthiscalculatorandolderscientificcalculatorsisthatthiscalculatordoesnot
evaluatetheexpressionwhileyouinputit.Afteryoufinishenteringtheexpression,youpresstheequals
key(=)andthecalculatorevaluatestheexpressionallatonce.
Themostrecentexpressionevaluatedcanbereevaluatedsimplybypressingtheequalskey.Theresult
of each evaluation is always saved in the answer variable (Ans). For singlestatement iterations, it is
mostconvenienttouseAnsastheiteratedvariable.Forexample,Ans+1isfunctionallyequivalentbut
easiertotypethanX=X+1.
Multistatement iterations can be written by using colon (ALPHA dx) to separate the statements.
When evaluating, press the equals key once per statement, and the calculator evaluates them in
sequence.Whenallthestatementsinthelinehavebeenevaluated,pressingtheequalskeywillgoback
toevaluatingthefirststatement.Forexample,A=A+2:B=B3isamultistatementline.
Remembertogiveinitialvaluestoallthevariablesusedintheiterations.

Simple iterations
Arithmeticsequence
Forexample,startingat0andcountingupby1:
1. Initialize:Evaluate0(setsAnsto0).
2. Iterate:EvaluateAns+1.
Geometricsequence
Forexample,startingat1anddoubling:
1. Initialize:Evaluate1(setsAnsto1).
2. Iterate2Ans.
Repeatedsquaring
Forexample,startingat1.000000001andsquaring:
1. Initialize:Evaluate1.000000001(setsAnsto1.000000001).
2. IterateAns2.
(Thevalueoverflowsafter38iterations.)
Logisticmap
Forexample,thechaosatr=4:
1. Initialize:Evaluate0.2(setsAnsto0.2).
2. Iterate4Ans(1Ans)andwatchtherandomness.

Newtons method iteration

Tosolveanequationoftheformf(x)=0:
1. SetAnstoaninitialvalueclosetoaroot(solution).
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2. IteratetheexpressionAnsf(Ans)/f(Ans),wherefisthederivativeoff.
Forexample,tosolvex23=0:
1. Initialize:Evaluate1000(Ran#0.5).
2. IterateAns(Ans23)/(2Ans).
Afteranumberofiterations,theresultshouldconvergeto1.732050808or1.732050808,dependingon
theinitialvalue.

Fixed point iteration

Itispossibletosolveequationsoftheformf(x)=xbysimplyiteratingxnext=f(x).
Examples:
IteratingcosAns,theanswerconvergesto0.739085133inradiansmodeand0.999847741in
degreesmode.
IteratingeAns(i.e.,eAns),theanswerconvergesto0.567143290.
Unfortunately,fixedpointiterationisgenerallyslowerandlessreliablethanNewtonsmethod.

Taylor series iterations

WecanmanuallysimulatesomeelementaryfunctionsusingnaveTaylorseries.
Exponentialfunction
1. InitializeXwiththeargumentofyourchoice.
2. Initialize:Y=1,A=0,C=0
3. Iterate:A=A+Y:Y=YX(C+1):C=C+1
4. ReadtheanswerfromA.
Cosinefunction
1. InitializeXwiththeargumentofyourchoice.
2. Initialize:Y=1,A=0,C=0
3. Iterate:A=A+Y:Y=YX2(C+1)(C+2):C=C+2
4. ReadtheanswerfromA.
Sinefunction
1. InitializeXwiththeargumentofyourchoice.
2. Initialize:Y=X,A=0,C=1
3. Iterate:A=A+Y:Y=YX2(C+1)(C+2):C=C+2
4. ReadtheanswerfromA.

