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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