Fibonacci sequence iteration

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Procedure:
1. Initialize:A=0,B=1
2. Iterate:C=A+B:A=B:B=C

Greatest common divisor iteration

This is based on the original Euclidean algorithm, which uses repeated subtraction rather than the
modulus(remainder)operation.Theprocedure:
1. Setthemodetocomplexnumbers(MODE2).(Thisisneededinordertousetheabsolutevalue
function.)
2. Initialize:SetAandBtobethenaturalnumberswhoseGCDwillbecomputed.
3. Iterate:A=AB(tanh(20A20B)+Abstanh(20A20B))2:B=BA
(tanh(20B20A)+Abstanh(20B20A))2.(Quiteamouthful,isntit?)
4. WhenAandBconvergetothesamenumber,thatnumberistheGCDanswer.
Notethatthefunctionf(x)=(tanh(20x)|tanh(20x)|)/2hackilyemulatesastepfunction,withf(x)=0
forx0andf(x)=1forx1.(Thisisduetothefiniteprecisionandrounding.)
ThankstoBojanPetrovicforsuggestingthistrick!

Miscellaneous tricks
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The calculator contains a palette of symbols, which can be used to spell out words and phrases in
l33tsp34k.Thecomplete(Latin)alphabetcannotbespelledout,butthiscanmaketheexercisemorefun.
Letter

Character

VariableA

ALPHA()

Digit4

Finestructureconstant

CONST10

VariableB

ALPHA

Digit8

VariableC

ALPHAhyp

Combinationfunction

SHIFT+

VariableD

ALPHAsin

VariableE

ALPHAcos

Enotationseparator

EXP

Exponentialfunction

SHIFTln

Elementarycharge

CONST23

Eulersnumber

ALPHAln

Digit3

B
C

Meaning

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Keysequence

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Digit3

VariableF

ALPHAtan

Faradayconstant

CONST22

SIprefixfemto

SHIFT1

SIprefixgiga

SHIFT8

Gravitationalconstant

CONST39

Standardgravity

CONST35

Planckconstant

CONST06

Imaginaryunit

ENG(onlyincomplexmode)

Digit1

SIprefixkilo

SHIFT6

Boltzmannconstant

CONST25

Digit1

VariableM

ALPHAM+

SIprefixmega

SHIFT7

SIprefixmilli

SHIFT5

SIprefixnano

SHIFT3

Digit0

Permutationfunction

SHIFT

SIprefixpico

SHIFT2

Idealgasconstant

CONST27

Digit5

SIprefixtera

SHIFT9

Celsiustemperature

CONST38

Digit7

Atomicmassunit

CONST17

VariableX

ALPHA)

Times

VariableY

ALPHA,

Digit2

ThelettersthatcannotberepresentedareJ,Q,V,W.Discoveringthepunctuationthatcanbeenteredis
leftasanexerciseforthereader.

Store 80 numbers
IntheSDmode,youcanstoreasequenceofupto80numbers,whichpersistevenafterapowercycle.
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To store a number, enter a literal number or an expression, then pressing DT (M+). To retrieve the
numbers,scrollthroughthesequenceofstorednumbersbypressingupordown(,).
Intheory,anyinformationcanbestoredasnumbers.(Moderndigitalcomputersarebuiltcompletelyon
thisfact.)Forexample,ifyouwanttostoretextonthecalculator,justdeviseacodingschemethatmaps
betweenlettersandnumbers.Notethatwiththeprecisionavailable,eachnumberonthiscalculatorcan
holduptoabout40.7bitsofinformation.

Wish list
It would be nice if the Casio fx991MS had these features. Theyre not found on other scientific
calculators, but they are sometimes found on graphing calculators, and theyre certainly available on
generalpurposecomputers(evensmartphones):
Integerdivision,modulo,powermodulo,reciprocalmodulo,greatestcommondivisor
Gammafunction(realfactorial),otherspecialfunctions
Fullyimplementedcomplexnumberfunctions(e.g.sineofcomplexnumber,expofcomplex
number,etc.)

More info
CASIOWorldwideEducationWebsite:fx991MS
CASIO:SupportManualsCalculators
Categories:Math

Copyright2015ProjectNayuki

Lastupdated:20130805

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